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County awaits go-ahead for family court
NWI Times
Jan 22, 2000
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/county-awaits-go-ahead-for-family-court/article_2898c0cb-7aa6-5854-9469-3b9abf39e33b.html
VALPARAISO -- Porter County has been selected as one of six counties whose funding application for a family court pilot project will be reviewed by the Indiana Supreme Court.
The recommendation could be sent to the high court as early as Monday.
The court is expected to act quickly, said Appellate Court Judge Margret Robb, head of the special task force appointed by the high court to review applications.
If successful, Porter County could see the beginnings of a family court structure in as little as 14 days after acceptance by the high court.
The family court movement is a sweeping change in philosophy in which court cases involving various members of a single family are treated holistically by one judge rather than separately by judges without knowledge of all that is going on with that family.
Supporters say the court needs a coherent picture of the whole family to make decisions in each individual's best interest. Critics argue that approach taints the individual's right to a fair hearing.
In addition to Porter County, the special task force will be recommending proposals from Monroe, Johnson, Cass, Putnam and Posey counties. Three of those six counties will be chosen for the pilot project.
Porter, with a population of 145,000, is the largest of the contenders, followed by Monroe at 115,000 and Johnson at 110,000. Cass, Putnam and Posey have populations ranging from 26,000 to 38,000.
Robb said while the task force did not focus on size, it is a factor.
"Size is an issue," Robb said. "Theoretically, counties could have exactly the same project (in mind), and not be as effective in terms of resources."
The final victors will have to make do with an estimated $280,000 over two years between them.
The awarding of the grants, however, is far more flexible than originally proposed two years ago through a legislative initiative. At that time, the plan was to make like awards to a large, mid-size and small county. The legislative effort failed, but the court subsequently was successful in securing additional funds for its own budget in order to award the grants.
This time around, the court is expected to allocate the funds as needed, which means one county may get as much as two-thirds of the pie with the others sharing the rest. "We've asked each county to give us their financial needs, wish list and bottom line," Robb said.
In Porter County, the wish list would be augmented by funds from the budget of Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper as well as a contribution by Porter-Starke Services in the form of the salary paid to the project's local coordinator.
The proposal, authored by Harper, requests $61,100 annually from the state court with her court matching $31,600. In addition, Harper has requested supplementary funding of $18,000 from the Court Improvement Project, the state component of a national undertaking to improve family law adjudication.
The 22-page proposal is largely grounded in an expansion of community programs that have been under way for some years: the Chronic Repeat Offender Program in which juvenile court staff work closely with the schools, and the Juvenile Summit Team in which a coalition of the judiciary, social service agencies and schools work together to improve communication among agencies and collaborate on case handling. Pivotal to any family court structure is a computerized case management system, which is near completion.
"I hope to bring the same approach as the Juvenile Summit Team to the table," Harper said in discussing the focus of the family court project.
In her work over the past two years in formulating the proposal, Harper said she has found the two "absolute commonalties" in family troubles -- the combination of domestic violence and substance abuse. Her proposal includes bringing on board the assistance of extended family and mediation to aid such families.
"I hope the people in Indianapolis find that innovative," she said.
Harper's proposal indicates she has spent time bringing the community on board as well.
"We've got a terrific circuit court judge," said Lee Grogg, head of Porter-Starke Services. "We've been working on the Summit for the better part of three years, and we're hearing the cases encompass a broad spectrum of problems."
"One of the primary concerns among lawyers is how to best use their time," said Valparaiso attorney David Chidester, past president of the Porter County Bar Association and Harper's husband.
Chidester was president of the group when Harper presented her family court plan to the bar, which is said to be supportive of the initiative.
"If (a lawyer) can handle a CHINS (Child in Need of Services) case, a dissolution matter or an alcohol-related case all in the same place on the same day and help his practice and his client, I think that's why the lawyers are in favor of it," he said. "We see the same family in a myriad of courts."
Bar member Joanne Eldred agreed, citing a case in which custody issues involving two children in the same family were being heard in two different courts. "It doesn't make sense...," she said. "I think it's very good and very helpful for one judge to follow a family and how (one set) of issues can affect other issues."
While Harper, as juvenile court judge, has led the local movement toward adopting a family court model, the project is supported by her fellow judges.
"We're all in favor of it," Porter Superior Court Judge Thomas Webber said.
"The state has the money and they need to start spending it before they lose it. Things are pretty much in place to start the project."
Newly named Appellate Court Judge Nancy Vaidik said the new model allows the left hand to talk to the right. "That's not often the case with courts anywhere, and Judge Harper's plan does just that. It allows the free-flowing of information between agencies to serve the people of Porter County and particularly the families of Porter County."
