Closing the Gap with Fathers

By Nikki Withrow, Management Analyst, SCAO Friend of the Court Bureau (FOCB)

I don’t know when it happened, but at some point in its 100-year history, the Friend of the Court (FOC) was given an unfortunate nickname: “Friend of the Mother” (or sometimes other, more unsavory versions of this). 

In approximately 90 percent of Michigan’s child support cases, the mother is receiving child support, and the father is paying child support, which means that our system gives the mother the “custodial parent” label and “noncustodial” to the father. In the almost six years since I started working with the child support program, I have heard it said time and again that the FOC is interested in doing what is best for the mother – not what is best for the child, not what is best for the family, and especially not what is best for the father. Granted, the people I have heard this from are either fathers with an FOC case or family members of a father with an FOC case, but it still raises the question: what can the FOC do to make fathers know they matter, too?

Fathers on Child Support webinar.

Lost in Translation: How to Ensure Effective FOC Communications While Working Remotely

By Steve Capps, Director, SCAO Friend of the Court Bureau

Think back to events or holidays you enjoy.  What do you remember?  Chances are the things you remember are sights – lights and colors – feelings, sounds, or smells. Maybe you remember feeling the warmth of the sun at the ballpark or the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field for those of you in the UP.  You might recall sounds like laughter, songs, and cheers.  You might think of the smell of a feast being prepared or hot dogs on the grill.

Scheduling Friend of the Court Appointments Online

By Suzanne Hollyer, Director, Oakland County Friend of the Court, and President, Friend of the Court Association; and Brittany Dougherty, Director, Saginaw County Friend of the Court

Several counties have implemented a free appointment scheduling system called Setmore to allow a controlled flow of clients into their buildings as friend of the court (FOC) offices navigate serving clients during a global pandemic. The Oakland County Friend of the Court (Oakland FOC) first sought out the Setmore appointment system when investigating how to continue serving its walk-in clients. The Saginaw County Friend of the Court (Saginaw FOC) has further expanded its customer service options by allowing video appointments using this free service.

MiChildSupport & FOCA Technology Team Providing Solutions during the Pandemic

By Sandra Vanderhyde, Muskegon County Friend of the Court & Circuit Court Administrator, and Kim Lubbers, Office of Child Support (OCS), MiChildSupport Product Owner 

What happens when partner agencies collaborate? The customer reaps the benefits.  

The Friend of the Court Association Technology Team (FOCA Tech Team) and the MiChildSupport Team have been meeting quarterly for several years to identify and implement ways to improve the customer experience. With a focus on MiChildSupport, our public-facing website, the teams have worked together to build on existing features and to generate new ideas for engaging child support customers. And then came COVID-19. 

MiChildSupport landing page.

Creative Child Support Enforcement: DNR License Suspensions

By Bill Bartels, Management Analyst, SCAO Friend of the Court Bureau

License suspension has been an available child support enforcement remedy since 1997. (MCL 552.628)  To be eligible, a payer’s arrears must exceed twice the monthly support obligation, and an income withholding order/notice (IWN) must be either nonexistent or ineffective at collecting consistent support. 

Legal Corner - November 2020

"The Legal Corner" provides a summary of recent Michigan Supreme Court and Michigan Court of Appeals decisions relevant to the child support program, as well as recently released state memoranda.