Court Services: Meeting the Needs of Twenty-First Century Families

Family Law Quarterly

Volumn 33, Issue 3, 1999, Pages 617-634

  Pearson, Jessica ^a  

^a Center for Policy Research   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0033270258     PISSN: 0014729X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (80)

1. See BRIAN J. OSTROM & NEIL B. KAUDER, EXAMINING THE WORK OF STATE COURTS, 1995: A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE FROM THE COURT STATISTICS PROJECT 39 (1996)(25 percent of total civil filings were domestic relations cases); Jana B. Singer, The Privatization of Family Law, WIS. L. REV. 6 (1992)(estimating that domestic relations cases comprise over half of all civil actions).
2. See BRIAN J. OSTROM & NEIL B. KAUDER, EXAMINING THE WORK OF STATE COURTS, 1995: A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE FROM THE COURT STATISTICS PROJECT 39 (1996)(25 percent of total civil filings were domestic relations cases); Jana B. Singer, The Privatization of Family Law, WIS. L. REV. 6 (1992)(estimating that domestic relations cases comprise over half of all civil actions).
3. U.S. COMMISSION ON CHILD AND FAMILY WELFARE, PARENTING OUR CHILDREN: IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE NATION: A REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS (1996)(showing that divorces increased 67% between 1970 and 1990 while out of wedlock births went from 6.9% in 1964 to 30.5% in 1992).
4. U.S. BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, CURRENT POPULATION REPORTS, 1991.
5. Linda D. Elrod & Robert G. Spector, A Review of the Year in Family Law: A Search for Definitions and Policy, 31 FAM. L. Q. 613, 615 (1998)(citing a 1997 GAO report estimating that less than 20 percent of child support is collected).
6. NATIONAL CENTER FOR CHILDREN IN POVERTY, YOUNG CHILDREN IN POVERTY: A STATISTICAL UPDATE (1998).
7. See Joan B. Kelly, Current Research on Children's Post-Divorce Adjustment: No Simple Answers. 31 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 29 (1993).
8. Gerald W. Hardcastle, Joint-Custody: A Family Court Judge's Perspective, 32 FAM L. Q. 201 (1998).
9. Irwin Garfinkel, D. Meyer & Sarah McLanahan, A Brief History of Child Support Policies in the United States, in FATHERS UNDER FIRE THE REVOLUTION IN CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT (Irwin Garfinkel et al., eds. 1998) [hereinafter FATHERS UNDER FIRE].
10. Paul K. Legler, The Coming Revolution in Child Support Policy: Implications of the 1996 Welfare Act, 30 FAM. L. Q. 519 (1996).
11. Joan K. Raisner, Family Mediation and Never-Married Parents, 35 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 90 (1997).
12. Jessica Pearson & J. Anhalt, When Parents Complain About Visitation, 11 MEDIATION Q, (1993).
13. See Laurie S. Coltri & E. Joan Hunt, A Model for Telephone Mediation, 36 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 179 (1998). In a reversal of past policy, in 1997, 1998, and 1999 the Office of Child Support Enforcement made annual grants of $10 million to states to support access and visitation projects.
14. LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION, 1998 FACT BOOK AND PROGRAM INFORMATION.
15. R. Spangenberg et al., Report of the Civil Legal Needs of the Poor, in ABA CONSORTIUM ON LEGAL SERVICES AND THE PUBLIC, TWO NATIONAL SURVEYS: 1989 PILOT ASSESSMENT OF THE UNMET NEEDS OF THE POOR AND OF THE PUBLIC GENERALLY (1989).
16. B. Curran, Survey of the Public's Use of Legal Services, in ABA CONSORTIUM ON LEGAL SERVICES AND THE PUBLIC, TWO NATIONAL SURVEYS: 1989 PILOT ASSESSMENT OF THE UNMET LEGAL NEEDS OF THE POOR AND OF THE PUBLIC GENERALLY (1989).
17. B. Sales, C. Beck & R. Haan, Self-Representation in Divorce Cases, Report prepared for The American Bar Association, Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, November 1992.
18. S. Alexander, & K. LaMar, From Self-Service to Unbundling: The Continuum of Legal Services, paper presented at the Family Dispute Resolution Continuum. Southeast Regional Conference and Board of Directors Meeting, Orlando, FL. Oct. 29-31, 1998.
19. See Leonard L. Loeb, New Forms of Resolving Disputes - ADR, 33 FAM. L. Q. 581 (1999).
20. NANCY ROGERS & CRAIG MCEWEN, MEDIATION: LAW, POLICY, PRACTICE (2d ed. Cum. Supp. 1998).
21. Nancy Thoennes, Peter Salem & Jessica Pearson, Mediation and Domestic Violence: Current Policies and Practices, 33 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 6 (1995).
