The Friend of the Court Bureau analyzes statistics; reviews laws, regulations, and court rules; and reviews grievances and responses to provide guidelines for friend of the court operations. The FOCB assists circuit courts across the state with management assistance to improve local friend of the court operations. The FOCB also cooperates with the Department of Human Service's Office of Child Support to coordinate FOC offices in providing Title IV-D services.
The FOCB's primary functions are to:
Establish and implement child support policy and guidelines.
- Establish and implement parenting time and custody policy and guidelines.
- Develop and publish information pamphlets for public use.
- Provide training to FOC offices and their staffs.
- Develop forms for litigants to use to change child support, custody, parenting time, or domicile or residence, and to obtain a payment plan for support.
- Develop public education and orientation programs.
- Develop standards for procedures to transfer part or all of the responsibilities for a case from one office to another.
- Develop the Michigan Child Support Formula.
- Develop caseload and staffing standards.
- Develop guidelines to encourage plain language.
- Issue an annual grievance report.
- Certify alternative dispute resolution training programs.
- Assist the Office of Child Support in developing the Michigan Child Support Enforcement Information System.
You can find a wealth of information, including court forms, parenting resources and local court contact lists, here: http://courts.mi.gov/administration/scao/officesprograms/foc/Pages/default.aspx