State Court Administrative Office

FRIEND OF THE COURT SERVICES INVENTORY

INDEPENDENCE ∙ ACCESSIBILITY ∙ ENGAGEMENT ∙ EFFICIENCY -

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1.0 OVERVIEW

The State Court Administrative Office (SCAO), Friend of the Court Bureau (FOCB) created the Friend of the Court Services Inventory (Inventory) for FOC offices to determine where they may be deficient in providing services during the COVID-19 outbreak and to know what issues they will need to address to resume full or partial operations.

The Inventory is not intended to be an exhaustive list of required FOC duties. Rather, it is a high-level list of functions FOCs must perform to comply with statutes, court rules, and contractual funding obligations. Therefore, if an FOC can check a box as meeting a function, it may still have to meet additional requirements to fully perform the function as required by law.

The Inventory is designed to cover the minimum functions an FOC will need to perform to be considered fully operational. If an FOC cannot perform all minimum functions, it can still be partially operational, but should take measures necessary to maintain its ability to perform the function in the future with the least disruption to services or minimum extra resources. Accordingly, the FOC should create plans for any function it is not currently able to perform to become fully functional.

The Inventory is coded with:

red boxes representing functions the FOC has to perform; and

blue boxes representing contingent, optional, or desirable functions.

Following each function, there are bullets containing explanations, additional considerations, and links.

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2.0 ADMINISTRATION, STATUTORY AND CONTRACTUAL DUTIES, AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

2.1. COURT LEADERSHIP – OVERSIGHT AND ADMINISTRATION

Does the court have a plan to ensure the FOC fulfills its statutory responsibilities? MCL 552.503(5).

• Has the court scheduled status meetings to ensure operations continue or progress is being made toward becoming fully functional?

• Has the FOC created a report of the status of mandatory duties? • Has the court created a project plan for achieving full functionality?

2.2. MANDATED DUTIES

Can the FOC comply with the statutory requirements of the following acts (specific tasks are listed throughout this document)?

• Friend of the Court Act, MCL 552.501 et. seq. • Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act, MCL 552.601 et. seq. • Office of Child Support Act, MCL 400.231 et. seq. • Child Custody Act of 1970, MCL 722.21 et. seq. • Status of Minors and Child Support Act, MCL 722.1 et. seq. • The Paternity Act, MCL 722.711 et. seq. • Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, MCL 552.2101 et. seq. • Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, MCL 722.1101 et. seq. • Collection of Alimony or Support and Maintenance, MCL 552.151 et. seq.

Can the FOC comply with FOCB policies and procedures?

Can the court comply with its contract with the Office of Child Support (OCS) (e.g., file

quarterly reports; comply with OCS policies)? 2.3. COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Do the county and court agree on how the FOC should be funded and have access to county-funded facilities? AO 1998-5.

2.4. PUBLIC INFORMATION AND ACCESS TO THE FRIEND OF THE COURT

Has the court established FOC hours?

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Has the FOC determined how litigants and attorneys can access the office, how staff should handle correspondence, and how to protect staff time to enable staff to complete their duties?

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3.0 FRIEND OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATION

3.1. FOC OFFICE MANAGEMENT

Can FOC employees carry out their responsibilities in compliance with the Michigan Judicial Institute’s (MJI) Model Code of Conduct for Court Employees? 3.2. HUMAN RESOURCES/STAFFING AND COMPENSATION

Do the chief judge and the funding unit agree on how the court employs staff?

• Can the court resolve any disputes? • Is the regional administrator aware of any disputes? • Can the court help retain court and county staff by temporarily absorbing court or

county staff to perform IV-D functions that might otherwise not be completed? For example, if the state of emergency has created a spike in FOC bench

warrants that cannot be completed timely, can other county staff (e.g., sheriff deputies) be used as temporary warrant officers?

• Is the funding unit considering reductions in force to offset anticipated shortfalls in income?

• For more information on human resources management, see Section 5 of the Michigan Trial Court Administration Reference Guide (CARG). For information regarding the chief judge’s responsibilities and local intergovernmental relations, see AO 1998-5.

Has the office considered which functions will need additional resources and cross-trained

staff accordingly? 3.3. BUDGETING

Have funding disputes between the court and funding unit been resolved to bring employees back into the FOC office to meet its duties? MCL 552.527 and AO 1998-5.

