Friends of Family Court
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The purpose of this correspondence is to voice my concern regarding the recent recommendations to cut the Family Court Program. The length of time from filing to disposition in family law cases proceeding through the court system will be significantly compromised. We know that in Family Court Districts, the median age of a pending case is 98 days. In judicial districts without a Family Court, the median age of a pending case is 394 days. So, what would be the significance of the added delay?
Delays result in the postponement of establishing child support and distributing marital assets. Spouses needing funds allocated from hearings in these matters may be forced to seek public assistance while their cases languish.
Delays result in the postponement of permanent placement for children who are in the custody of the Department of Social Services. Such delays often equate to higher expenditures in foster care costs.
Delays increase the length of time children who have been adjudicated delinquent remain in detention facilities rather than of being monitored, educated and treated in the community.
The elimination of the Family Court program would also result in volumes of work shifting to understaffed Clerks, Custody Mediators, Judicial Assistants, Trial Court Coordinators and District Court Judges. Practicing members of the State Bar would quickly feel the negative impact as courts struggled to absorb large deficits in human resources. In essence, eliminating the Family Court program would do a tremendous disservice to litigants, the Courts and the community.
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