Meet FOCB’s New Management Analyst

Lindsay Poetz joined the Michigan Supreme Court’s Friend of the Court Bureau (FOCB) in October. Lindsay earned her undergraduate degree from Baylor University and her Master’s Degree in Education and Employment Law from Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law. After a 17-year career teaching public school, Lindsay obtained her Juris Doctor from Michigan State University College of Law.

Michigan Family Support Council Conference Update

By Michigan Family Support Council Board

As many of you already know, because of COVID-19 concerns, the 2021 Michigan Family Support Council (MFSC) Fall Conference was cancelled this year.  However, you should know that this year, like other years, the MFSC Board will be accepting nominations to recognize individuals in the Michigan Child Support Program who have made significant contributions to Michigan's children and families.

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.

Michigan Child Support Growing Its National Reputation

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

Michigan is often considered the birthplace of child support in the United States.  While the federal government first became involved in child support in the 1950s, leading to budding child support programs in other states, Michigan’s program began in 1919 without federal support.  From 1950 to 2000, Michigan served as a model for federal legislation and was recognized as a leader among the states.  As other states began to adopt federal requirements that often had first been implemented in Michigan, and hard economic times forced Michigan to focus internally, leaders in other states began to emerge.  While innovation in Michigan continued, it was often unknown outside the state.  

Happily, in 2020 and 2021, Michigan has once again been able to share its child support expertise on a national level by serving on 13 national committees and delivering 21 national trainings.

Announcing the Child Support Specialty Docket Establishment Guide

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

The FOCB recently published the Child Support Specialty Docket Establishment Guide to help courts develop and implement child support specialty dockets (CSSDs).  The guide discusses both planning and operational considerations and contains targeted questions to shepherd the planning process.  The guide also provides tips and examples from other specialty courts.

Introducing the New “Dashboards & Visual Reports” Tool -- aka Data Visualizations, aka Data Viz

By Amy Gilmore, Performance Management Specialist with the Planning, Evaluation, and Analysis Unit, Michigan Office of Child Support

Have you noticed a change to the “Application Quick Links” on mi-support lately? Need a hint?

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.

High Unemployment Benefit Impact to the Michigan Child Support Caseload During the Pandemic

By Paul Gehm, Management Analyst, SCAO Friend of the Court Bureau

“How can we help? What can we do?” Those were the first questions from many who work in the child support program as COVID-19 began to affect life in Michigan. We knew, at the beginning of all of this, that the impact to families would be great. Many immediately wanted to help families affected by COVID-19 and shutdowns, showing the passion and empathy they bring to their work (and the reason they do this work).

Since the onset of the pandemic, we continue to learn about how it is affecting child support program families. In Michigan, over 2 million people have filed new claims for unemployment benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) since the first shutdown in early March. [1] More than 258,000 Michigan child support parties have filed claims. While the peak occurred in late March to early April, we are still seeing over 3,500 new claims from Michigan child support parties filed each week (as of the week ending July 25). For comparison, there were roughly 5,000 new claims per week from everyone in the state at this point last year.

Michigan’s Work in Behavioral Interventions – Recent and Future

By Julie Vandenboom, Program ReEngineering Specialist, Office of Child Support; and Carol Bealor, Director, Cass County Friend of the Court

In 2018, Michigan was invited to become a Behavioral Interventions in Child Support (BICS) Peer Learning Site. BICS was a five-year demonstration grant awarded to eight child support agencies across the country in 2014. Several states – including Michigan – and tribal IV-D programs that did not participate in the grant formed a cohort of Peer Learning Sites to develop, adapt, implement, and evaluate behavioral interventions to improve their own program operations. A behavioral intervention attempts to influence a desired activity or outcome by presenting choices based on how people make decisions. Readers can learn more about the basics of behavioral interventions from this previous Pundit article.

New Procedures for Friend of the Court Alternative Dispute Resolution

By Timothy Cole, Management Analyst, Friend of the Court Bureau

Last year the Michigan Supreme Court approved a Friend of the Court Alternative Dispute Resolution court rule (MCR 3.224) which took effect on January 1, 2020.  The court rule outlines procedures courts must follow – some new – when conducting friend of the court (FOC) alternative dispute resolution (ADR).  

