By ESTHER WAL
By KI SEALY WHITE
C.pltlll New. Serv ce
lowed to participate in extracur­
ricular activiti , uch po ,
if they do no uphold their finan­
cial r pon ibilitie to heir
child.
But a I t one official in
Clare County do n't beli ve
th propo ed m ur will
work.
"I don't think they'r going to
be v ry sure ful," id J ck
Wint r, Fri nd of th Court for
CIa County.
I G - ew methods of
collecting child upport pay­
ments are under consideration
in the Legislature, but one area
official b liev it could all be ho
air.
Each cir ui court in Michi­
gan ha at least one Friend of
the Court office. Cr ted by th
Legislature to inv tigate, su­
pervi e, report and offer recom-
mendations on the child cu tody W
and support is u surrounding 0 Irons th main
divorc ca es, Friend of the factor that would inhibit th uc-
Court operates within a complex of the initiativ .
environment.
"The lack of fund at the
Thos who fail to pay child
support are found in con mpt of county I vel is such th t they
can't fford to enforc th
court and face the possibility of measure ... most of the small
jail, said Charl Peller, spokes-
person for the Michigan Depart- countie r running in the r ,"
ment of Social Services. Winter said.
"Anyonewhoisinarr rs lbe+- "If the Legi latur would ap-
hind] in child support is also re- propriate om fund, then I
ported to a credit bureau," Peller think it might work," Winter
said. said. "We need th pe onn I to
be able to do this. "
In addition to bills being de­
bated in the ,L gi lature, a Sen­
ate subcommittee has been
ormed to inv tigate th tat's
Friend of the Court yst m.
HA RED BY .R.
Robert Geake, R-Northville, this
subcommitt will xplor dif-
ferent w y 0 im rovi th
Friend of the Court yst m in
Michigan, id Bill rlivan,
clerk of the u ommitte and
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Geake.
ulliv n id eight tatewid
public h rin wer held from
January through March to 0-
licit input from admini trators
and employe in the Friend of
the Court and individual who
u e it.
The r sulting information,
Sullivan id, will be used to
help legislators d rmine the
kinds of revisions needed to
trengthen the Fri nd of the
Court system.
"Sen. Geske is planning on
having this fini hed before the
Legislature b ks for the sum­
mer," Sullivan aid.
A NY of
the prop d reform to Michi­
gan' child support and court
system are a part of Gov. John
Engler's emphasis on isting
families.
Winter, howev r, is skeptical
of the Legislature's ability to ef­
fectively addr problem that
may exist with Friend of th
Court.
"I don't believe the Legisla­
ture understands what a Friend
of the Court is or does. I think
See COURT, 85
PELLER ntof
the people expected to t ke part
in social contracts h tried or
are trying to either get work or
ge invol with th ir commu­
nities and" rn" wh t th Y r -
ive from th sta .
"We'r talkin bout xt nd­
ing something we've be n do­
ing," Peller id."W' b n
trying to iner ase peopl 's oppor­
tunities through educa ion nd
training."
But legisl tors lik p. Bill
UNCONTROLLED HIGH BLOOD
PRESSURE IS A LEADING
CAUSE OF KIDNEY
DISEASE
OME OF THE bills under
legislativ con ideration include
revoking driver's licenses, pre­
v nting people from registering
their cars nd denying the re­
newal of professional licenses,
said Gerald Miller, director of
MDSS. High- chool age fathers
also would not be exempt from
reel"i�xe..m u
. er cited a "no-pay, no-
whe i enacted, high
tudents would not be al-
ingto work for what th y r ive
from th teo
But, he said there
those who h either I
of ever tting work and
willing to continue th
and others who simply w nt to
collect a ch ck every month.
Those are th � p ple th state
needs to target, he said.
"It's tough for p ople who
need the help to not occasionally
sit in a rocking chair and giv up
hope, "he aid."E pecially when
they know th ch cit kJ com-
chan , he said.
Although public opimon
about the reform i still unde­
cided, Peller said his office is get..
ting a number of positiv
respo from people who ant
to involved. "People are
ing, 'is this going to affect me and
how can I get involved," he id.
Peller said th government
will never be able to totally
eliminate welfare, but he 100
forward to what the reforms will
accom plish in the next fe
years.
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