Bill Text: MI SB0530 | 2013-2014 | 97th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Family law; friend of the court; powers and duties of office of child support; modify, and provide other general amendments. Amends secs. 9, 12, 13, 15, 22 & 26 of 1982 PA 294 (MCL 552.509 et seq.).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-12-30 - Assigned Pa 0382'14 With Immediate Effect [SB0530 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2013-SB0530-Engrossed.html
SB-0530, As Passed House, December 3, 2014
HOUSE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 530
A bill to amend 1982 PA 294, entitled
"Friend of the court act,"
by amending sections 9, 12, 13, 15, 22, and 26 (MCL 552.509,
552.512, 552.513, 552.515, 552.522, and 552.526), section 9 as
amended by 2004 PA 210, section 12 as amended by 1996 PA 276,
sections 13 and 15 as amended by 2009 PA 233, and section 26 as
amended by 2002 PA 571.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
9. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (2)
and
(3), after a support order is entered in a friend of the court
case,
the office shall receive each payment and service fee under
the
support order; shall, not less than once each month, record
each
support payment due, paid, and past due; and shall disburse
each
support payment to the recipient of support within 14 days
after
the office receives each payment or within the federally
mandated
time frame, whichever is shorter.
(2)
An office shall receive support order and service fee
payments,
and shall disburse support, as required by subsection (1)
until
the state disbursement unit implements support and fee
receipt
and disbursement for the cases administered by that office.
At
the family independence agency's direction and in cooperation
with
the SDU, an office shall continue support and fee receipt and
support
disbursement to facilitate the transition of that
responsibility
to the SDU as directed in, and in accordance with
the
transition schedule developed as required by, the office of
child
support act, 1971 PA 174, MCL 400.231 to 400.240.
(1) (3)
After SDU support and fee receipt and disbursement is
implemented
in a circuit court circuit, the office for that court
The office may accept a support payment made in cash or by
cashier's check or money order. If the office accepts such a
payment, the office shall transmit the payment to the SDU and shall
inform the payer of the SDU's location and the requirement to make
payments through the SDU.
(2) (4)
Promptly after November 3, 1999,
each office shall
establish and maintain the support order and account records
necessary to enforce support orders and necessary to record
obligations, support and fee receipt and disbursement, and related
payments. Each office shall provide the SDU with access to those
records and shall assist the SDU to resolve support and fee receipt
and disbursement problems related to inadequate identifying
information.
(3) (5)
The office shall provide annually
to each party,
without charge, 1 statement of account upon request. Additional
statements of account shall be provided at a reasonable fee
sufficient to pay for the cost of reproduction. Statements provided
under this subsection are in addition to statements provided for
administrative and judicial hearings.
(4) (6)
The office shall initiate and carry
out proceedings to
enforce an order in a friend of the court case regarding custody,
parenting time, health care coverage, or support in accordance with
this act, the support and parenting time enforcement act, and
supreme court rules.
(5) (7)
Upon request of a child support
agency of another
state, the office shall initiate and carry out certain proceedings
to enforce support orders entered in the other state without the
need to register the order as a friend of the court case in this
state. The order shall be enforced using automated administrative
enforcement actions authorized under the support and parenting time
enforcement act.
Sec.
12. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, in
a
format acceptable to the friend of the court, the family
independence
agency, and the consumer reporting agency, the office
of
the friend of the court the
title IV-D agency shall report to a
consumer reporting agency the arrearage amount for each payer with
an
arrearage of support of 2 or more months. On a monthly basis and
in
a format acceptable to the friend of the court, the family
independence
agency, and the consumer reporting agency, the office
of
the friend of the court The
title IV-D agency may make support
information available to the consumer reporting agency concerning
any
other payer who requests that report. The office title IV-D
agency shall not make information available under this subsection
to
a consumer reporting agency if the office unless the title IV-D
agency
determines that the agency does not
have receiving the
report furnishes evidence satisfactory to the title IV-D agency
that it is a consumer reporting agency and that it has sufficient
capability to systematically and timely make accurate use of the
information. and
if the agency does not furnish evidence
satisfactory
to the office that the agency is a consumer reporting
agency.
(2) Before making the initial support information available
under
subsection (1), the office of the friend of the court title
IV-D agency shall provide the payer with notice of all of the
following:
(a) The proposed action.
(b) The amount of the arrearage, if any.
(c) The payer's right to a review, the date by which a request
for a review must be made, and the grounds on which the payer may
object to the proposed action.
(d) That the payer may avoid the reporting of the arrearage
stated in the notice by paying the entire arrearage within 21 days
after the date notice was sent.
