KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – If federal cuts hit Kalamazoo County, as it appears they will, the county board may have some tough choices to make, and they got a test run on how that discussion may go.
County Prosecutor Jeff Getting lost a key member of his staff handling paternity cases and can’t find anyone to replace her. He plans to hand off the duties of investigating paternity to the state, saying with limited resources, he had to choose between prosecuting felons and chasing irresponsible dads.
“That’s why we are doing this, we’re not doing this to hurt anyone, we’re doing it because we can’t do it anymore, this is how we help the most people in the community,” said Getting.
Board chair Jen Strebs says protecting children from the effects of broken homes and failure to pay child support is a high priority.
“People around this Dias, you know, who are mothers, understand the impact,” she said. “There’s not a male in our community who will ever face the threat of not having the other parent of their child deny parenthood and deny the support legally obligated to that child.”
The debate got heated at times.
Getting says many other counties in Michigan have already handed off paternity investigations to the Friend of the Court, but Chief Judge Gary Giguere says they can’t do it, either.
In the end the board voted 5-to-4 to go with Getting’s plan for now but will continue the search for alternatives that would bring the cases back to Kalamazoo.
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