Can the office maintain incentive funding? Is the county in danger of underperforming on any of the five performance factors:

• The percentage of cases with paternity established. • The number of cases with support ordered. • The percentage of current support collected. • The percentage of cases with an arrears payment collected. • The programs’ cost effectiveness ($5 support collected per dollar spent).

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3.4. GRIEVANCE RESPONSE

Can the office receive, process, and track grievances?

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4.0 CASE MANAGEMENT

4.1. OPENING AND MAINTAINING A CASE

Can the office open and maintain an FOC case for every domestic relations case filed with the circuit court where the parties have not opted out? MCL 552.505a.

• Can the office receive and maintain a case file to store required records? • Can the office screen the FOC case for domestic violence using the FOC 124? • Can the office open and maintain its cases using the Michigan Child Support

Enforcement System (MiCSES)? • Can the office put an FOC case on MICSES within 20 calendar days? • Can the office establish and maintain addresses sufficient to provide legal service for

each party in accordance with AM 2019-01 and AO 2020-9? 4.2. CASE CLOSURE

Can the office close and inactivate IV-D and FOC cases per the FOCB Memorandum, “FOC Case Closure”? 4.3. RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Can the FOC maintain records necessary to be in compliance with the following?

• SCAO’s Case File Management Standards (CFMS). AO 1999-4. • Records Management Services within the Michigan Department of Technology,

Management and Budget (MDTMB). • Michigan Trial Court Guidelines and Standards for Digital Imaging. • Case Flow Management Guide. • IV-D recordkeeping requirements. 45 CFR 303.11.

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5.0 FINANCIALS 5.1. GENERAL ACCOUNTING

Can the office maintain financial records on a current basis and balance them monthly? 5.2. ALLOCATION, DISTRIBUTION, ACCOUNTS, AND AUDITS

Does the FOC either not accept payments or, if it accepts payments, can the FOC meet the following requirements?

• Accept support paid by cash, cashier’s checks, or money orders in person or by drop-box. MCL 552.509(1).

• Transmit the payment to the MiSDU? • Deposit and push payment to the MiSDU on the same day the office receipts the

payment? • Make deposits at least every two days? In situations where the deposit will be less

than $1,000, can the deposit be made at least weekly?

Can the FOC process a special instruction payment, which requires special receipting and specific case intervention to ensure staff follow the written instructions? MCR 3.208(C).

Can the FOC help the MiSDU resolve support and receipt disbursement problems related to inadequate identifying information? MCL 552.509(2). 5.3. CREDITS, ABATEMENTS, AND REDIRECTIONS

Can the FOC maintain records that document the basis of every credit and adjustment for auditing and accounting purposes?

• Is the court addressing how credit balances should be addressed by the FOC in its orders?

• Can the FOC monitor that the credit has been given? • Can the FOC establish institutional controls so that certain credits cannot be applied

without supervision? 5.4. ORDER MAINTENANCE

Can the FOC maintain support orders and account records necessary to enforce support orders and to record obligations, support and fee receipt and disbursement, and related payments? MCL 552.509(2).

• Can the FOC end orders due to emancipation, death of a party or child, or by terms of the order?

• Can the FOC enter orders into MiCSES? Do employees have access to orders (e.g., paper files, EDMS)? Do employees have access to MiCSES?

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6.0 CUSTODY AND PARENTING TIME 6.1. GENERAL

Can the FOC assist the court with custody and parenting time investigations when ordered? MCL 552.505(1)(G).

• Can the investigation be completed in time to hold a hearing within 56 days of the date the custody case was filed? MCR 3.210(C)(1).

• Can a report be produced based on the 12 Best Interest Factors sufficient to allow the court to consider it as evidence? MRE 1101(b)(9).

• Can the FOC gather relevant evidence including domestic violence and child abuse and neglect information?

• Can the FOC interview parties? • Can the FOC interview the child(ren)? • Can the FOC provide a copy of each report, recommendation, supporting documents,

or summaries of supporting documents to the attorney for each party and to each of the parties before the court takes any action on a recommendation? MCL 552.505(1)(G).

Can the FOC initiate custody and parenting time enforcement actions?

• Can the office send a copy of the complaint within 14 days after it receives a complaint to the parent who denied parenting time? MCL 552.511b.

• Can the FOC enforce the custody or parenting time order by selecting one of the following enforcement procedures: Apply a makeup parenting time policy. MCL 552.642. Commence civil contempt proceedings. MCL 552.644. File a motion with the court, for a modification of existing parenting time

provisions. MCL 552.517d. Schedule mediation. MCL 552.513 Schedule a joint meeting. MCL 552.642a.

