Summary of State and Local Justice Initiatives 2000

FAMILIES: Family Courts, Family Law, Divorce, etc.

Family court can be defined both as a court structure and/or court function and no two states that have addressed family case coordination in the justice system have adopted the same solution. Generally speaking, family courts involve juvenile proceedings, divorces, child custody, support and visitation issues, adoption, guardianships, domestic and child abuse issues, etc. The intent of family courts is to keep all family related judicial matters under one roof. In many instances, there is more than one departmental aspect to each case and rather than have the family follow the case from court to court, an attempt is made to consolidate all issues within the family court.

In California, the Center for Children and the Courts was established as part of the Administrative Office of the Courts. The primary purpose of the Center is to maximize the effectiveness of court services for children and families, implement innovative court-related programs for children and families, and promote those services in the legal community and to the public.

In Colorado the Denver Metro Volunteer Lawyers hold Family Law Courts in all the metro area counties where low-income people receive assistance with divorce.

The Delaware Family Court now includes a mediation component for custody, visitation and child support that resolves approximately 70% of its cases and provides a more comfortable, user-friendly atmosphere. Also, Family Court members present seminars to the community providing general information about the court and its jurisdiction and have been involved in many committees and organizations involved in outreach to the community.

In Illinois, the Family Violence Coordinating Council works across the health, justice and social service systems to improve the administration of justice in domestic violence cases.

During its 1999 legislative session, the Indiana General Assembly approved a request by the Chief Justice to fund a Family Court project. The Indiana Supreme Court’s Family Court Task Force helped the Court define the scope of the project. Each of the pilot county projects offered a unique approach to the common goal of helping families better resolve their problems in the judicial system. The Johnson County effort is taking a one family – one judge approach by utilizing a case manager to direct all of one family’s related cases to the same magistrate.

In North Dakota, the Joint Court/Bar Family Law Task Force had completed its work in 1999 when the state legislature by resolution called for a joint study of family law issues with the Task Force. The resolution provided the Task Force with a unique opportunity to review problems in the system with legislators rather than simply presenting testimony to them. It serves as another avenue for legislators to learn about the judicial system and in particular, the family law process.

The Washington Access to Justice Board has launched a new Family Law Access to Justice Task Force to take a hard look at the current family law system in Washington State and to recommend necessary changes.

The West Virginia Legislature created a new family court division within the circuit court of each county effective October 1, 1999.

Further information on family courts may be obtained from the ABA Family Law Section, 312/988-5603; the ABA Judicial Division, 312/988-5685, the ABA Steering Committee on the Unmet Legal Needs of Children, 202/662-1675, the National Center for Juvenile Justice, 412/227-6950 and the National Center for State Courts, 757/259-8798 and the ABA Office of Justice Initiatives Fact Sheets found at www.abanet.org/justice.