Privatization of Child Support Collection Opposed
Thursday / September 13, 2007
Union and County Commission oppose court's plan to
privatize child support collection.
Last week, we wrote that the Circuit Court of
Wayne County, Michigan, was soliciting bids from
private companies to replace the county's Friend
of the Court program, which has been responsible
for child support collection. We expressed
wariness of delegating a state's power to
collect child support to a private company.
Although politics was not an emphasis of our story, the Detroit Free Press said that the privatization plan would be opposed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents Friend of the Court workers.
As it turns out, the privatization proposal has become a political football, but not for the public/private concerns we expressed. Instead, it has become a labor issue. Only a few days after the Circuit Court announcement, the Wayne County Commission voted 14-1 to oppose child support privatization. The Commission's Chair said: "The Wayne County Commission has spoken loud and clear that this plan tramples over the rights of more than 220 Wayne County employees who work at the Friend of the Court."
Today, Chief Judge Kelly of the Circuit Court published an op-ed piece in which she advocated a "public-private partnership" approach to child support collection and assured AFSCME that current workers' rights would be respected.
The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that Wayne County's Friend of the Court system is functioning poorly. Stay tuned as we follow this story to see how the courts, the politicians, the union and private child support companies struggle with each other to resolve it.
Although politics was not an emphasis of our story, the Detroit Free Press said that the privatization plan would be opposed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents Friend of the Court workers.
As it turns out, the privatization proposal has become a political football, but not for the public/private concerns we expressed. Instead, it has become a labor issue. Only a few days after the Circuit Court announcement, the Wayne County Commission voted 14-1 to oppose child support privatization. The Commission's Chair said: "The Wayne County Commission has spoken loud and clear that this plan tramples over the rights of more than 220 Wayne County employees who work at the Friend of the Court."
Today, Chief Judge Kelly of the Circuit Court published an op-ed piece in which she advocated a "public-private partnership" approach to child support collection and assured AFSCME that current workers' rights would be respected.
The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that Wayne County's Friend of the Court system is functioning poorly. Stay tuned as we follow this story to see how the courts, the politicians, the union and private child support companies struggle with each other to resolve it.
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