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Friend of Court group accessible on Web
March 19, 2009
GUEST OPINION – JIM RUNESTAD
In these tough and uncertain economic times, Oakland County’s families are facing perhaps their greatest challenges. Some families are equipped to accept these challenges and others, sadly, spiral apart.
The family is the basic unit of a successful society and when families split and descend into divorce proceedings, it reduces our collective societal strength.
And through the years, I have personally witnessed the devastating effects of divorce on our families and communities.
Divorce spreads like a cancer, engulfing extended relationships and destroying previously healthy adjoining family connections. All parties can be sucked into an emotional vortex that shatters lives and leaves permanent scars.
The majority of these cases eventually end up in the Friend of the Court system. Families introduced to this “Friend” for the first time are often surprised, if not shocked, to discover that this entity can have such a profound, long-lasting effect on their lives.
The court’s orders will be constructed by strangers and will encompass and affect everything the family members hold most dear. There is no doubt the Friend of the Court has a very tough job. It deals with issues that are fraught with emotion and, frequently, there are no clear answers.
My fellow commissioners have informed me that the majority of the calls they receive relate to the road system and then the FOC. Families often feel helpless when dealing with the FOC and it was clear to me and others that oversight would be helpful.
Working on behalf of more oversight, I traveled the state over a five-year period to encourage and work with Michigan counties to establish Friend of the court citizens advisory committees. The last county I worked was my own Oakland County in 2000. Despite some resistance and with some prodding, the majority of commissioners agreed to establish Oakland’s advisory committees. I was honored to be appointed to the first committee and completed my term in 2004.
However, after I finished my term, there were two attempts in the county structure to eliminate the committees. I and other concerned people raised enough ruckus to turn the tide and keep them intact and operational.
However, last year many of the same county players again attempted to eliminate the committees by pushing a State Senate bill to water down the committees’ scope and influence statewide. We were able to get that bill defeated.
Oakland County now has the premiere citizens advisory committee in the state. We have a mission statement, bylaws, grievance, governance and other committees. But, we have an awareness problem. Few people are even aware the court citizens advisory committees exist.
I am pleased to announce that with hard lobbying and the able assistance of Commissioner Marcia Gershenson, D-Bloomfield Hills, the commissioners have agreed to create a CAC Web presence on the board’s Web site.
This will allow anyone to access the CAC information. There, they can see the members of the CAC, type of grievances the committee can accept, dates, times and location of monthly meetings and most important, have the ability to complete grievance forms online and send them directly to the committee.
Working to create this online system was a promise I made to voters. I want to publically thank my fellow commissioners for making this long overdue dream and service to the families of Oakland County a reality.
Jim Runestad, R-Wateford Township, is the 6th-district county commissioner serving White Lake and Waterford townships.
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