Counties Are Failing to Uniformly Implement the Elkins Task Force Recommendations for Cps Information and Report Sharing

• Publication year: 2018
• Author: Renee Fairbanks and Vanessa Kirker Wright

Counties are Failing to Uniformly Implement the Elkins Task Force Recommendations for CPS Information and Report Sharing

Renee Fairbanks and Vanessa Kirker Wright

Renee M. Fairbanks, CFLS, is a principal at the Law Office of Renee M. Fairbanks, a family law firm in Santa Barbara. She is a member of the Family Law Executive Committee.

Vanessa Kirker Wright, CFLS, is a principal at Kirker Wright Law Group, APC, a family law firm in Santa Barbara. She is a former member and past Chair of the Family Law Executive Committee.

Seven years ago, the Elkins Family Law Task Force issued recommendations intended to both simplify family law processes and make more information available to the courts to allow for a fairer process. However, because there was no comprehensive follow-up legislation to implement some of those recommendations statewide, the Task Force's work has been thwarted.

The Task Force's final recommendations were divided into five key areas:

1. efficient and effective procedures to ensure justice, fairness, due process, and safety;
2. more effective child custody procedures for a better court experience;
3. ensuring meaningful access to justice for all litigants;
4. enhancing the status of and respect for family law litigants and the family law process; and
5. laying the foundation for future innovation.

The Task Force's final report and recommendations were released in April of 2010. At the time, the focus was largely on the preservation of the right to present live testimony to the court. But another important Task Force focus was the availability of all of the facts relating to children's best interests when making a custody determination. Thus, the Task Force recommended that Child Welfare or Protective Services should be required to become involved in all cases involving abuse and neglect. Specifically, the Task Force recommended that "to more effectively address the best interest of children, family courts, parties, and their attorneys should have access to information and reports collected by CPS during these processes and procedures, even if CPS decides that filing a petition in juvenile court is not warranted. Legislation to clarify family court access to these records should be developed, with consideration being paid to protecting confidentiality and due process rights." (emphasis added.)

In response to the recommendation that the information collected and reports prepared by CPS should be available to family law litigants and their counsel in family law...