Kent County's Board of Commissioners voted to dissolve the county's Citizen Advisory Committee on October 24, 2024. The CAC was one of only two independent oversight bodies for Friend of the Court offices in the entire state of Michigan. Now there is one.

What Is a Citizen Advisory Committee?

Michigan law allows every county to create a Citizen Advisory Committee to independently review how the Friend of the Court handles grievances, parenting time disputes, child support enforcement, and custody cases. The CAC operates outside the FOC. It reviews complaints independently and advises the court. It is the only mechanism in Michigan law that provides external oversight of FOC operations.

Out of 75 FOC offices statewide, only Kent County and Macomb County had active CACs as of early 2024. By the end of the year, Kent had eliminated theirs.

What Happened

According to the 40th Annual Grievance Report published by the State Court Administrative Office, the Kent County CAC met twice in 2024, on January 29 and May 6. It received 12 FOC grievances but did not report on them before the Board of Commissioners voted to dissolve the committee.

No grievances were filed directly with the CAC during 2024. The committee had no pending matters at the time of dissolution.

The stated reasons for dissolution across Michigan counties have historically been cost, staffing, and low community interest. CACs were made optional in 2004 under Public Act 210.

What This Means for Kent County

Kent County is the fourth largest county in Michigan. Grand Rapids, the state's second largest city, is the county seat. The Friend of the Court handles thousands of family law cases involving child support, custody, and parenting time every year.

Without a CAC, the only way to file a complaint about the Kent County FOC is through the FOC itself. The office investigates complaints filed against its own employees and decides whether those complaints have merit. There is no independent reviewer. No external body. No second opinion.

What This Means for Michigan

Macomb County is now the only county in the state with an active Citizen Advisory Committee. One out of 75. That means 74 FOC offices in Michigan, including Kent County and Kalamazoo County, operate with no independent oversight whatsoever.

The grievance process in those counties functions the same way. A parent files a complaint. The FOC reviews it. The FOC decides whether it has merit. In Kalamazoo County, that process has produced a 100 percent denial or dismissal rate for six consecutive years, from 2020 through 2024. Zero corrective actions. Zero policy changes.

Kent County had the mechanism to prevent that kind of outcome. The Board of Commissioners chose to eliminate it.

The Data

Statewide in 2024, 372 grievances were filed with 53 FOC offices. 273 were denied. 58 were ruled nongrievable. Only 14 were acknowledged in full. The overall denial rate was 72.4 percent. Even with a functioning grievance system, the odds are against the parent filing the complaint.

Without a CAC, those odds get worse. There is no one watching. There is no one asking questions. The data from counties without independent oversight reflects that reality.