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| Thomas Blohm |
I started with the Friend of the Court on July 16, 1984. My first position was as a Support Investigator. I interviewed litigants and their attorneys to provide pre- and post-judgment child support recommendations to the judges. By 1985 I was promoted to a Judicial Service Officer position and charged with enforcing child support and parenting time orders. In 1999, I was promoted to Enforcement Division Director, then in January 2015, was named Director of the office. I have been in a management position for 25 years.
What changes have you seen in your tenure?
Enforcement of child support in the ‘80s and ‘90s was often very heavy-handed. Some of this was due to the culture of the program in general, but there were also far fewer resources we could take advantage of to enforce support without utilizing the show cause process and the threat of jail. We simply had fewer options to do our job and had to rely on finding ways to motivate individuals to comply with orders. There are so many databases available now to help determine if an individual is working or can work. The automatic enforcement remedies available now are tremendously helpful and were just a dream back in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Today, unless you are part of the underground economy, it is very difficult to avoid paying child support. The biggest change, by far, is recognizing the importance of both parents in the lives of children. There is much more balance in the program today, especially if you’re a county that can effectively enforce parenting time orders. That balance makes it easier to enforce child support and eliminates a big argument for not paying.
What are your most satisfying accomplishments?
I’m very proud of the culture that I helped create in our office. We value our employees and the work they do and understand the stresses they deal with every day. We also make sure we hire people who want to be part of the good work we do. Trust me, we’re not a perfect office to work in, but we work hard to support our employees. I also helped push forward a good deal of technological changes, including imaging our entire office in 2005. We’ve recently undergone an upgrade of our imaging system that has been very successful. In 2015, we moved our office from one floor in the Court Building to seven different floors in the building next door. That presented many challenges to staff and our litigants, but we’ve managed to move forward. COVID presented its own challenges and significantly changed the look or our workplace, as well as the expectations of our employees and litigants. I’ve also been part of the performance management workgroup for over 20 years, which was a wonderful group to serve with.
What advice do you offer to your FOC colleagues and your successor?
Pay attention to who you hire and value your employees once they become part of your team. If you expect your employees to provide quality customer service to the families you serve and demonstrate compassion and understanding, as a leader you must demonstrate the same behavior to your employees. Most important, be clear in what your goals are as an office. If your goal is to serve the families in your county then every decision you make, from hiring staff to policy decisions, should point towards that goal. Lastly, join the Friend of the Court Association. Its members have decades of experience that can help you find your way.
What are your retirement plans?
My wife and I have been blessed with six beautiful grandchildren. I look forward to spending more time with all of them. We also have a lot of traveling that we’re looking forward to, as well as spending time at our cottage on Hubbard Lake.
