Commentaries on the IAALS' Honoring Families Initiative White Paper

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12114
• Date: 01 October 2014
• Author: Barbara A. Babb
• Published date: 01 October 2014

GUEST EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

COMMENTARIES ON THE IAALS’ HONORING FAMILIES INITIATIVE

WHITE PAPER

Barbara A. Babb

Family courts are not likely to disappear,as they currently constitute the largest proportion of trial court filings in most states.

It appears as though family courts have become an emergency room for familyproblems. Thus, we need to enhance our efforts

to improve the family justice system. In order to revamp familycour ts most effectively, there must be a focus on the creation

of unified family courts that are grounded in therapeutic jurisprudence and the ecology of human development.This framework

allows for a more responsiveand holistic approach to families’ legal and underlying nonlegal needs. The goal of a unified family

court is to aim to improve the lives of families and children through judicial action, informal court proceedings, alternative

dispute resolution, and the provision of appropriate social services.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:

• The need for family court reform

• An underlying theoretical foundation to guide the family court reform process

• Employing therapeutic jurisprudence to ensure an outcome that can positively affect the lives of the families and

children involved in each legal proceeding

• Utilizing the ecology of human development to assist with obtaining a holistic view of families’ legal and underlying

nonlegal issues

• A blueprint to create a unified family court to provide an effective,efficient, comprehensive resolution to each family’s

dispute

Keywords: Ecology of Human Development;EffectiveFamily Justice;Family Court;FamilyCourt Reform;Problem-Solving

Approach;and Therapeutic Jurisprudence.

The July 2013 issue of Family Court Review (FCR) included a White Paper of the Institute for the

Advancement of the American Legal System’s (IAALS) Honoring Families Initiative on the court

and separating and divorcing families.1The White Paper presents alternatives to the traditional

adjudication of family law disputes and proposes that other methods be available in communities to

provide responsive and cost-effective resolutions to these matters. Noting the vital importance of

planning for the future of children, the White Paper suggests a greater need for collaborative,

interdisciplinary, and forward-looking systems, including mediation, parent education, early neutral

evaluation, and a triage or differentiated case management process for sorting through various levels

of family conflict. It also emphasizes the importance of the community as a partner in these and other

undertakings.

The White Paper highlights the devastatingemotional and financial effects on children and families

of resolving family law cases through the traditional adversarial process. It also details the escalating

issues surrounding the increasing and substantial volume of self-represented family law litigants. The

White Paper notes many problems with existing family court systems that interfere with their ability

to perform the core functions of the court, defined by the authors as protection, fact finding, and

creating and enforcing orders.

Correspondence: bbabb@ubalt.edu

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol.52 No. 4, October 2014 639–641

© 2014 Association of Familyand Conciliation Cour ts