Family Court Enhancement Project (FCEP)

Courts and allied professionals should make decisions and/or issue orders regarding child custody and parenting time that effectively address domestic violence by accounting for the nature and context of the abuse and its implications for children and parents.

Values: Safety and well-being of children and parents, access to justice, due process

Example: 

• SAFeR Framework for Identifying, Understanding and Accounting for Abuse (SAFeR), developed by BWJP to guide decision-making by judges and other court-related professionals (all sites);
• Training for judges, court staff, attorneys, advocates, and other practitioners (Cook County, Multnomah County, and Hennepin County);
• One consistent order for protection form for all judicial officers (Hennepin County).

Courts should provide direct and timely access to the courts for child custody and parenting time relief, including temporary relief and enforcement of child custody and parenting time orders.

Values: Safety and well-being of children and parents, access to justice, due process

Example:

• Specialized civil protection order docket dedicated to cases in which child-related relief has been requested by a party (Hennepin County).

Courts should respond to the urgent need for relief in child custody and parenting time cases involving domestic violence by prioritizing these cases and deciding them without delay.

Values: Safety and well-being of children and parents, access to justice

Example:

• Victims seeking emergency relief may speak with domestic violence advocates and request emergency orders through remote video access (Multnomah County);
• Specialized civil protection order docket dedicated to cases in which child-related relief has been requested by a party (Hennepin County);
• Policy regarding e-signing petitions for orders for protection requires judicial officers to sign ex parte orders within 15 minutes of receipt of the request (Hennepin County).

Courts should assure that judges have access to relevant court-documented domestic abuse history, consistent with governing ethical standards and in a manner that assures due process for all litigants.

Values: Safety and well-being of children and parents, access to justice

Example:

• Identify related cases, including criminal cases, other family cases, and related or reciprocal petitions for civil orders for protections (Hennepin County);
• One family, one judge policy to ensure that judicial officers appropriately trained in domestic violence are assigned to domestic abuse cases (Hennepin County, Multnomah County).

Communities and courts should take steps to maximize parties’ ability to obtain domestic violence-informed legal advice and representation regarding child custody and parenting time matters.

Values: Access to justice; due process

Example:

• Partnership with local legal services providers to provide day-of legal consultations and/or representation to victims of domestic violence that have a domestic abuse hearing for a civil protection order (Cook County, Hennepin County).

Courts and providers of child custody and parenting time dispute resolution services should utilize processes that account for domestic violence, and are safe, fair, and accessible.

Values: Safety and well-being of children and parents, access to justice, due process

Example:

• New alternative dispute resolution process (implemented by the Child Relief Expediter) for litigants seeking child-related relief in civil protection orders (Cook County);
• Domestic violence-informed mediation process, uniformly praised by domestic violence advocates and court-related professionals alike (Multnomah County);
• Revisions to initial Case Management Data Form to offer more opportunity for parties to disclose domestic violence as a possible issue (Hennepin County);
• In-depth screening for mediation when a case is referred by a judicial officer, including completion of intake forms in separate rooms if an order for protection exists or domestic violence has been alleged and if parties agree to attempt mediation (Hennepin County).

Courts and professionals should assure that party participation in child custody and parenting time processes and services is informed and as voluntary or party-determined as possible.

Values: Access to justice, due process

Example:

• Child Relief Expediter process governed by protocols, including forms and disclosures, to ensure that participation by litigants is voluntary and based upon their informed consent (Cook County);
• Navigator position to help parties understand the family court process and make informed decisions about their participation (Multnomah County).

Communities and courts should provide all parties in child custody and parenting time cases with access to information concerning: (a) available resources, including community resources and child custody and parenting time dispute resolution processes and services; (b) the relief available from courts, including the legal and practical effects of the relief and the risks and benefits associated with the relief; (c) the legal process and their rights, including the legal standards applied to child custody and parenting time decision-making, the meaning of legal terminology, the roles and responsibilities of judges and professionals, and the parties’ rights and access to recourse and review; and (d) how to navigate court and parallel processes, including how to prepare for participation in those processes and how to avoid involuntary case dismissal.

Values: Access to justice, due process, accountability and transparency

Example:

• Materials for self-represented litigants including videos, brochures, forms, and FAQs (all sites);
• Personnel within family court system to assist parties with obtaining information and accessing community-based resources (Hennepin County);
• Navigator and self–help center providing domestic violence-informed services within the family court (Multnomah County).

Communities and courts should create opportunities for safe and informed disclosure of domestic abuse in child custody and parenting time matters.

