How Can I Help You: The Importance of Accessible Legal Services to the Friend of the Court

By Ashley Kasper

My time working for the Friend of the Court Bureau has been immensely fulfilling, intertwining my passion for the law with a sense of purpose. My role has allowed me to navigate the intricacies of legal processes and provided a platform to apply the skills I developed volunteering in Wayne County. My volunteer experience helped me foster a deep understanding of community dynamics and enhanced my ability to serve with empathy and efficiency. 

OCS Listening Sessions

By Julie Vandenboom, Michigan Office of Child Support Program Re-Engineering Specialist

In July and August 2023 the Office of Child Support (OCS) conducted a series of four Listening Sessions. These initial sessions were offered to individuals who expressed interest in providing additional feedback to the child support program after attending one of the OCS Advisory Council Information Sessions. Several child support professionals had the opportunity to hear the lived experiences of families served by the child support program.

Motivational Interviewing as a Tool to Serve the Whole Family

By Amy Lindholm, Management Analyst, Friend of the Court Bureau

What are we really trying to accomplish through our services? The Michigan child support program’s strategic plan states a vision of “engaging parents to improve children’s lives,” and that our purpose is “to achieve families’ well-being and self-sufficiency through a family-centered, holistic approach.”  We want to improve children’s lives and strive for entire families’ well-being and self-sufficiency, yet we typically only try to interact, beyond information-gathering, with the parent who is supposed to pay child support. And this usually only happens when that person is not paying enough, and then we make contact through a punitive action or threat of punishment.

How can we actually get better at “engaging parents”? We know that a lot people with a case avoid any contact with our program, and when we start asking parents why, some of the responses are that they are not experiencing individualized treatment or feel they are not truly heard. And this is understandable to anyone who has worked an enormous FOC caseload and felt the pressure of limited time to spread across hundreds of cases.

SCAO Management Assistant Shares Tips from Past Personal, Professional Experiences

By Lisa Harris, Management Assistant, Friend of the Court Bureau

I became a child of a domestic relations case in 1979. I never really grew up feeling disadvantaged for being a child of divorce (granted, I never knew anything else). I was lucky enough to have two parents willing to work together to make my situation positive. Whenever I was asked about being from a divorced home, I would share how awesome it was to have two homes, extra parents, extra grandparents, extra siblings, double holidays, twice as many gifts, and there was ALWAYS someone at one of my sporting events! 

Unfortunately, this isn’t the experience for all children and families. Friend of the Court (FOC) staff often see families arguing, sometimes at each other’s throats, vengeful, angry, hurt, and often loud. We rarely get to see the families who were able to reach an agreement on their own or who are getting along well.  Even if parents are cooperating, it may take years (if ever) to get to a good place in co-parenting.

Did You Know? Communication Options and Restrictions for State Prisoners

 By Amy Lindholm, Management Analyst, Friend of the Court Bureau

Editor’s note: The information communicated here is current as of March 2022 and applies to prisoners in Michigan Department of Corrections facilities. Communication options and restrictions may be different for county jail inmates, out-of-state prisoners, or prisoners in federal facilities.

Bookends for a 35-Year Career

 By Ken Randall, former Midland County Friend of the Court Director

Retiring and saying goodbye to staff who feel more like family than coworkers is hard. In our small 14-employee friend of the court (FOC) office, I have worked with half of my coworkers for over 20 years. In that time we have been to each other’s weddings, celebrated births of children, and mourned the loss of parents and loved ones. We have always supported each other in bad times, and celebrated together in good times. As my retirement approached, everyone in our office chipped in to give me beautiful engraved agate bookends.

Insights from Customers Who Also Staff the Program

By Amy Lindholm, Management Analyst, SCAO Friend of the Court Bureau

As promised in the last Pundit edition, we are bringing you insights from parents who are both customers and friend of the court (FOC) professionals. We launched a form last edition to collect lived experiences from your colleagues who were willing to share. This is part of our ongoing attempt to learn from the customers we serve and improve services accordingly. 

Meet FOCB’s New Management Assistant

Lisa Harris joined the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) Friend of the Court Bureau (FOCB) as a management assistant in December 2021.  Lisa comes to the FOCB from SCAO Field Services, where she was an administrative assistant for three years.  Before working at the SCAO, Lisa worked for the 55th District Court Criminal Division, Ingham County Circuit Court in both Intensive Neglect Services and Family Division, and the American Divorce Association for Men (A.D.A.M.).  Lisa earned her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University with a major in criminal justice (Go Green!).

