As a Door on FOC Career Closes, Another Opens

By Mary Katherine Neumann, Oakland County Friend of the Court Custody and Parenting Time Specialist

Retirement always seems such a faraway event and then one day WOW - it is here. You feel you have accomplished many goals throughout your journey as a professional, but you know in your heart when it is time to retire. It is time for me to retire from Oakland County and the Friend of the Court. My mother always said when one door closes, another one opens. This describes my 32 years as a social worker in Oakland County. When I started this journey as a social worker, I would have never guessed that I would end up working at the Friend of the Court as a Custody and Parenting Time Specialist.

My journey as a social worker began in 1986 when I received my Master’s Degree in social work from Wayne State University. I worked at Oakland Family Services for five years, providing group treatment to children who were sexually abused. This linked me to working with Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office and being an advocate for victims who were going to testify in criminal trials. The Prosecutor’s Office developed the Child’s Sexual Assault Unit and posted a position for a social worker.

Legal Corner

 

PUBLISHED OPINIONS

Child Custody – Considerations On Remand

In lieu of granting leave to appeal, the Michigan Supreme Court vacated in part Butters v Butters, ___ Mich App ___ (2022), because while “[t]he Court of Appeals correctly explained that, on remand, the trial court should consider up-to-date information, including the children’s current and reasonable preferences when determining whether a modification of the previous custody order is warranted,” it “erred by instructing the [circuit court] on remand to apply the best-interest factors under the clear-and-convincing evidence standard without regard to any changed circumstances that might have occurred during the pendency of th[e] appeal.” Butters v Butters, ___ Mich ___, ___ (2022) (quotation marks and citations omitted). “When nonharmless errors occur in child custody cases that necessitate a remand to the circuit court for reevaluation, those courts should address the circumstances of the child as they exist at the time of remand.” Id. at ___ (directing the circuit court on remand “to reevaluate the children’s established custodial environments based upon up-to-date information in existence at the time of the evidentiary hearing”).

Funding to Establish Parenting Time

By Steve Capps, Director, Friend of the Court Bureau

While child support professionals are probably familiar with Part D of the Social Security Act, many may not be aware of other parts of the Act, such as Part A which funds services for people receiving public assistance, or Part E which funds child welfare services for children who are abused or neglected. Many families receive more than one of the Social Security Act services – some for generations.

The Friend of the Court Bureau (FOCB) recently studied Michigan’s child support caseload in several counties and matched it with other types of cases involving the same parties. We found that 45 percent of abuse and neglect court cases studied also have a domestic relations case (divorce with children, paternity, or support) associated with someone in the family.

Virtual Agency-Supervised Parenting Time – What’s Different?

By Amy Lindholm, Friend of the Court Bureau Management Analyst

We have all begun to adapt to a “new normal” since the coronavirus pandemic unfolded in Michigan in March of 2020. We wear masks when leaving our homes to protect each other. Restaurants have created new outdoor distanced seating arrangements. Many of us only see our work colleagues through video chats, and our family members and pets have become our new “coworkers.” For many families - especially those with high conflict, long distances between households, or family members who are ill - parenting time has also changed significantly.

This article will provide some tips and resources for “virtual” agency-supervised parenting time in friend of the court cases. For guidance regarding supervised visitation in foster care cases, please refer to the most recent Communication Issuance from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Services Agency.