(3) The office of the friend of the court shall provide to a
payer a review to enable a payer to object to the reporting of the
support information, including an arrearage, on the grounds of a
mistake of fact concerning the amount of the arrearage or the
identity of the payer. If a payer requests a review within the time
specified
in the notice given under subsection (2), the office
title IV-D agency shall not report the support information as
required or permitted by this section until after 1 of the
following occurs:
(a) The payer fails to produce evidence that the support
information is incorrect and the time scheduled for the review has
passed.
(b) After conducting the review, the office determines the
correct support information.
(4)
The office of the friend of the court shall not make
support
information, including an arrearage, available under
subsection
(1) if 21 days have not expired after the date the
notice
was sent under subsection (2). The office of the friend of
the
court The title IV-D agency shall not report an arrearage
amount as required under subsection (1) if the payer pays the
entire arrearage within 21 days after the date the notice was sent
under subsection (2).
(5)
Within 14 days after the office of the friend of the court
title IV-D agency knows that incorrect information has been made
available
to a consumer reporting agency, the office title IV-D
agency shall contact the consumer reporting agency and correct the
information.
(6)
The state court administrative office of child support is
responsible for determining what support information should be
provided to a consumer reporting agency and establishing the
policies and procedures for making support information available to
a consumer reporting agency under this section.
(7) Upon request of a consumer reporting agency or the payer,
the
office of the friend of the court title IV-D agency shall make
available to the consumer reporting agency current support
information of an individual payer.
Sec. 13. (1) In a friend of the court case, the office shall
provide, either directly or by contract, alternative dispute
resolution to assist the parties in settling voluntarily a dispute
concerning child custody or parenting time. The alternative dispute
resolution
shall be provided pursuant according
to a plan approved
by the chief judge and the state court administrative office. The
plan adopted shall include a screening process for domestic
violence, the existence of a protection order between the parties,
child abuse or neglect, and other safety concerns, and the plan
shall provide a method to address those concerns. The plan shall be
consistent with standards established by the state court
administrative office under the supervision and direction of the
supreme court and shall include minimum qualifications and training
requirements
for alternative dispute resolution providers and
domestic relations mediation providers and a designation of matters
that are subject to alternative dispute resolution by various
means.
A party shall not may be required by
court order to meet
with a person conducting alternative dispute resolution. As used in
this subsection, "protection order" means a personal protection
order issued under section 2950 or 2950a of the revised judicature
act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.2950 or 600.2950a, a foreign
protection order as defined in section 2950h of the revised
judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.2950h, a condition of
pretrial release issued to protect a named individual under section
6b of chapter V of the code of criminal procedure, 1927 PA 175, MCL
765.6b, a condition of probation issued to protect a named
individual under section 3(2)(o) of chapter XI of the code of
criminal procedure, 1927 PA 175, MCL 771.3, or a condition of
parole issued to protect a named individual under section 36(16) of
the corrections code of 1953, 1953 PA 232, MCL 791.236.
(2) If an agreement is reached by the parties through friend
of the court alternative dispute resolution, a consent order
incorporating the agreement shall be prepared by an employee of the
office or individual approved by the court using a form provided by
the state court administrative office, under the supervision and
direction of the supreme court, or approved by the chief judge. The
consent order shall be provided to, and shall be entered by, the
court.
(3) Each alternative dispute resolution plan prepared
according to subsection (1) shall include an option for domestic
relations mediation. Except as provided in subsection (2), a
communication between a friend of the court alternative dispute
resolution and domestic relations mediation provider and a party
pertaining to the matter subject to resolution is confidential as
provided in court rule.
(4) An employee of the office or other person who provides
alternative
dispute resolution domestic
relations mediation
services under a plan approved under subsection (1) shall have all
of the following qualifications:
(a) Possess knowledge of the court system of this state and
the procedures used in domestic relations matters.
(b) Possess knowledge of other resources in the community to
which the parties to a domestic relations matter can be referred
for assistance.
(c) Other qualifications as prescribed by the state court
administrative office under the supervision and direction of the
supreme court.
(d) Other qualifications as prescribed by the chief judge of
the circuit court.
(5)
A domestic relations mediator who performs mediation
pursuant
to a plan approved under subsection (1) shall have all of
the
following minimum qualifications:
(a)
One or more of the following:
(i) A license or a limited license to engage in the
practice of
psychology
under parts 161 and 182 of the public health code, 1978
PA
368, MCL 333.16101 to 333.16349 and 333.18201 to 333.18237, or a
master's
degree in counseling, social work, or marriage and family
counseling;
and successful completion of the training program
provided
by the bureau under section 19(3)(b).
