By Tracey M. Friend of the court FOC offices across the state have had to adjust and pivot in how they do business with the families they serve on a daily basis. However, in being forced to change how that process worked in order to keep the people we serve and our staff safe, I believe that we learned we can be flexible in how we provide those services. And through these changes we are providing excellent customer service while helping families resolve issues regarding the best interests of their children.
Can you believe that? Whether it came through a divorce with minor child DM or custody DC case filing, a referral in a court order, or through a parenting time motion, FIG conferences in Muskegon County were conducted in person. Whoever was working on the case would review it and gather background information, conduct domestic violence screenings, and schedule the parties — either together or separately, depending on the results of the domestic violence screening — for a conference in our office within the following two weeks.
The scheduling documents would be drafted and snail-mailed to the parties. On the date of the scheduled conference, parties would appear — we hoped — in person together or separately to meet with a family court counselor or family court specialist, depending on the case type, and a FIG conference would take place and hopefully a resolution reached.
At the end of a conference where an agreement was reached, parties would be seated in the hallway while the counselor or specialist drafted their agreement. Once completed, and the parties were brought back into the office to review and sign the agreement. If there was no agreement the parties would leave and wait for the documents to arrive by mail. We now serve a generation of parents who default to technology to do business wherever possible.
In addition to that segment of the population, we serve families who cannot easily come and sit in our offices for an appointment that may last two hours, not including travel time.
