Family Department Caseload

I. Family Department Caseload

Table 1 through Table 3 show what the caseload for the proposed family court would have been from fiscal year 1992 through fiscal year 1994 beginning with the latest year first. The tables differentiate the casetypes by their current court of origin.

Of the family department cases currently filed in the district court, not all are included in the tables. The district court information system does not tabulate cases in all of the casetypes proposed for the family department. The omitted cases are in relatively small categories, but the accumulation of even small numbers of cases could result in a significant workload impact. There is no possibility of capturing the omitted casetypes in the current information system. The omitted casetypes are:

• Adult protective services
• Services to people with disabilities
• Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act
• Child habeas corpus petitions
• Legal/medical issues
• Modify birth certificate

Petitions to modify a divorce decree and orders to show cause to enforce custody, visitation or support are not counted as separate casetypes because they occur as post-judgment activity in a dissolution or paternity case.

Of the family department cases currently filed in the juvenile court, all are included in Table 1 through Table 3. The tables count the number of referrals unless a case by-passes the referral stage and is initiated by a petition. The courts use referrals in the juvenile court as the closest counterpart to filings in the district court.

Some of the cases that the task force has identified as casetypes have historically been counted in the juvenile court under the collection of matters entitled "Administrative and Post-judgment," which is shown in the last row of each table. This collection of matters does not distinguish between cases that necessarily follow another case (For example, a petition to terminate parental rights follows a petition and adjudication of child abuse or neglect.) and procedures within the original case (for example, a warrant or motion). Some of the items included in this category require judge time, others do not. Historically, the juvenile court has not included administrative and post-judgment matters in its judicial work load figures. The category is shown here for information purposes only. This report does not rely upon the administrative and post-judgment category for any caseload calculations.

Casetypes identified by the task force for inclusion in the family department that are found in the category "Administrative and Post-judgment" are:

• Civil mental commitment of a minor
• Termination of parental rights
• Guardianship and conservatorship of a minor
• Judicial consent for marriage, employment, and enlistment
• Modify birth certificate 
• Interstate compact

Table 1 through Table 3 show a tend of increasing family law caseloads. In each of the eight judicial districts, district court filings and juvenile court referrals have increased in each of the three years reported.

Table 1. Estimated Family Court Caseload Fiscal Year 1993 - 1994

Table 2. Estimated Family Court Caseload Fiscal Year 1992 - 1993

Table 3. Estimated Family Court Caseload Fiscal Year 1991 - 1992

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