22. ELEANOR M. MACCOBY & ROBERT MNOOKIN, DIVIDING THE CHILD: SOCIAL AND LEGAL DILEMMAS OF CUSTODY (1992).
23. See Jessica Pearson, Family Mediation, in NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON COURT-CONNECTED DISPUTE RESOLUTION RESEARCH: A REPORT ON CURRENT RESEARCH FINDINGS - IMPLICATIONS FOR COURTS AND FUTURE RESEARCH NEEDS (Susan Keilitz ed. 1994), and Joan B. Kelly, A Decade of Divorce Mediation Research: Some Answers and Questions, 34 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. (1996) (for comprehensive summaries of the literature on divorce mediation).
24. See Jessica Pearson, Family Mediation, in NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON COURT- CONNECTED DISPUTE RESOLUTION RESEARCH: A REPORT ON CURRENT RESEARCH FINDINGS - IMPLICATIONS FOR COURTS AND FUTURE RESEARCH NEEDS (Susan Keilitz ed. 1994), and Joan B. Kelly, A Decade of Divorce Mediation Research: Some Answers and Questions, 34 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. (1996) (for comprehensive summaries of the literature on divorce mediation).
25. See Debra A. Clement, 1998 Nationwide Survey of the Legal Status of Parent Education, 37 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 219 (1999)(in Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, and Utah, all divorcing parents with minor children must attend while in Minnesota and Tennessee only those who contest custody or visitation).
26. See also Margie J. Geasler & Karen R. Blaisure, 1998 Nationwide Survey of Court-Connected Divorce Education Programs, 37 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 36 (1999)(showing 1,516 cities or counties reported having parent education programs).
27. Margie J. Geasler & Karen R. Blaisure, A Review of Divorce Education Program Materials, 47 FAM. REL. (1998).
28. Jack Arbuthnot & Donald A. Gordon, Does Mandatory Divorce Education for Parents Work? A Six-Month Outcome Evaluation, 34 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 60 (1996).
29. Nancy Thoennes & Jessica Pearson, Parent Education in the Domestic Relations Court: A Multisite Assessment, 37 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 195 (1999).
30. Robert B. Straus & Eve Aida, Supervised Access: The Evolution of a Social Service, 32 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 230 (1994); Robert B. Straus, Supervised Visitation and Family Violence, 29 FAM. L. Q. 229 (1995).
31. Robert B. Straus & Eve Aida, Supervised Access: The Evolution of a Social Service, 32 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 230 (1994); Robert B. Straus, Supervised Visitation and Family Violence, 29 FAM. L. Q. 229 (1995).
32. See Robert B. Straus, Nadine Blaschak-Brown & Anne Reiniger, Standards and Guidelines for Supervised Visitation Network Practice: Introductory Discussion, 36 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 96 (1998).
33. See Jessica Pearson & Nancy Thoennes, Supervised Visitation: A Portrait of Programs and Clients, Center for Policy Research, Denver, CO (1997); Nancy Thoennes & Jessica Pearson, Supervised Visitation: A Profile of Providers, 37 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 460 (1999)(94 programs exist in the United States and Canada). States may want to pursue these services as suggested interventions with their annual grants to enhance access and visitation under PRWORA.
34. See Jessica Pearson & Nancy Thoennes, Supervised Visitation: A Portrait of Programs and Clients, Center for Policy Research, Denver, CO (1997); Nancy Thoennes & Jessica Pearson, Supervised Visitation: A Profile of Providers, 37 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 460 (1999)(94 programs exist in the United States and Canada). States may want to pursue these services as suggested interventions with their annual grants to enhance access and visitation under PRWORA.
35. See K.M. Healey, Case Management in the Criminal Justice System, in NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE, RESEARCH IN ACTION (1999); Pamela Casey, Court Populations in Need of Services: Defining the Court's Role, 16 BEHAVIORAL SCI. & THE LAW 157-67 (1998).
36. See K.M. Healey, Case Management in the Criminal Justice System, in NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE, RESEARCH IN ACTION (1999); Pamela Casey, Court Populations in Need of Services: Defining the Court's Role, 16 BEHAVIORAL SCI. & THE LAW 157-67 (1998).
37. Robert Horowitz & Diane Dodson, (1985); Steven L. Novinson, Post-Divorce Visitation: Untying the Triangular Knot, 1983 U. ILL. L. REV. 119.