Chief Justice McCormack Announces Return of Pundit and Thanks FOC

Hello everyone,

On behalf of Michigan’s Supreme Court, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your public service and to offer a few words of encouragement during this health crisis.

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.

An Awakening – Signs of Life after a Long Winter

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

On March 10, 2020, Governor Whitmer proclaimed a state of emergency in Michigan.  Overnight, everything changed.  Support specialists had new case referrals suspended, and friend of the court (FOC) and prosecuting attorney staff were sent home – often with little to no contact to their work.

March in Michigan is still winter.  On March 10, there is still more darkness than light, and the light this year was frequently accompanied by ill-tempered weather.  High storm winds, one of the latest snow events in recent history, and record-breaking low temperatures for spring in Michigan soon followed.

Chief Justice McCormack Thanks Friends of the Court

By the Friend of the Court Bureau

Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget M. McCormack joined with the Friend of the Court Association on July 26, 2019, to celebrate August 2019 as the 100th anniversary of Michigan’s Friend of the Court. The Chief Justice also attended the annual meeting of the association and swore in their officers.

Chief Justice McCormack (left) with the newest FOCA officers (left to right):
Suzanne Hollyer, Sarah Anderson, Michael LaFave, and Kristi Bray.

Providing Dignity and Support to Michigan Families

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

[ED NOTE: The following is adapted from Steve Capps’ speeches commemorating the friend of the court 100th anniversary at the Friend of the Court Association’s summer conference in Muskegon on July 24, 2019 and at the Michigan Family Support Conference in Boyne Falls on October 4, 2019.]

Steve Capps speaking to the Friend of the Court Association on July 24, 2019.

Pundit Flashbacks

By the Friend of the Court Bureau

First page of the first edition of the state's child support newsletter.

As the institution of the Friend of the Court celebrates its 100th anniversary, the Pundit team reflected back on the newsletter’s history, as well. Did you know that the first edition of the state’s quarterly child support newsletter was published in July 1987 under the temporary title “Pseudonym”?

Letting Data Guide the Way

By Ian Broughton, Manager, Office of Child Support (OCS) Planning, Evaluation, and Analysis Section

If you know me, you know that I love to travel. When I’m planning a trip, I use multiple sources of data and analytics for my decision making. I might consult TripAdvisor reviews to check out lodging or activities. I can look at restaurant ratings, reviews, and even filter by type of cuisine or meal. I also analyze historical flight price trends to help determine the best time to purchase tickets. I want my travel experience to be the best it can be, so I take advantage of the available data created by others.

We use statistics and analytics every day to make decisions in our lives.

Visualization example: Michigan child support cases by assistance type.

But of course, the statistics we use in the work we do for the children and families in Michigan is far more important than where we stay on a trip. That said, we must continue to improve our access to the information we need to make decisions in the child support program.

Announcing New Friends of the Court

By Friend of the Court Bureau

There have been many new faces in friend of the court leadership over the past couple years. A few of the newest directors provided some information about themselves to help everyone in the Michigan child support program get to know them better.

2019 National Child Support Policy Forum: “Lifting Families Out of Poverty”

By Keegan Malone, Prosecuting Attorney Liaison, Michigan Office of Child Support, Julie Vandenboom, Program Re-Engineering Specialist, Michigan Office of Child Support, and Carol Montavon Bealor, J.D., Director, Cass County Friend of the Court

A record number of child support professionals attended the 2019 National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA) Policy Forum, “Lifting Families Out of Poverty,” which was held in February in Washington, D.C. The annual Policy Forum is a great way for child support professionals to connect and learn what other programs are doing across the country and around the world, as well as gain perspective on federal priorities, initiatives, and hot topics. Michigan was fortunate to have a diverse team of leaders attending the conference from the Office of Child Support (OCS), the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO), and the Friend of the Court Association (FOCA).

Federal Office of Child Support Commissioner Scott Lekan and Division Director Barbara Lacina start the conference with their "View from the Top" plenary session.

Introducing FOCB’s New Management Analyst

By SCAO Friend of the Court Bureau

Nikki Withrow

Nikki Withrow (formerly Searle) is the new management analyst at the Friend of the Court Bureau (FOCB).