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7.0 SUPPORT DETERMINATIONS

Can the FOC enter support orders (child and spousal) using the most recent Uniform Support Order? FOC 10, MCR 3.211(D).

• Can the FOC provide a copy of each recommendation and any supporting documents, or a summary of supporting documents, to each of the parties and their attorneys before the court takes any action on the recommendation? MCL 552.507a(1).

• Can the FOC access MiCSES CALC?

Can the FOC make a written report and recommendation regarding child support in accordance with the Michigan Child Support Formula (MCSF)? MCL 552.505(1)(h) and MCL 552.517(4).

Does the FOC initiate a child support review when the FOC case is open and a statutory condition in MCL 552.517 triggers the review?

• Can the FOC process requests and make a determination on whether to review within 14 days of receiving the request?

• Can the FOC complete a requested review within 180 days? • Can the FOC gather income information from each of the parties? • Can the FOC recommend deviations and provide the information necessary to do so?

MCL 552.505(1)(h) and MCL 552.605(2). • Can the FOC recommend modification unless the reasons for prior deviation remain

unchanged? MCL 552.517. • Does the FOC enter stipulated orders (consent orders)?

If Michigan does not have jurisdiction to modify the support obligation but the case meets a condition listed in MCL 552.517, does the FOC request that the other state review the support obligation? MCL 552.517c.

• Within 20 days of determining that the payer is in another state, can the FOC refer a modification request to that state? 45 CFR 303.7(c).

Does the court provide a means to modify support retroactively?

• Does the FOC file motions to preserve the earliest possible retroactive date? • Does the court enter temporary orders to address changes in support while preserving

the right to modify the order when the full extent of the change is known?

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8.0 SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT 8.1. GENERAL

Can the FOC enforce all support cases, including spousal support only cases, unless the parties opt out or refuse to cooperate in obtaining available funding? MCL 552.502a and MCL 552.602.

Can the FOC initiate enforcement using either mandatory or discretionary tools when arrears meet statutory standards? MCL 552.511(1).

• Discretionary enforcement: Show Cause – Civil; Liens; Payment Plans; Performance Bonds; Alternative Contempt; Arrears Management; Administrative Offsets; Commitment; Community Corrections; FOC Supervision; License Suspension; Liens (FIDM/ICDM, Inheritance, Property).

• Required Support Enforcement: Locate, Income Withholding, Tax Refund Offset, Consumer Credit Reporting.

Can the FOC suspend some enforcement when a party has filed for bankruptcy?

Does the court and FOC have the capacity to process bench warrant pickups? MCL 552.631-632 and SCAO AM 2004-01.

• Can staff process warrants in LEIN? • Can staff reconcile LEIN reports?

8.2. HEALTH CARE Can the FOC enforce health care?

• When a parent fails to obtain or maintain court-ordered health care coverage for a child, can the FOC initiate enforcement and send notices (NMSNs)? MCL 552.511(1)(b).

• If a parent fails to obtain court-ordered health care coverage, can the FOC either petition for an order to show cause or send a notice of noncompliance to the parent?

Can the FOC initiate enforcement measures when a person legally responsible for the child

incurs an uninsured health care expense and submits a written complaint? MCL 552.511(1)(c).

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9.0 REFEREES 9.1. GENERAL

Does the court use referees? MCL 552.507 and MCR 3.215.

• Is the court using referees in a way that maximizes federal reimbursement? • Do referees hear matters other than child-support related issues? • Is the court using referees to conduct scheduling and settlement conferences to reduce

any backlogs in domestic relations matters?

Is there an LAO that appoints all referees, describes their scope of authority, and contains their contact information? AO 2009-6.

Can the referee conduct hearings safely in accordance with court rules or Supreme Court Order (e.g., comply with social distancing, hold hearings remotely when possible)?

Is there an electronic or stenographic record of each referee hearing? Does it comply with Michigan Trial Court Standards for Courtroom Technology?

Do referee recommendations:

• Provide parties with an understanding of their rights and responsibilities? • Advise parties of their opportunity to state specific objections to the

recommendation? • Allow judges to understand both the recommendation and the referee’s reasoning? • Allow courts to restrict any later judicial hearings to the contested issues?

Can referees create a recommendation within 21 days of holding a hearing?

