Jim!

The Genesee County Friend of the Court (FOC) is a strange entity.  Not specifically Genesee County, but I base this entry on the fact that they’re the only FOC I’ve ever had dealings with.  I have heard, however, horror stories related to The Friend of the Court from many individuals.  It’s easy to deduce that a) my problems with the FOC were trivial compared to others and b) the mentality of the FOC is, in general, misguided and off-course, and borders on being a bully.

First off, why are they called the Friend of the court?  It should be called “Friend of the Custodial Parent”, because I’m not aware of any Non-Custodial Parent (NCP) who considers them a “friend”.  In fact, and without using extremely colorful language, they’re a pain in the ass.  Then again, anyone who routinely takes money away from you before you see it can be considered a pain in the ass.  (By any chance is the IRS reading this?)

Secondly, an ex-boss of mine made a pretty good statement a while ago, which I will relay here:  The only reason they haven’t found Osama bin Laden is because they haven’t asked the F.O.C. to find him.  Seriously.  These people can find anyone.  Why doesn’t someone who’s genuinely interested in bringing this ass-hat to justice simply contact any F.O.C. and sic them on him.  They found me in Florida in 1993.  (Before anyone jumps to conclusions, I was not running from them, I simply moved to FL with the red-headed dragon and would have appreciated at least one child-support-free check during the transition, but that didn’t happen.)

Ok, now to the real point of this post:  I seriously question the practices that the F.O.C. follows.  Their job, of course, is to make sure the child support is paid to the custodial parent.  There are times (for myself as well) that for *whatever* reason the NCP will fall behind on their payments.   In my case it was for extended times of unemployment.  When that happens they will usually garnish a higher amount of wages from each pay check to make up the difference.  In some cases they will issue a warrant for the arrest of the arrears-bearing parent.

This, my friends, is where I have an issue.

In the event that the paying party is in arrears (how much I’ve never been certain) the FOC can, at its own discretion, issue a warrant for the arrest of the non-paying NCP.  This, to me, seems counter-productive.  If the NCP isn’t working, putting them in jail is not going to help them get caught up on their payments, and it isn’t going to help them find a job.  If the NCP is working, putting them in jail will not only stop the revenue stream, but chances are that the NCP will lose their job because of this.  This, then, will result in a complete stoppage of payments, putting the NCP further in arrears.

In short, putting someone in jail for 45 days for not paying child support does more damage than any amount of good it causes

I appreciate that the FOC needs to keep the payments coming in, but this makes absolutely no sense to me.  At this point the FOC is acting more like a bully than a “friend”.  “Here, since you’re not paying, you can go to jail.  How do you like THAT, Mister?”

How does this make sense?  Is it going to motivate the NCP to find work?  No, it’s going to show them that the FOC cares not for your circumstances, for the economy, or whether you are able to work or not.  It is going to show them that they’re looking solely at the bottom line, and nothing else matters.

My dealings with the Genesee County FOC have never reached that extent, although I was threatened with it when I was pulled over about 15 years ago, but the jail was “full”. (WHEW!)  Nonetheless, I was working at the time, so money was being paid, I simply had an arrearage.

That is not to say that I’m not sympathetic for the person who is expecting payments and not getting them.  I know all too well how important that bi-weekly influx of cash can be when raising a child.  Something needs to be done to get the income flowing, however I don’t believe that incarcerating someone is the answer, as it’s cutting off the thing you’re trying to get.

And, sometimes, the FOC acts as if they are all-powerful and beyond reproach.  This article about a couple who ended up going bankrupt because the FOC took all of their money is a sad commentary on the blinders-on mentality of the FOC.  Sure, it’s extreme, but at the same time it didn’t need to pan out the way it did.  In this case FOC was a bully and took finances to which they were not entitled.  The couple kept the FOC informed of what was going on, and paid a visit to “finalize” a few things, but when they visited the office they were backed into a corner.  Bankruptcy ensued, and since the FOC took all their money, the check the couple wrote to FOC bounced…and you can see how that one ends.

In this article we read about the Genesee County FOC rounding up some deadbeat NCPs in a sweep.  What’s interesting in this case is not so much the article itself, but the follow-up comments after the article.  It is in those comments where the truth comes out.  Comments about how families are affected by the actions / inactions of the FOC.  Many of the comments put forth a point of view that either a) you hadn’t thought of or b) echo the hardships by both/either side when someone is taken away.

It doesn’t have to be FOC who issues an arrest warrant, either.  The Custodial Parent can, in some cases, submit a request for incarceration.  Again, This Doesn’t Make Sense.  What does the Custodial Parent have go gain by this, other than the gratification of knowing that they put someone in jail and that the NCP has suffered because of their action?  I have an ex-brother-in-law who was put in jail a couple of days before Thanksgiving by a conniving ex-wife.  What did this serve?  It separated a family during an important Family Holiday and made the ex-wife look insensitive and cruel.

I’m not pretending to have An Answer to this problem.  I agree that something has to be done to bring these delinquencies in line.   I do not think, however, that putting them in a position that prevents them from being able to provide money is the answer, as that only makes the matter worse.

Thank You for your time.