Know What They Know

The primary FOC handbook. Covers general duties, case administration, rights and responsibilities, mediation, grievances, and enforcement. Read this first.

The current formula manual effective January 1, 2025. Covers income definitions, deductions, healthcare costs, childcare, overnights, and deviation criteria. This is the playbook they use to set your support amount.

Updated economic data including tax tables, self-support reserves, and income adjustments that supplement the main manual.

Prior version. Still relevant for cases filed under the 2021 formula. Compare with the 2025 version to see what changed.

Published by SCAO. Covers frequency, duration, holidays, summer schedules, transportation, and age-appropriate parenting time. This is the baseline they start from.

Links to each Michigan county's local parenting time guidelines and holiday schedules. Find Kalamazoo County's specific version here.

The primary manual for FOC investigators. How they conduct custody investigations, evaluate the 12 best interest factors (MCL 722.23), screen for domestic violence, conduct interviews, and write reports. THIS is what they follow when they evaluate your family.

SCAO guideline covering the Child Custody Act factors, evaluation standards, and how custody determinations should be made.

Training material from the Michigan Judicial Institute on making child custody determinations. Factor-by-factor analysis of MCL 722.23. This is what they teach the judges and staff about how to weigh each factor.

The checklist FOC mediators follow. Covers screening procedures, domestic violence protocols, and mediation process steps.

Official standards governing how mediators must behave. If your mediator violated these standards, this is your evidence.

Qualifications, training hours, and certification requirements for court mediators. Verify your mediator met these requirements.

Comprehensive guide covering all ADR processes including Domestic Relations Mediation under MCR 3.216.

Resource compilation for FOC staff providing custody, parenting time, and ADR services. Includes the DV screening form (FOC 124).

SCAO-published model manual covering ALL FOC operations. Based on the Friend of the Court Act (MCL 552.501), Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act, Michigan Court Rules, and SCAO directives. This is the template every county FOC office is supposed to follow.

SCAO guide for FOC staff on addressing domestic violence. Covers custody investigations, mediation screening, and safety planning procedures.

Central index of ALL policy memoranda issued by SCAO to FOC directors and referees. Covers child support formula changes, procedural updates, and operational directives.

Step-by-step checklist judges follow during divorce proceedings.

The exact checklist judges follow when establishing parenting time. Know what they should be considering.

Checklist for modifying existing parenting time orders. If you are seeking a change, know the steps the judge must follow.

Checklist judges follow when issuing child support orders. Every step they are required to take.

Checklist for proceedings involving changing a child's legal residence (relocation cases).

Checklist for custody disputes involving third parties (grandparents, other relatives).

Full benchbook covering child protection proceedings. Relevant when abuse or neglect allegations intersect with custody.

Central page listing ALL Michigan Judicial Institute benchbooks and quick reference materials for judges.

Official SCAO-approved form for filing a grievance against a Friend of the Court office. Print, fill out, and submit.

Official explanation of the grievance process: file with FOC, escalate to chief judge, then to SCAO. Lists what is and isn't 'grievable.'

Annual statistical report on FOC grievances filed statewide. See the denial rates for yourself.

The complete statutory text of the Friend of the Court Act (MCL 552.501 et seq.) from the Michigan Legislature. This is the law that creates and governs the FOC.

Courts.michigan.gov page collecting all relevant statutes and court rules for FOC operations in one place.

Official FOC Bureau page on custody and parenting time topics, forms, and resources.