Does the court limit the number of written recommendations to maximize the number of hearings a referee can hold?

Does the court provide for interim effect of orders? MCR 3.215(E)(1)(c).

• Is there a process to have interim effect for orders that most likely will enter without objection?

• Is there a process to enter orders on an interim basis when they cannot automatically be given interim effect?

Does the court have a process for setting de novo hearings?

• Does the process maximize judicial resources by limiting hearings to contested issues only?

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• Does the process limit repetitive evidence?

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10.0 ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Can the office provide alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services as required by its FOC ADR Plan? MCL 552.513 and MCR 3.224.

Can the FOC screen the case for domestic violence using the FOC 124 before the ADR process begins? MCR 3.224.

Does the FOC offer mediation? MCR 3.224(G).

• Can the mediator meet with the parties? • Can the office ensure that communications during mediation will remain

confidential? • Can the office provide FOC ADR mediation reports? • Can the office prepare consent orders after mediation?

Does the FOC offer Facilitative and Information-Gathering Conferences? MCR 3.224(F).

• Can the facilitator meet with the parties? • Can the office provide facilitative information-gathering reports, proposed orders, and

recommendations?

Does the FOC offer Joint Meetings? MCR 3.224(H).

• Can the facilitator meet with the parties? • Can the office provide joint meeting reports, consent orders, and recommended

orders?

Can the FOC ADR be provided for in the court’s ADR plan?

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11.0 FACILITIES

Is the FOC office easily accessible to the public?

• If there are physical limitations, are there other methods of communication with the office (e.g., e-mail, MiChildSupport 2-Way Communication, phone, U.S. mail, or facsimile)?

Does the office have at least one reception and waiting area for visitors, where people can

be spaced six feet apart?

Are furnishings durable and easy to maintain and disinfect by cleaning staff?

Can the FOC provide face masks under EO 2020-59?

Does the office have hand sanitizing dispensers and sanitizer for staff and public use?

Can the FOC provide gloves for staff handling money and client paperwork?

Does the office have access to daily cleaning staff who can adequately clean and disinfect office surfaces?

Does the office provide a separate cashier window/counter?

If the FOC has private offices for meetings, does the FOC have:

• The ability to accommodate one or two visitors with each being able to remain six feet apart?

• Alternate meeting space available in the building where staff can have in-person meetings while maintaining the six feet of physical distance from the customer?

• Offices located in areas removed from the noise and traffic of the main office?

Does the office include convenient access to records, equipment, and supply storage; a separate mail opening and sorting area in a secure part of the office; and space for office equipment?

Does the office space meet The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for government offices to be reasonably accessible to those with disabilities? For more information, see The Michigan Courthouse: A Planning and Design Guide for Trial Court Facilities.

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12.0 SECURITY

Is there a secure separation between the public access area and the private work areas?

• Are FOC staff able to control access to private areas (e.g., building security allows only so many people in FOC office at a time, staff-only areas accessible by key)?

• Are there sufficient protective implements (personal protection equipment) available to limit staff exposure to potential infection?

• Do staff working the customer service and payment windows have immediate access to a duress alarm?

Can office areas sustain adequate social distancing in compliance with federal, state and Supreme Court directives?

Can the office comply with local and state mandated health screening procedures for employees and the public entering the building?

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13.0 TECHNOLOGY On-Site Technology Needs

Do staff who need them have access to a telephone, paper shredder, facsimile machine, network server, photocopier, printer, and worktable?

Do staff have an office-provided computer or access to a computer with a monitor, printer, and scanner?

Do staff have the ability to safely open and, if applicable, image incoming mail?

Does the office have the ability to mail out or serve electronically necessary documents to customers, either through the local office or through Central Print services? Remote Technology Needs

Does staff have a dedicated workspace at home to use for office functions?

Does staff have reliable internet service at home (e.g., cable, Ethernet, phone/modem)?

Does staff have the ability to access MiCSES remotely under OCS Policy (IV-D Memorandum 2016-013, Remote Access for County IV-D Offices)?

Can staff access the office network in a secure manner from home?

Does staff have an office-supplied computer to use at home (not using personal devices)?

Can staff log into the office phone line or access their individual voice mail?

Can staff access office e-mail from home?

Staff should be 100 percent electronic if working from home; however, if staff intends on printing work documents at home (on their own personal devices), does staff have the ability to store confidential documents at home until the documents can be returned to the office for confidential record destruction?