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Beginning October 1, 2022, The Friend of the Court will process all child support and paternity cases instead of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. All the employees who currently work to establish child support and paternity in the Prosecutor’s Office will continue their work as employees of the Friend of the Court. They will relocate into new office space in the Friend of the Court by the end of October.
This transfer of responsibility from the Prosecutor’s Office to the Friend of the Court was first allowed by Michigan law in 2015 and many counties have made this change. Consolidating child support establishment cases into the Friend of the Court, which is the office responsible for enforcement of child support orders, benefits the public because services related to child support and paternity can be handled in one office from beginning to the end.
“This change allows Friend of the Court to take a holistic approach in the cases we handle. Our Friend of the Court Division is equipped, especially with the addition of the individuals who are already doing this work, to handle a case all the way through, thus ensuring it’s right-sized from the beginning,” said Kris Getting, Friend of the Court.
This does not affect any pending child support matters in the court. The transition will only affect individuals whose new child support case will be filed after October 1, 2022 —now they will be served by the Friend of the Court offices in the Justice Center in Battle Creek, not the Prosecutor’s Office.
Individuals who want to establish a new child support case can file an application online with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services or they can file out a paper application for child support services that are available at the Friend of the Court.
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