Application for family court grants. Applications for family court status are offered every two years to all Indiana counties: 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007. The judicial officers in interested counties complete the application by identifying a plan to better serve families in the court system. The application includes information about the county's current judicial system, and a request for a family court grant in the amount of $10,000 to $40,000 per year, for a two-year period. When feasible, smaller counties are encouraged to form multiple-county projects to share resources and avoid “reinventing the wheel.” Judges review the “Grant Terms” on the family court website to determine their ability to comply with grant requirements.

Applications are filed with the Division of State Court Administration, and the Indiana Supreme Court selects the counties that will serve as pilot family court projects. Application documents are available below, and are due September 1, 2008. Selected counties will begin operation in January of 2008.

Application Document	MS Word	Adobe PDF
Phase V Grant Packet

Implementing Programming and Family Court Personnel. When a county is selected as a pilot family court project the Judges meet regularly to finalize the program design and determine necessary personnel. To date, all of the family court projects have hired (or contracted for) at least one new personnel position to coordinate their family court projects, although smaller communities use part-time personnel. Many of the court projects additionally rely on pre-existing personnel positions that are partially or fully reallocated to the family court project. Several juvenile court coordinator positions have been expanded to include family court management responsibilities. Court reporter and court administrator positions have also been partially reallocated to provide services to family court projects.

Local Advisory Boards. The Judges select local attorneys, service providers, child advocates, school personnel, local government representative, and/or other appropriate community representatives to serve on a local Family Court Advisory Board. The Advisory Board meets two or more times a year to provide advice and community education on the family court project. Each family court is a collaborative effort between the court and the local community.

Family Court Data, Reports, and Meetings. New family court projects file an Implementation Report in the spring following their selection, including a finalized budget, progress toward personnel hiring or resource reallocation, and time frames for program implementation. Each family court maintains statistics on the families served, including data on the number of multiple case families served, social factors in families served, and the types of services provided to families. Counties submit written reports containing data and program updates. Judges and family court personnel from each county attend statewide Family Court Meetings to share program information and hear local or national speakers on innovations to better serve families in the court system.