A major goal of Family Court is to coordinate all the case management and service agency efforts for a single family in distress. Family Courts offer a more consistent, efficient use of trial time for these cases.
Special family court judges hear all cases involving juvenile delinquency charges; neglect and abuse charges; termination of parental rights and adoptions; domestic violence; child custody and visitation rights; divorce and related financial issues like child support, alimony, or equitable distribution of property; and involuntary commitments.
Under the Family Court concept, local alternative dispute resolution programs, such as mediation, are used frequently to resolve the issues without the court issuing a judgment or order. The case managers will arrange for mediation between the parties, or divorce education, or drug counseling, or whatever services the family members (adults and children) might need to reach a resolution of the conflicts without having to proceed with an adversarial hearing in court. When a judge does need to hear matters involving that family and to issue orders in the case, the case managers will make sure that there is nothing in that case that will delay the prompt resolution of the issue before the court. In addition, frequent training sessions are provided for the family court judges to increase their judicial expertise in dealing with family matters.
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