Lisa is a proud mom of two children, Ethan (16) and Emma (13), and is excited to share her friend of the court and co-parenting personal experiences with the FOCB and various committees.  In her personal time, Lisa enjoys being active in her local parent teacher organization, riding around in her Jeep, and playing with her dog, Nacho.

Lisa will now be an available first line of contact for any friend of the court employees needing FOCB assistance, and she looks forward to hearing from you.  Feel free to reach out to Lisa with any questions or concerns at harrisl@courts.mi.gov.

‘Customers’ Who Also Staff the Program: Learning from Your Experiences

By Friend of the Court Bureau

The State Court Administrative Office Friend of the Court Bureau has been making an effort to elevate voices of parents who have experienced the child support program and learn from what they share. In 2020 and 2021, we hosted three webinar parent panels. Many child support professionals who attended these webinars offered suggestions for future expansion on these topics, which included hearing from parents who work within the Michigan Child Support Program and also have a child support case of their own.

Continuing Parent Panel Conversations

By Amy Lindholm, Management Analyst, SCAO Friend of the Court Bureau (FOCB)

In 2021, the Michigan Judicial Institute (MJI) and FOCB offered two additional training webinars featuring parents and their perspectives on child support and friend of the court services. The first panel in 2020 focused on fathers. In 2021 we heard first from a panel of mothers, and then a combined panel of both mothers and fathers.

Navigating the Confusing Language of the Child Support Program

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

“Pourquoi me parlez-vous en français?” is French for “Why are you speaking to me in French?”  Many commonly used terms in the child support program are actually derived from French words.  Why is this?  How did we get here?

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.

COVID-19 Resources for Child Support Professionals

By Amy Lindholm, Management Analyst, SCAO Friend of the Court Bureau

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many changes in daily activity for Michigan courts and for Michigan families.  There have been many new questions about how custody, parenting time, and child support orders work during this public health pandemic, as well as how friend of the court (FOC) offices can, should, or must operate during and after this crisis.

The State Court Administrative Office Court Services Division has created many resources to address access to the courts, and the Friend of the Court Bureau (the Bureau) has created specific resources to help FOC offices provide services during this time.  Many of the resources are located on our web page, “FOC Resources during the COVID-19 Outbreak.”  We will continue to add information here providing general answers to common questions about FOC services and custody, parenting time, and child support orders during the COVID-19 outbreak.

How to Provide Electronic Notary Services

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

Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order (EO) 2020-74 encourages government agencies to use electronic notarization through June 30, 2020.  To do so, notaries and the parties must use two-way, real-time audiovisual technology.

Address Changes after Evictions and Foreclosures Resume

By Kelsey Croft, Law Clerk, Friend of the Court Bureau

As everyone is likely aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on our society.  The various policies and procedures to respond to COVID-19 are changing almost as quickly as they are enacted.  State and federal agencies have rolled out programs to provide financial assistance to individuals, but many people will still fall through the cracks or need more assistance than they can access.

Aside from the more obvious consequences, many Michiganders are likely to lose their housing – or they may have already.  Housing changes mean address changes.  Unfortunately, updating an address with the court is probably, at best, an afterthought for parents in the midst of a housing crisis.  Friend of the court (FOC) offices must be prepared for the upcoming influx of address changes that will affect their ability to provide essential child support services to Michigan families.

Friend of the Court Launches No-Cost, Walk-In Mediation

By Dan Fojtik, Director, Kent County Friend of the Court

Most domestic relations cases involving children remain open for years until the youngest child reaches adulthood. During that time, disagreements between the parents about what is best for their children are all too common. The Kent County Friend of the Court (FOC) has offered mediation services for many years. Unfortunately, collecting the necessary forms from both parents and scheduling them to meet with a mediator can take three to six weeks. While waiting, parents can become even more entrenched in conflict, leaving their children in the middle.

Kent County Friend of the Court's Alternative Dispute Resolution staff.

To expedite resolution, the Kent FOC’s alternative dispute resolution (ADR) unit, led by Traci Schenkel, recently launched “walk-in mediation” on a first-come, first-served basis. Parents can meet with a mediator without an appointment each Tuesday morning from 8:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. and Thursday afternoon from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.

Wayne County Friend of the Court’s Outreach Within Reach

By Erin Lincoln, Interim Wayne County Friend of the Court Director and 3rd Circuit Deputy Court Administrator

Imagine navigating a 30-mile route from your home to your county’s friend of the court (FOC) office simply to get your child support questions answered. Could you do so using public transportation? Even with your own vehicle, would you have the money to pay $20 for parking? Do you know which items you can bring into the courthouse? Do you know whether or not you will be arrested when you appear at the FOC to have a question answered? These are uncertainties and fears that many clients of the Wayne County FOC face when seeking answers to their child support questions.