38. Robert Horowitz & Diane Dodson, (1985); Steven L. Novinson, Post-Divorce Visitation: Untying the Triangular Knot, 1983 U. ILL. L. REV. 119.
39. JESSICA PEARSON ET AL., CENTER FOR POLICY RESEARCH AND POLICY STUDIES, INC., EVALUATION OF THE CHILD ACCESS DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS, FINAL WAVE II REPORT (1996); Jessica Pearson & Nancy Thoennes, Programs to Increase Fathers' Access to their Children, in FATHERS UNDER FIRE, supra note 8.
40. JESSICA PEARSON ET AL., CENTER FOR POLICY RESEARCH AND POLICY STUDIES, INC., EVALUATION OF THE CHILD ACCESS DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS, FINAL WAVE II REPORT (1996); Jessica Pearson & Nancy Thoennes, Programs to Increase Fathers' Access to their Children, in FATHERS UNDER FIRE, supra note 8.
41. PEARSON ET AL., supra note 32.
42. Id. See also Pearson & Thoennes, supra note 32.
43. JANET JOHNSTON & LINDA CAMPBELL, IMPASSES OF DIVORCE: THE DYNAMICS AND RESOLUTION OF FAMILY CONFLICT (1988).
44. Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Proceedings for the Southeast Regional Conference, The Family Dispute Resolution Continuum, Orlando, Florida, Oct. 29-31, 1998; Robert A. Zibell, The Mental Health Professional as Arbitrator in Post-Divorce Child Oriented Conflict, 33 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 462 (1995).
45. Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Proceedings for the Southeast Regional Conference, The Family Dispute Resolution Continuum, Orlando, Florida, Oct. 29-31, 1998; Robert A. Zibell, The Mental Health Professional as Arbitrator in Post-Divorce Child Oriented Conflict, 33 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 462 (1995).
46. Janet Johnston, Developing and Testing a Group Intervention for Families at Impasse, unpublished report, Center for Families in Transition (1998).
47. Richard Zorza & Klemperer, The Internet-Based Domestic Violence Court Preparation Project, N.Y. (unpublished) 1998.
48. L. Ridge, The Courthouse Facilitator Program: King County's Experience, THE COURT MANAGER (Summer 1995).
49. See, e.g., Forrest S. Mosten, Emerging Roles of the Family Lawyer: A Challenge for the Courts, 33 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 196 (1995); Forrest S. Mosten, The Unbundling of Legal Services in Family Law Practice, 28 FAM. L. Q. 421 (1994); M. Millemann, N. Gilfrich, & R. Granat, Rethinking the Full-Service Legal Representational Model: A Maryland Experiment, CLEARINGHOUSE REV. (March-April 1997).
50. See, e.g., Forrest S. Mosten, Emerging Roles of the Family Lawyer: A Challenge for the Courts, 33 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 196 (1995); Forrest S. Mosten, The Unbundling of Legal Services in Family Law Practice, 28 FAM. L. Q. 421 (1994); M. Millemann, N. Gilfrich, & R. Granat, Rethinking the Full-Service Legal Representational Model: A Maryland Experiment, CLEARINGHOUSE REV. (March-April 1997).
51. See, e.g., Forrest S. Mosten, Emerging Roles of the Family Lawyer: A Challenge for the Courts, 33 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 196 (1995); Forrest S. Mosten, The Unbundling of Legal Services in Family Law Practice, 28 FAM. L. Q. 421 (1994); M. Millemann, N. Gilfrich, & R. Granat, Rethinking the Full-Service Legal Representational Model: A Maryland Experiment, CLEARINGHOUSE REV. (March-April 1997).
52. R.W. Rack, Collaborative Lawyering, in THE FAMILY DISPUTE RESOLUTION CONTINUUM, binder for the AFCC Southeast Regional Conference, Orlando, Florida, October 29-31, 1998, at 32-33.
53. Anne Endress Skove, Memorandum on State Appropriations and Other Funding Sources for Court-Connected ADR, National Center for State Courts, Dec. 11, 1998 (survey of state appropriations for court-connected ADR programs showed that they ranged from nothing in states where they are funded entirely by user fees or volunteers efforts to $29 million in California in fiscal year 1996-97).
54. Barbara A. Babb, Where We Stand: An Analysis of America's Family Law Adjudicatory Systems and the Mandate to Establish Unified Family Courts, 32 FAM. L. Q. 33 (1998) (citing Jane C. Murphy, Access to Legal Remedies: The Crisis in Family Law, 8 BYU J. PUB. L. 123, 124 (1993)).
