Kent County Friend of the Court
Grand Rapids,
Michigan
Traci Schenkel started her legal career representing parents in domestic relations cases in several counties across Western Michigan. She left private practice in 2014 to join the Kent County Friend of the Court, where she serves as the Friend of the Court. Ms. Schenkel serves on several committees including the Michigan parenting time guideline advisory committee, Kent County ADR Oversight Committee, YWCA safe connections advisory board, Domestic Violence Community Coordinated Response Team (Kent County), Healthy Kent Dads Count! Coalition, Michigan Child Support Antiracism Transformation Team, the SAVES Grant Statewide Domestic Violence Workgroup, and board of the Legal Assistance Center. She has also been an adjunct professor at Cooley Law School since 2010, where she teaches family law. Previously, Ms. Schenkel was the Assistant Friend of the Court and ADR unit casework supervisor, overseeing child support enforcement, custody and parenting time investigations, parenting time enforcement, mediations, and office operations. Ms. Schenkel has presented at a variety of conferences and trainings including the Michigan Judicial Institute, Michigan Family Support Counsel, Friend of the Court Association, and Grand Rapids Bar Association. In 2018 and 2019, she partnered with the State of Michigan and the Department of Justice to develop a pilot training designed for FOC custody investigators, referees and judges: "Domestic Violence Informed Practice in the Context of Custody and Parenting Time Plans."
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