The Federal Government Told States to Stop Jailing Parents Who Cannot Pay. Kalamazoo County's FOC Never Stopped.

The FEM Rule, the DOJ, and the Supreme Court all said the same thing. FOC offices in Michigan, including Kalamazoo, kept issuing bench warrants.

KALAMAZOO, Mich., April 1, 2026 — After the University of Michigan proved that jailing parents reduces child support compliance, the federal government responded. In December 2016, the Office of Child Support Enforcement finalized the Flexibility, Efficiency, and Modernization Rule. It told states to base child support orders on what parents actually earn, not on income the court imagines they could earn. It told states to pursue alternatives to incarceration.

The same year, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a Dear Colleague letter establishing that jailing people who cannot pay violates the 14th Amendment. If a parent cannot pay and the state jails them without a genuine finding of ability to pay, the state is operating a debtors prison.

The Supreme Court had already weighed in. In Turner v. Rogers in 2011, the court held that procedural safeguards are required before jailing someone for civil contempt in child support cases. That includes a genuine determination of ability to pay.

By 2016 the picture was complete. The research proved it does not work. The federal rule said stop. The DOJ said it may violate the Constitution. The Supreme Court required safeguards.

The Kalamazoo County Friend of the Court continued to operate the same way. Families in Kalamazoo County who fall behind on child support face the same enforcement tools that the federal government told the state to move away from. The warnings were issued. The rules were changed. The practice in Kalamazoo did not change with them.

“The study said stop. The federal rule said stop. The DOJ said it may be unconstitutional. Kalamazoo's FOC did not stop.,” stated Kalamazoo Transparency Act.