Values: Safety and well-being of children and parents, access to justice

Example:

• Creation of Child Relief Expediter, a domestic violence-informed alternative dispute resolution process, for litigants seeking child-related relief in civil protection orders (Cook County);
• Development of screening tools for attorneys and custody evaluators to identify domestic violence, including training on how best to use the tools (Multnomah County);
• Use of appropriate domestic violence screening tools by various professions involved in family court and facilitating access to advocates for victims (all sites);
• Revision of initial Case Management Data Form to offer more opportunity for parties to disclose domestic violence as a possible issue (Hennepin County).

Communities and courts should provide parties with access to support services, including domestic violence advocacy, in child custody and parenting time matters.

Values: Safety and well-being of children and parents

Example:

• Inclusion of representatives from domestic violence programs and other community support services in project planning and implementation work groups (all sites);
• Listening sessions with domestic violence advocates to inform the family court system and increase access to services for litigants (Hennepin County);
• Help-desk and intake center in courthouse in which legal and advocacy services are co-located (Cook County);
• Gateway Center provides victims with easy access to a variety of services, including remote court appearances for protection orders (Multnomah County);
• Facilitation of victims’ access to domestic violence advocates in family court cases (all sites).

Courts and communities should recognize the critical and emergent nature of family law matters by providing sufficient and appropriate staff, resources, and ongoing training to the professionals who manage these cases.

Values: Accountability and transparency

Example:

• Ongoing training for court staff and other professions involved in the family court system on exposure to domestic violence and effects on children, assessing lethality risk, understanding trauma, and procedural fairness (all sites);
• Encouraging judges to attend Enhancing Judicial Skills training conducted by the NCJFCJ (all sites);
• Tribal/State Court Liaison to address gap in Native American community members' access to family court for protection (Hennepin County);
• Navigator position to assist litigants (Multnomah County).

Courts should evaluate, on an ongoing basis, whether the publicly provided descriptions of child custody and parenting time processes and services match the services actually provided.

Values: Accountability and transparency

Example:

• Intensive court assessment including walk-throughs, observations, litigant surveys, and material and procedure reviews (Delaware);
• Compilation and review of data collected from court cases, court expediter ADR cases, and help desk interactions to assess litigant needs and court effectiveness (Cook County);
• Victim roundtables in both Spanish and English, including victims who did not seek court relief (Cook County);
• Roundtables of victims, perpetrators, and advocates (Hennepin County);
• Monthly newsletter to inform court and community stakeholders of service enhancements (Hennepin County);
• Roundtables of victims and professionals and court-wide litigant survey, which will be repeated annually (Multnomah County).

Communities and courts should evaluate, on an ongoing basis, the extent to which the custody decision-making processes and services provided effectively address domestic violence by accounting for the nature, context, and implications of abuse.

Values: Safety and well-being of children and parents, accountability and transparency

Example:

• Judicial bench guide based on SAFeR Framework (all sites);
• Worksheets, interview guides, and other resources developed by BWJP for judges, court staff, and court-related professionals (all sites);
• Tracking of all cases assigned to specialized civil order for protection docket to evaluate relief requested compared to relief granted, as well as compliance with orders to participate in community programming (Hennepin County).

Communities and courts should evaluate, on an ongoing basis, whether custody decision-making processes and services are consistent with these guiding principles and work collaboratively to address any deficiencies.

Values: Accountability and transparency

Example:

• Continual assessment of whether practices are consistent with the guiding principles through litigant surveys, case file reviews, and evaluation of procedures and professional standards (all sites);
• Annual litigant survey on procedural fairness and court experience (Multnomah County);
• Court observation and peer-to-peer review about judicial demeanor, clear language, and behaviors that promote procedural justice and a domestic violence- and trauma-informed process (Multnomah County).

Communities and courts should ensure that their processes and services related to child custody and parenting time cases are consistent with evidence-based best practices.

Values: Accountability and transparency, safety and well-being of children and families

Example:

• Domestic Violence Evidence Project and Promising Futures: Best Practices for Serving Children, Youth, and Parents Experiencing Domestic Violence, on-line resources providing information on evidence-based approaches and lists available resources for accessing and developing promising practices in communities.

Communities and courts should ensure that processes and services are truly accessible to everyone in the community, including those from under-served communities (e.g., immigrant populations, non-English speaking and limited English proficiency individuals, et al.).

Values: Access to justice

Example:

• Native American liaison position to conduct outreach, build relationships, and promote family court services with the Native communities (Hennepin County);
• Increased court access for Spanish-speaking litigants through the use of bilingual staff at the court’s help-desk (Cook County);
• Training on domestic violence for court interpreters (Multnomah County);
• Self-help resources, including videos and printed material, in other languages (Multnomah County).