State giving survivors of domestic violence a place at the table to review process

The State Court Administrative Office Friend of the Court Bureau (FOCB) is inviting domestic violence survivors/victims to join a statewide workgroup to review the domestic relations court process – including child support, custody, parenting time, and the paternity establishment process – through a trauma-informed lens. Applications will be accepted until May 1, in time for the May workgroup meeting. Learn more and apply.

“Learning from lived experience is so important, especially in the case of domestic violence. That’s why we need survivors who are willing to help develop these recommendations so that every step in the process is informed by their experiences,” said Justice Megan K. Cavanagh, Michigan Supreme Court co-liaison on child welfare issues with Justice Kyra H. Bolden.

“Families must receive support services while their safety is protected,” said Bolden. “With the help of trauma survivors, the goal of the workgroup is to help people safely navigate the court process through changes in everything from improved case management strategies to more participation in implementation of parenting time and child support orders.”

In addition to survivors/victims, the 30-member workgroup will be a partnership between domestic violence programs, child support providers, legal aid providers, and mental health experts. Funding for the project is provided by a Safe Access for Victims’ Economic Security (SAVES) demonstration grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. A substantial portion of the $805,500 five-year project will focus on comprehensive domestic violence policies, procedures, and program services to increase safe access to child support services for survivors/victims.

Individuals who have experienced domestic violence will play a key role in the case review process through stipend positions on the SAVES Workgroup and help ensure that new policies, procedures, and practices have taken into direct consideration the perspectives of people most impacted. Domestic violence survivors/victims will give input regarding their personal experiences and help inform the workgroup’s development of recommendations on changes that can be made in court procedures to assist trauma survivors navigating the court process.

The workgroup will focus on reviewing the child support, custody, and parenting time process from the parent’s first interaction with the court through the life of the case. While reviewing the process, this workgroup will identify state policies, procedures, court rules and law that require modification to provide parents in Michigan with a process that is safe, accessible, fair, and trauma-informed. Workgroup considerations may include:

• Mapping all processes and procedures to identify opportunities to reduce the imbalance of power and control;

• Creating revised case and courtroom procedures that consider the safety of participants and the dynamics of domestic violence at every step in the process;

• Revising rules of evidence that reduce the opportunity to use the legal system to continue to allow an imbalance of power and control;

• Developing education, outreach, and written materials to explain how the processes work to protect individuals and encourage parties to use and understand the
process;

• Use of technology and related trauma-informed approaches to remote hearings and meetings.

• Reviewing and recommending revisions of Michigan’s Family Violence Indicator (FVI) policy, SCAO’s Friend of the Court Domestic Violence Resource Guide, Office of Dispute Resolution’s Domestic Violence Screening Guide, and other domestic relations related policies and publications.

• Creating new publications and forms for parents in the trauma-informed domestic violence prevention court program.

To apply for the workgroup and find out more information about the SAVES demonstration grant, visit the FOCB website at www.courts.michigan.gov/administration/offices/friend-of-the-court-bureau/resources-by-topic/Domestic-Violence-Resources.