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Family Court's reach expands
The project is courting success but battling the clock
NWI Times
Apr 15, 2001
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/family-court-s-reach-expands/article_d870b6b6-1277-5daf-a6b3-9610adf7dbbe.html
VALPARAISO -- If Family Court Coordinator Alison Cox has her way, families in conflict are going to see a much more user-friendly court, complete with a service access center. There, families will be guided on how to navigate the court system once they've seen the judge.
Many families find themselves in non-compliance with court orders simply because they don't know how to follow through, she said.
That's just one of the various programs in development through the Family Court pilot project, beginning its second year.
Porter County is one of three in the state earmarked by the Indiana Supreme Court to explore family court models.
The family court movement strives to consolidate various family issues before a single judge to better serve families as a whole and improve court efficiency.
But those, like Cox, who are charged with developing the court are finding the pilot project's two-year shelf life won't be enough.
"It's a big endeavor, much bigger than we ever thought," Cox said. "The other two (counties) are feeling that way, too."
Cox said she is in regular touch with her counterparts in Monroe and Johnson counties.
"The big thing right now is that there is this prediction that two years isn't going to do it," she said. "We're looking at a change in the thought process of our judicial system. Our judicial process hasn't looked at the family as a whole, and it's going to take a long time to change the process."
Cox said it's taken a full year for even the key members of the coordinating team to "get a hold on it."
The local project's chief architect, Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper, agreed the complexity of the task has been a surprise.
"We're working in a lot more areas than I had expected initially," she said.
For example, while mediation services were always on the drawing board, they have been expanded to many more areas than originally considered. What Harper calls "the mediation project" is reaching families involved in juvenile, paternity, divorce and post-divorce conflicts.
Another major, perhaps radical, departure from original plans is the court embracing even those families who are not involved in multiple courts.
"But that's because there's a major need for changing the way we do business," she said.
Over the last year, the idea has gained the support of the Porter County Bar Association, a necessary ally if the project is to succeed.
Nine attorneys are trained as mediators, courtesy of an Indiana Supreme Court grant secured by Harper. Although the grant pays some or all of the fees for families who can't afford the service, the attorneys agreed to nevertheless lower their rates.
Harper said she has sought out attorneys who were active in family law and good at it.
"They're carrying the torch now," she said.
Their success has surprised Magistrate James Johnson, one of the county's two magistrates, who handle most of the divorce caseload.
"It's certainly a preferable alternative," Johnson said. "I've seen some really amazing results from cases that I never thought would mediate but have."
Johnson said he had harbored some doubts.
"I wasn't so sure that in family law, it was the best avenue because of the emotion involved," he said. "There are separate issues, those involving children and (those) involving property. I thought the property issues could mediate. I've been shown since that it's useful in both those areas."
Johnson credited the attorneys' skill.
"They've gotten a lot of people trained, thanks to this program," he said.
Johnson said the improved communication the attorneys offer builds bridges within families in conflict.
"We want to build the bridges, not destroy them," he said.
The combined effect of the mediation project is to move families through the system at a much faster rate, according to Cox.
"What we've found is families are waiting and waiting and waiting for these court hearings to get these issues resolved," she said. "While we have a hearing nine months down the line, a child is waiting, saying, 'Do I have to put up with mom and dad fighting for these nine months?' "
In addition to joining the mediation project, the bar association has organized a family law section. At their first meeting Monday, members formed a subcommittee to explore improving custody evaluations, according to Harper.
"The subcommittee will be looking into real-time needs and reasonable attorney fees," she said.
But the clock is running on these projects and others.
"Technically the grant funds run out Dec. 31," Cox said. "We're out of money at that time, although the mediation funds go until next February. We're really, really hoping to get further funds."
Harper, in her usual style, already is making some contingency plans, but confesses to some concerns given the county's own budget restraints.
"I don't know how they'll handle it downstate," she said. "I hope they understand the massive amount of work to set this up."
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