Michigan's Access Grant Program

Engler Announces Grants to Friend of the Court
$380,000 to Promote Access and Visitation of Children


Governor John Engler announced today the award of 10 grants totaling $380,179 to local Friends of the Court. The funds -- to promote access and visitation of children -- are intended for rural programs not traditionally served.

Application for these funds was restricted to local Friends of the Court, however, they were encouraged to partner with outside agencies concerned with visitation and access issues in their community. Fourteen Friends of the Court submitted applications and 10 were approved based on available funding. All 10 approved applicants indicated in their proposals that they plan to partner with an outside agency.

"Many children are denied the opportunity to spend time with their non-custodial parent because of a variety of complicating factors," said Engler. "Increased personal involvement by the non-custodial parent translates into greater financial and emotional responsibility. This is a win-win situation for both the parent and the child."

Access and visitation grants were awarded to the following county Friends of the Court: Alpena, $16,700 for supervised visitation in domestic violence cases;

Cass, $67,710 for supervised visitation;

Clare/Gladwin, $57,216 for supervised visitation at a secure facility;

Houghton/Baraga/Keweenaw, $33,669 for supervised visitation at a secure facility;

Jackson, $45,000 for expanded supervised visitation at a secure facility;

Kalamazoo, $25,000 for supervised visitation and counseling;

Lapeer, $14,625 for SMILE (Start Making it Livable for Everyone - creating parent awareness of the effect of an absent parent on the child) enhancement for paternity cases;

Tuscola, $12,159 for SMILE enhancement/travel funding for visitation;

Wexford, $8,100 for a direct visitation program;

Clinton, $100,000 to develop a video and resource materials in partnership with the state-level Friend of the Court Association.

The video and associated materials will focus on single parents and paternity establishment. The video and associated materials will be piloted in Clinton County, as well as Oakland and Muskegon Counties and may eventually be expanded to other parts of the state.

"The grants will allow us to test several different approaches to increasing the involvement of non-custodial parents in the lives of their children," said Marva Livingston Hammons, Family Independence Agency Director.

"The projects funded by these grant dollars are a very good first step toward increasing parental involvement and responsibility."

In October, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $10 million to states as part of welfare reform changes. Additional grants will be offered in 1998.

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