Family court administrator focuses on improvement

by Jenny Thruston

SBJ Contributing Writer

sbj@sbj.net

Margie Vance, the family court administrator for the state of Missouri-Greene County, can say without reservation that she truly loves her job.

Greene County created the family court administrator position earlier this year; Vance took the position in May, with a salary of $54,600.

"This is a new position for Greene County. It's not new for the state. There are seven other family court administrators, but Greene County had never had one," said Vance. "I have a very distinctive role here in the family court. I administer and manage the day-to-day operation of the juvenile court and the family court. When I came on board, they had a very different way of looking at administering and how to manage day-to-day operations. The prior administration had a background in social work, but they did not have the background of business administration."

Family court oversees "anything that has to do with family issues," Vance said. The juvenile division deals with newborns through 17-year-olds. On the juvenile side, family court handles truancy issues, criminal offenses and runaways, as well as abused or neglected children. Family court issues fall under the jurisdiction of Judge Thomas E. Mountjoy, the family court judge who also is Vance's boss.

As administrator, Vance oversees both the family court as a whole, and the juvenile division.

"In the family court, you are going to deal with the father and mother who are getting divorced, with the custody battle, with orders of protection anything that has to do with the family, father, mother and children," Vance said. Adoptions and foster-care placement also are handled by the family court.

Before coming to Springfield, Vance was a department chair for the business administration program at Albuquerque Community College. Vance, who has a masters degree in business administration and is a Sam Walton Fellow, worked with the college's Students in Free Enterprise team. The team won several regional championships at the community college level under her tutelage.

It was family that brought her to the Springfield area.

"My husband has a brother in Hollister. We decided this was the place to be. And I tell you, it's like a little Garden of Eden. I absolutely love it here," said Vance. "The city of Springfield has a very unique community. It's very tight, very close, very conservative, very family-oriented. (It has) a lot of religion, a lot of churches and strong family values; I like it."

Vance came into her position ready to make a difference. She's starting by looking at the processes in place in the juvenile court system.

"I'm coming in with the perspective of looking at how to improve the current processes, how to eliminate redundancies, how to cut down on duplication, how to join forces, how to open doors so we can partner with community organizations that either provide the same services or can provide us with their services," said Vance.

She's also looking closely at her 86 staff members to make sure they're in the right positions.

"We're looking at every staff member to see if their talents are being utilized to the max. Just because you've been here for 25 years doesn't mean that you're effective or even that you're doing it the right way. It just means you've been doing it that way because it's the way it's always been done," said Vance.

Having the right person in the right job is essential, given that the number of staff members isn't that large compared to the number of children and families served. While Vance did not know the number of individuals served by family court as a whole, she said the juvenile division alone is working to serve the needs of more than 800 children in abuse and neglect cases.

Vance's job is largely administrative, but occasionally she'll meet with families. "Whenever there are issues where the parents feel there is a little bit of dissatisfaction with the way we handled a particular case, I always welcome them to come; I have an open door policy. They don't need an appointment. They can just come over and we can visit," said Vance.

Vance's job involves the delicate balance between county and state.

"We are Greene County, but we are married to the state of Missouri. Some of our staff works for the state, and some of our staff works for the county. But ultimately, the taxpayer is boss. I'm very cognizant of that. I take it very seriously. I want to ensure that we are providing the best services. I'm the physical guardian for those funds, so I'm responsible for overseeing the budget and making sure we are indeed utilizing those funds the way we are supposed to be," said Vance.

When asked what she feels she's accomplished so far, Vance mentioned mending fences within the community. "There were some misunderstandings and some misconceptions, and so my role has been to heal those wounds, to fix those misunderstandings," said Vance.

Vance has concrete goals for the juvenile court's future. By May, which will mark Vance's first year as the family court administrator, she plans to have taken the appropriate steps to ensure that each of her staff members is in the right position, where their talents are best used. In the long run, she plans to move toward providing more services that will benefit the community and the families served.

"My goal, my vision for the future, is to be an organization that will be a model for other circuits. I want to be the best juvenile court, the best family court in Missouri and possibly in the nation. We'll start small, though. We'll start with the state first," she said.