Previously:
The News reported that Michigan's Friend of the Court system, created to make sure kids are taken care of when their parents divorce, has failed to collect and distribute $6.3 billion in child-support. As a result, hundreds of thousands of children are forced to live at economic levels below what courts have ruled they are entitled to. Statewide, the number of child-support cases has shot up one-third in 10 years to 1.1 million but staffing of the county child-support offices hasn't kept pace.
Sunday, June 24:
The Friend of the Court system, which also is charged with seeing that parenting-time orders are followed, can't keep up with the number of cases and disputes that arise.
Monday, June 25:
To resolve fights over parenting time, fathers' rights groups want to pass one of the country's strongest laws requiring joint custody in divorce cases.
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© Copyright The Detroit News.
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Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001
- Child support checks held up
- Installation of a mandated computer system
will slow payments to thousands of parents.
Sunday, May 20, 2001
Max Ortiz / The Detroit News
Norma Haigh and her two children, Sara, 8, and Stewart, 6, are only able to live in her Grosse Pointe Woods colonial because her ex-husband’s parents are making the mortgage payments. She says Wayne County’s Friend of the Court has not met its obligation to collect child support from her ex-husband.
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- Strained agencies fail Michigan's children
- Families are forced to struggle as $6.3B in child support goes uncollected
- Statistics by county
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- Michigan leads most other states
- State collects third-most payments in nation but is not enforcing laws efficiently, critics say
- State Had first 'Friend's' system
- Program designed in 1919 unable to deal with today's issues
- Mom wasn’t notified of ex’s disability money
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- Suspicions of hidden income tough to prove
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- Woman got payments after pushing for arrest
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- How the system works
Monday, May 21, 2001
- Wayne Co. program is worst in Michigan
- Deadbeat parents owe $3.5B; few prosecuted
- Court’s call center lacks resources
- 1,000 calls come in per day; only 10 are on hand to answer.
- Callers greeted with busy signals, long wait for help
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- New job, paper chase lands support-paying father in court
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- Mom picks up system’s slack; hunts deadbeat across borders
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- Mom: My life was consumed trying to make system work
Tuesday, May 22, 2001
- Costly fixes needed for complex problem
- More funds, staff, help from lawyers,agencies needed.
- Together, fathers fight the system
- They believe divorce laws are laced with biases favoring women; many feel victimized.
- Deadbeats tracked down
- Independent firms find parents when state-run agencies fail
Tuesday, May 29, 2001
- State keeps kids' money
- Unclaimed funds fail to make way to parents
- Wayne Friend of Court seeks those owed money
- The Wayne County Friend of the Court supplied The Detroit News with a list of 110 names of people for whom the court has exhausted all other search efforts.
Wednesday, May 30, 2001
- Lawmaker seeks child support law
- News report cited in quest to improve collections system.
- Macomb Friend of Court seeks those owed money
Sunday, June 24, 2001
Photos by Alan Lessig / The Detroit News
Scott Matelic, with wife Melissa and children Taylor and Devin, holds a picture of Amanda, 7, Matelic’s daughter from a previous relationship. He says he’s had no success getting the Friend of the Court to enforce his visits with Amanda.
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- Failed visitation policy harms kids
- Ineffective agencies won't enforce court-ordered time with children
- Agencies fail to uphold orders for parent visits
- Complaints take backseat to child support collection
- Parents tell Friend of Court to butt out
- Couple decides they can work together raising their son without the troublesome agency
- Fathers struggle to stay in kids’ lives
- Dads’ groups strive for laws protecting child-rearing role
- Dad fights to regain visitation
- Court thwarts father’s visitation efforts
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- Statistics by county
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- Family’s angst unresolved
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- Parenting time: Settling disputes
Monday, June 25, 2001
- Fathers push for equal custody
- Groups push alternatives to avoid skirmishes over parental rights, relieve clogged court
Thursday, June 28, 2001
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Kids-support agency cuts workers' pay
- Alternative is layoffs or service cutbacks as Wayne Friend of the Court faces $12M deficit.
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