 |
| Judah Garber |
How did he end up at FOC?
Judah’s path to a career in child support started in his childhood. His father was a social work academic, and Judah attended Rutgers University – where his father taught – for his Bachelor’s degree in philosophy and psychology. After graduation, he worked in New Jersey, helping place people in jobs through a program similar to Michigan Works! From there Judah earned his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Michigan (U of M) Law School and began his post-law-school career clerking in the St. Clair County Circuit Court.
In 1985, he took a staff attorney/referee position, which was new at the time. He visited various FOCs to learn about how each used the attorney-referee position. Then in 1987 he took a similar position with the Washtenaw FOC, which enabled him to work near his wife’s employer, U of M, in the city that became his family’s home: Ann Arbor.
While many U of M Law School graduates go the route of corporate law, Judah said that he was more interested in public service through a neutral role. He found it rewarding to help families sort out their cases as a referee and reach agreements as a mediator. Generally, he was inspired to work for friend of the court because of the dual role it plays in families’ financial wellbeing by providing child support and emotional wellbeing by working through messy parenting issues. As friend of the court director, a role he took on in 2001, he had to balance his office’s overall benefit to the public with also being an enjoyable place to work. This balance is a true challenge, especially with customers going through difficult times, experiencing high conflict, and often not at their best.
When asked why he stuck out such a challenging position, Judah’s first response, with a chuckle, was, “Sheer stubbornness… and convenience.” He valued proximity to his home and children, and he always lived close enough to work that he could walk and quickly access his children’s schools. He also credited the 22nd Circuit Court bench and his FOC staff over the years with creating a positive work climate. He advised other directors to “hire good people who can complement your strengths and weaknesses.”
The Washtenaw Gang of Eight
Something interesting that came to light while interviewing Judah Garber is Washtenaw’s “Gang of Eight.” This was an informal, interdisciplinary professional networking group dating back to the early 1980s and remaining active through 2012. Judah explained that the group formed when some local domestic relations professionals thought it would be nice if they no longer intimidated each other across professions and could speak each other’s languages. Members came from the U of M Psychology department, local mediators, local family law attorneys, and the Washtenaw FOC. The original group had eight members – hence the name – but it quickly expanded to around 16 members who met regularly at the Washtenaw courthouse for a potluck lunch. Later the group expanded the model to an annual round table discussion with many other professionals joining to network and discuss new ideas. Their model influenced creation of the State Bar Family Law Section’s annual “Family Forum” that exists today and has been facilitated for many years by Barb Kelly, recently retired Washtenaw FOC Deputy Director.
 |
| Members of the Washtenaw Gang of Eight gathered over a potluck meal to celebrate the retirement of Judah Garber and Barb Kelly. |
The Gang of Eight also gathered in Ann Arbor in May to celebrate both Judah and Barb Kelly moving on from their Washtenaw FOC positions. At the gathering, a couple of people shared their experiences working with Judah over the years. Zena Zumeta, a longtime mediator in the area said, “He seems to have a sense of the [Washtenaw FOC] that allows people to do their best and flourish. Plus he brings his love of food. He’s just beloved—for good reason.” And Dr. Richard Tolman, a professor of social work at U of M, described Judah as “passionate, open, and innovative – always improving.”
Friend of the Court Association (FOCA) Leadership
Judah contributed to improving the child support program by joining FOCA immediately when he became director and taking on leadership roles in the organization. He had previously been an active member in the Referees Association of Michigan (RAM). Before long, Judah moved from FOCA treasurer, to vice president, and then president. He explained that the role of FOCA president is one which requires a definite willingness to serve due to the time commitment of the many meetings and conferences.
Through his participation in the Program Leadership Group (PLG), Judah developed relationships with Michigan child support program leadership. He also gained an understanding of statewide perspectives and priorities, as well as the dynamics of making changes. Judah said it was interesting and valuable to work on various legislative packages as FOCA president, though he was sure to credit the lion’s share of that work to Jeff Albaugh (retired Calhoun FOC director) and Suzanne Hollyer (Oakland FOC director).
His contributions also laid the foundation for FOCA’s current means of communicating with its membership through its blog. Washtenaw County hosted FOCA’s first listserv to enable a statewide conversation, and the listserv was built by one of Washtenaw FOC’s mediators. Judah said the listserv was critical for identifying consensus or pushback on new policy and program ideas.
Advice about systems changes
Judah was active with FOCA during the MiCSES conversion in 2003 to 2004. He also had experience with the initial CSES transition during the 1990s. He observed during both transitions that at times offices were told that they were being resistant to change, when in fact they felt that they were being forced to use an inferior case management system than they had already developed locally. He stressed the importance of implementation teams recognizing their assumptions and working to understand local pain points. He also said that the MiCSES conversion was an improvement in terms of preparing and cleaning up data, largely by providing reports for local staff to work. Judah also stressed the importance of counties reaching out to their local stakeholder groups during such transitions to set expectations and provide workarounds.
Vision of the future in child support
Locally and nationally, Judah would like to see the child support program continue to expand its work with community partners on strengthening families. He noted the transition over the years from a focus on solving the problem of “deadbeat dads” to recognizing that most uncooperative payers would be more accurately described as “deadbroke dads,” plus the acknowledgement that a growing number of mothers are payers of support. He hopes to see a solution in his lifetime that allows everyone to survive more comfortably.
Retirement plans
Judah has been a Mock Trial Coach for Ann Arbor Public Schools’ Community High School for some time, but now in retirement he is looking forward to dedicating more time to this motivated group. Judah will be accompanying them to the Empire Mock Trials World Championship in New York City this fall.
Outside of his mock trial obligations, Judah plans to read and travel more in retirement, and perhaps pursue a new avenue of public service through political engagement.