55. Barbara A. Babb, Where We Stand: An Analysis of America's Family Law Adjudicatory Systems and the Mandate to Establish Unified Family Courts, 32 FAM. L. Q. 33 (1998) (citing Jane C. Murphy, Access to Legal Remedies: The Crisis in Family Law, 8 BYU J. PUB. L. 123, 124 (1993)).
56. Babb, supra note 43; Catherine J. Ross, The Failure of Fragmentation: The Promise of a System of Unified Family Courts, 32 FAM. L. Q. 3 (1998); Jeffrey A. Kuhn, A Seven-Year Lesson on Unified Family Courts: What We have Learned Since the 1990 National Family Court Symposium, 32 FAM. L. Q. 67 (1998).
57. Babb, supra note 43; Catherine J. Ross, The Failure of Fragmentation: The Promise of a System of Unified Family Courts, 32 FAM. L. Q. 3 (1998); Jeffrey A. Kuhn, A Seven-Year Lesson on Unified Family Courts: What We have Learned Since the 1990 National Family Court Symposium, 32 FAM. L. Q. 67 (1998).
58. Babb, supra note 43; Catherine J. Ross, The Failure of Fragmentation: The Promise of a System of Unified Family Courts, 32 FAM. L. Q. 3 (1998); Jeffrey A. Kuhn, A Seven-Year Lesson on Unified Family Courts: What We have Learned Since the 1990 National Family Court Symposium, 32 FAM. L. Q. 67 (1998).
59. Babb, supra note 43, at 32 (citing Paul A. Williams, A Unified Family Court for Missouri, 63 UMKC L. REV. 383, 384 (1995)).
60. Babb, supra note 43, at 32 (citing Paul A. Williams, A Unified Family Court for Missouri, 63 UMKC L. REV. 383, 384 (1995)).
61. Healey, supra note 30.
62. Kuhn, supra note 44, at 68.
63. Susan Keilitz, Working Paper 5: An Examination of Model Coordination Programs in Tennessee, Virginia and Texas, in MODELS OF EFFECTIVE COURT-BASED SERVICE DELIVERY TO CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES (National Center for State Courts 1999).
64. Babb, supra note 43.
65. Billie Lee Dunford-Jackson et al., Unified Family Courts: How Will They Serve Victims of Domestic Violence?, 32 FAM. L. Q. 131 (1998).
66. Ross, supra note 44.
67. Kuhn, supra note 44, at 68.
68. Eve Buzawa, G. Hotaling & A. Klein, The Response to Domestic Violence in a Model Court: Some Initial Findings and Implications, 16 BEHAV. Sci. & THE LAW 185-206 (1998).
69. MACCOBY & MNOOKIN, supra note 21.
70. JOHNSTON & CAMPBELL, supra note 35; Janet Johnston, Prevention of Parent or Family Abduction Through Early Identification of Risk Factors, in ABA CENTER ON CHILDREN AND THE LAW IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CENTER FOR THE FAMILY IN TRANSITION, FINAL REPORT OF STAGE 1, PART B, IDENTIFYING RISK FACTORS: THE INTERVIEW STUDY, submitted to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (1994).
71. JOHNSTON & CAMPBELL, supra note 35; Janet Johnston, Prevention of Parent or Family Abduction Through Early Identification of Risk Factors, in ABA CENTER ON CHILDREN AND THE LAW IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CENTER FOR THE FAMILY IN TRANSITION, FINAL REPORT OF STAGE 1, PART B, IDENTIFYING RISK FACTORS: THE INTERVIEW STUDY, submitted to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (1994).
72. Johnston, supra note 37.
73. See PEARSON ET AL., supra note 32; MNOOKIN & MACCOBY, supra note 21, which found that in a setting with mandatory mediation, only 2 percent of divorce cases with minor-aged children actually result in a trial with a judge.
74. Donald B. King, Is Justice Served by More People Representing Themselves in Court?, 33 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 163 (1995).
75. Id. at 172.
76. Henrik Andrup & Jean Graham Hall, Mediation and Divorce - The Danish Contribution, 33 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. 194 (1995).
77. Heather K. McShain, For Better or For Worse? A Closer Look at Two Implications of Covenant Marriage, 32 FAM. L. Q. 629 (1998).
78. John Crouch, Divorce Reform Legislation News, AMERICANS FOR DIVORCE REFORM, Jan. 20, 1999 (although defeated in Colorado, covenant marriage earned a 69 percent public approval rating in a poll conducted by the Rocky Mountain Family Council).
79. William Howe & M. McKnight, Oregon Task Force on Family Law - A New System to Resolve Family Law Conflicts, 32 FAM. & CONCIL. CTS. REV. (1995).
80. Casey, supra note 30.