(ii) Not less than 5 years of experience in family
counseling,
preferably
in a setting related to the areas of responsibility of
the
friend of the court and preferably to reflect the ethnic
population
to be served, and successful completion of the training
program
provided by the bureau under section 19(3)(b).
(iii) A graduate degree in a behavioral science and
successful
completion
of a domestic relations mediation training program
certified
by the bureau with not less than 40 hours of classroom
instruction
and 250 hours of practical experience working under the
direction
of a person who has successfully completed a program
certified
by the bureau.
(iv) Membership in the state bar of Michigan and
successful
completion
of the training program provided by the bureau under
section
19(3)(b).
(b)
Knowledge of the court system of this state and the
procedures
used in domestic relations matters.
(c)
Knowledge of other resources in the community to which the
parties
to a domestic relations matter can be referred for
assistance.
(d)
Knowledge of child development, clinical issues relating
to
children, the effects of divorce on children, and child custody
research.
(5) Employees of the office who conduct any other form of
alternative dispute resolution shall have the qualifications to
conduct a joint meeting as described in section 42a of the support
and parenting time enforcement act, 1982 PA 295, MCL 552.642a.
Sec.
15. An employee of the office who provides alternative
dispute
resolution domestic relations
mediation in a friend of the
court case involving a particular party shall not perform referee
functions, investigation and recommendation functions, or
enforcement functions as to any domestic relations matter involving
that party.
Sec. 22. If the friend of the court serving a judicial circuit
is not an attorney who is a member of the state bar of Michigan and
that office does not employ such an attorney, the chief judge may
appoint an attorney who is a member of the state bar of Michigan to
assist the friend of the court when legal assistance is necessary
to carry out the duties imposed in this act. An attorney appointed
under
this section to assist an office shall be compensated in a
reasonable
amount, based upon time and expenses, to be determined
by
the county board or boards of commissioners of the judicial
circuit
served by that office. If the judicial circuit is one in
which
the employees serving in the circuit court are employees of
the
state judicial council, the compensation of an attorney
appointed
under this section shall be paid by the state and fixed
by
the state judicial council as provided in section 9104 of the
revised
judicature act of 1961, Act No. 236 of the Public Acts of
1961,
being section 600.9104 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.the
manner provided under section 27.
Sec. 26. (1) A party to a friend of the court case who has a
grievance concerning office operations or employees shall utilize
the following grievance procedure:
(a) File the grievance, in writing, with the appropriate
friend of the court office. The office shall cause the grievance to
be investigated and decided as soon as practicable. Within 30 days
after a grievance is filed, the office shall respond to the
grievance or issue a statement to the party filing the grievance
stating the reason a response is not possible within that time.
(b) A party who is not satisfied with the decision of the
office under subdivision (a) may file a further grievance, in
writing, with the chief judge. The chief judge shall cause the
grievance to be investigated and decided as soon as practicable.
Within 30 days after a grievance is filed, the court shall respond
to the grievance or issue a statement to the party filing the
grievance stating the reason a response is not possible within that
time.
(2) Each office shall maintain a record of grievances received
and a record of whether the grievance is decided or outstanding.
The
record shall be transmitted not less than biannually annually
to
the bureau. Each office shall provide public access to the
report
of grievances prepared by the bureau under section 19.
(3) In addition to the grievance procedure provided in
subsection (1), a party to a friend of the court case who has a
grievance concerning office operations may file, at any time during
the proceedings, the grievance in writing with the appropriate
citizen advisory committee. In its discretion, the citizen advisory
committee shall conduct a review or investigation of, or hold a
formal or informal hearing on, a grievance submitted to the
committee. The citizen advisory committee may delegate its
responsibility under this subsection to subcommittees appointed as
provided in section 4a.
(4) In addition to action taken under subsection (3), the
citizen advisory committee shall establish a procedure for randomly
selecting grievances submitted directly to the office of the friend
of the court. The citizen advisory committee shall review the
response of the office to these grievances and report its findings
to the court and the county board, either immediately or in the
committee's annual report.
(5) The citizen advisory committee shall examine the
grievances filed with the friend of the court under this section
and shall review or investigate each grievance that alleges that a
decision was made based on gender rather than the best interests of
the child.
(6) If a citizen advisory committee reviews or investigates a
grievance, the committee shall respond to the grievance as soon as
practicable.
(7) A grievance filed under subsection (3) is limited to
office operations, and the citizen advisory committee shall inform
an individual who files with the committee a grievance that
concerns an office employee or a court or office decision or
recommendation regarding a specific case that such a matter is not
a proper subject for a grievance.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.
