Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard announced today that the Indiana Supreme Court has awarded $159,000 in grant money to 13 counties across the state through its Division of State Court Administration.  The grants will support local Family Court Projects.

The Family Court Project encourages a coordinated approach to serve the needs of families involved in multiple court cases.  Options for coordination include:

• One Judge - One Family
• Information Sharing Between Courts
• Facilitation and Pre-trial Conferences
• Affordable Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Family-Focused Service and Referrals
• Expeditious Processing of Pro Se Cases

The coordination aims to avoid inconsistent orders and promote more informed decision making.  Family Courts stress common-sense, non-adversarial solutions.  The project began in 1999 with cooperation from the Indiana General Assembly.  Since then, the Supreme Court has distributed over $1,825,000 to support the 23 Family Courts across the state.  In 2008, over 3000 families were served by local Family Court projects.

The grants are considered “seed money” and pilot counties are expected to transition within a reasonable time from seed funding to local funding. “The Family Court Project is an excellent example of courts using creative approaches to address issues facing a family so their disputes can be resolved quickly, affordably and in a way that is less adversarial to preserve relationships,” said Chief Justice Shepard.   

The following counties are receiving grants for 2009.           

Tippecanoe	$40,000	Judge Daniel
Clark	$30,000	Judge Carmichael
Bartholomew	$20,000 (shared)	Judge Heimann, Magistrate Mollo
Brown	$20,000 (shared)	Judge Stewart
Jackson	$20,000 (shared)	Judge MacTavish
Lawrence	$20,000 (shared)	Judge McCord
Marion	$20,000	Judge Moberly
Vanderburgh	$15,000	Judge Lloyd
Porter	$10,000	Judge Harper
Lake	$10,000	Judge Arredondo, Judge Bonaventura, Judge Tavitas
Johnson	$7,000	Judge Loyd
Henry	$5,000	Judge Willis
Owen	$2,000	Judge Nardi

Family Court Steering Committee Members include the Honorable Margret Robb of the Court of Appeals of Indiana, Lilia Judson who serves as the Executive Director of the Division of State Court Administration, Dave Remondini who serves as the Chief Deputy Executive Director of the Division of State Court Administration, Leslie Rogers Dunn who is the State Director for Guardian Ad Litem/Court Appointed Special Advocates, and Loretta Olesky who is the Family Court Project Manager. 

More information on the Family Court Project is available at courts.in.gov/family-court.