October 2016

• Date: 01 October 2016
• Author: Andrew Schepard
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12240
• Published date: 01 October 2016

EDITORIAL NOTE

OCTOBER 2016

LET’S START (AND END) AT THE VERY BEGINNING—A VERY GOOD PLACE TO

START (AND END) ... (WITH APOLOGIES TO RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN)

These are my final Editorial Notes for Family Court Review (FCR). My first Editorial Notes

appeared in the January 1998 issue of what was then called Family and Conciliation Courts Review.

I wrote them in collaboration with Hugh McIssac, whom I succeeded as editor in chief. Now, as I

pass on my responsibilities to a wonderful and experienced leadership team, I hope that readers will

indulge me a brief reflection on FCR’s past, present, and future.

THE ORGANIZATION AND ITS PEOPLE

Here is part of what I wrote in my first Editorial Notes:

The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) has been a significant source of encourage-

ment and growth for me... AFCC ... strongly supported my work on court-affiliated education for

divorcing and separating parents. AFCC conferences and members have been a continuous source of

commitment, inspiration, and ideas. I have been very impressed with their cooperative and inclusive

spirit.

These words still ring true after 18 years—AFCC conferences and members continue to be a

“source of commitment, inspiration, and ideas” for me. I first met some of my best personal friends

and professional colleagues through AFCC. My association with it and FCR is a gift that keeps on

giving for which I will always be grateful.

AFCC continues to maintain a “cooperative and inclusive spirit.” This atmosphere is unlike that

of most other organizations I know and is a tribute to the wise leadership in a wonderful organization

that Peter Salem continues to build. It also reflects AFCC’s shared vision of a humane family law

system that serves the best interests of children and families through interdisciplinary collaboration.

THE AGENDA FOR CHANGE—PAST AND PRESENT

My first Editorial Notes also described my vision of AFCC’s future agenda:

We have a great deal to do. Family forms are changing because of changes in fundamental beliefs about

the role of family in society and new reproductive technologies. Family courts are being inundated with

new disputes without an increase in resources to resolve them. We need to explore the promises and

problems of unified family courts. We have to help non adversarial family dispute resolution systems

address the problems of domestic violence and child abuse. We have to devise procedures and programs

to better the lot of the indigent who find their way into family court. We also have to address the prob-

lem of repetitive family court litigants who consume a large amount of court resources and destroy their

children in their obsessive quest for vindication. What can we do to educate our young so their family

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 54 No. 4, October 2016 543–546

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C2016 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts