Resources and information about the use of family courts to hear cases involving child abuse and neglect, including State and local examples.
Efficiency, Therapeutic Justice, Mediation, and Evaluation: Reflections on a Survey of Unified Family Courts
Hofstra University School of Law
Family Law Quarterly, 37(3), 2003
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Results of a qualitative study about the purpose of unified family courts, case criteria, service delivery, and indicators of effectiveness.
Exemplary Family Court Programs and Practices: Profiles of Innovative and Accountable Court-Connected Programs (PDF - 501 KB)
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Court Services Task Force (2005)
Presents profiles of 69 creative, innovative, effective, and accountable programs that provide services related to the psychological, social, and legal needs of families involved in various family law proceedings.
Family-Focused Courts (PDF - 48 KB)
Flango (2000)
National Center for State Courts
Journal of the Center for Children and the Courts, 2
Discusses the components of a "family-focused court" and five principles for assessing a court's success.
State and local examples
The Binsfield Legislation: A View From the Bench
Mercy Law School, University of Detroit
Michigan Child Welfare Law Journal, 4(1), 2000
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An overview of the Michigan Binsfield Law and recommendations for its implementation in family courts.
Bringing Psychological Services In-House: A Look at Fulton County Family Court Pilot Project
Fulton County Superior Court, Family Division
ABA Child Law Practice, 21(2), 2002
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Describes a pilot program that used a psychologist to evaluate families and its effect on decision-making in family court.
D.C. Family Court: Operations and Case Management Have Improved, But Critical Issues Remain (PDF - 329 KB)
U.S. General Accounting Office (2004)
Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform regarding the D.C. Family Court's efforts to comply with ASFA and improve communication with the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency.
Family Court Pilot in Colorado's 17th Judicial District
Center for Policy Research (2001)
In this pilot program, the family court heard different types of cases involving the same family in order to coordinate service delivery to the family. Benefits of the model and areas for improvement are discussed.
Making Families and Children a High Priority in the Courts: California's Center for Families, Children and the Courts
Wu
Family Court Review, 40(4), 2002
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A description of the center's multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to statewide policies and practices related to families and children in the court system.