The Muskegon County Friend of the Court (Muskegon FOC) is working to make better connections with the community it serves. This includes efforts to provide better information and explanations to all parties and to build trust and communication with payers.
After working with the three family court judges, the Muskegon FOC decided to try to get some of the most difficult payers to come in and talk with a caseworker. Many of these payers have suspended drivers’ licenses and/or an outstanding bench warrant. To provide some incentive for payers to come in, we held an amnesty event.
During the week of March 25, parties could meet with a Muskegon FOC family court officer to try to resolve outstanding bench warrants or reinstate licenses.
Generally, if a payer appeared with 10 percent or more of the total amount owed, the FOC would ask the court to dismiss the warrant and waive bench warrant fees, or reinstate the license and waive the reinstatement fee. Drivers’ license reinstatement fees were waived by submitting the changes to Secretary of State as “deletes.” If a payer appeared and could not pay at least 10 percent of the arrearage, other arrangements were made on a case-by-case basis. Some examples include entering into payment plans or agreeing to use Michigan Works! services. Each arrangement was recorded in a Support Enforcement Order, which also stated that licenses would be re-suspended or a show cause hearing would be scheduled if the payer failed to comply with the agreement.
One payer who participated in the event has four cases and had not made a payment in quite some time. Collectively, his arrearages totaled over $10,000. He had just started a new job and was not prepared to make a payment. After providing information about his new employment, his license was reinstated with an agreement that he would make monthly payments, and that he would keep the Muskegon FOC updated about any change in employment. As of June 2019, he has made payments every month on his cases.
In addition to resolving bench warrants and license suspensions, we provided applications to discharge state-owed debt to any payer with arrears owed to the state of Michigan. We also provided change of information forms to obtain correct information for the party.
To maximize participation, we held the event at two different locations during the week. Two days of the event were held at the local Michigan Works! Office, and the other two days were held at the Muskegon FOC office. We believed that it was crucial to have a neutral location for this event to be successful. There is often a public distrust of the FOC and the courts in general, due to a lack of understanding of processes, stories from unhappy parties, and past warrant sweeps. After the event, Family Court Supervisor Jason Walker emphasized the importance of interacting with payers in the community at agencies they trust, because “our building is the site of trauma” for so many parents, whether that trauma was at the jail, probation office, or a court hearing.
The Michigan Works! location also allows payers to easily receive referrals to employment services. One payer appeared at the event with a spousal support only case. He owed over $75,000, and his case was still charging at $600 per month. He appeared with a check for $7,500 and reported that his friend drove him to Muskegon County from Sault Saint Marie because he did not have a car or a license. He explained to the FOC caseworker that he is now receiving Social Security benefits, and he thought that his order stated that once his Social Security started, his support obligation would be reduced. The FOC caseworker reviewed the order and discovered that the obligation was to end when his ex-spouse was eligible for Social Security. After checking her age, the FOC realized that the obligation should have ended 10 years ago. The case was corrected in the system, and with the check that the payer brought in, his case was paid off. He left the office in tears of joy.
The FOC used the new Self-Service Reporting tool in Business Objects to generate a custom report to identify payers who were eligible for the amnesty program. Payers were eligible if they had a suspended license or an active bench warrant and were not part of Muskegon’s Procedural Justice demonstration project. The Self-Service Reporting tool allowed the office to create a report listing: the docket number the amount owed; the payer’s name; and the payer’s mailing address. Using the names and addresses from that report, we created and mailed a custom letter announcing the program to eligible payers.
In addition to letters, we posted information about the event on Facebook and on the court’s website. Jason Walker also promoted the event on a local radio station.
Over 500 payers were invited to participate in the event. We received about 150 letters back with addresses marked undeliverable. Our overall turnout was 68 people; 56 people appeared at Michigan Works!, and 12 people appeared at the FOC office. Many who appeared reported that they heard about the event from a friend, on the radio, or from social media. At the conclusion of the week, we had collected $18,755.00 in past-due support, and recipients of support forgave $35,849.45.
Amy Rebideaux is a Staff Attorney with the Muskegon County Friend of the Court. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Nevada, Reno, and then earned her Juris Doctor and Master of Laws in Taxation from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Amy started her family law career as a law clerk for the Friend of the Court Bureau, and then worked as a Policy Manager at the Office of Child Support before heading to Muskegon. She loves to run, knit, and play pickleball.
