Kalamazoo FOC Throws Out Complaints 3.6 Times Faster Than Any Other County in Michigan

83 percent nongrievable versus 23 percent statewide. Five years of grievances. Zero corrective actions. Not once.

KALAMAZOO, Mich., March 31, 2026 — When a citizen files a grievance against the Kalamazoo County Friend of the Court, the most likely outcome is that the FOC will decide the complaint does not qualify for review. In 2022, five out of six grievances were classified as nongrievable. That is 83 percent. The statewide average was 23 percent.

Nongrievable means the FOC looked at the complaint and decided it fell outside the scope of the grievance process. No investigation into the facts. No review of the merits. The complaint is over before it starts.

In 2023, the pattern continued. Three grievances were denied. Three were ruled nongrievable. All six resulted in no action. No policy was changed. No employee was disciplined. No procedure was revised.

This is not one bad year. This is five consecutive years. From 2020 through 2024, the Kalamazoo County FOC has not acknowledged a single grievance in full or in part. Not once. The combined denial and nongrievable rate is 100 percent.

Other counties in Michigan do occasionally find merit in complaints. In 2023, 33 grievances statewide were acknowledged in full and 40 in part. Kalamazoo contributed zero to both numbers.

The question is not whether the grievance process works in Kalamazoo. The data already answered that. The question is what it is for.

“100 percent over five years. That is not a complaint process. That is a filing cabinet.,” stated Kalamazoo Transparency Act.