Caring for Families in Court

Table of Contents






The Family Justice System-What it is, How it works, and an Ideal Unified Family Court Model

I Introduction................................................................................

II What Is a Family Court?................................................................








The Historical Development................................................



Current Family Court Structure.............................................



III Who Is Using Family Courts?.........................................................

IV How Are Family Courts Performing?...............................................

V The Ideal: A Unified Family Court..................................................








Separate Court Structure....................................................



Comprehensive Subject-Matter Jurisdiction..............................



Specialized Case Management and Judicial Assignment System.....



An Array of Services........................................................



A User-Friendly Court......................................................



VI Conclusion..............................................................................






The Unified Family Court's Ecological and Therapeutic Capacities-A Crucial Interdisciplinary Paradigm
I Introduction..............................................................................

II The Ecology of Human Development...............................................

III Therapeutic Jurisprudence ...........................................................

IV Putting the Pieces Together to Improve Family Justice........................................................................................

V The Need for More Components .......................................................

VI Conclusion.................................................................................










Equipping the Family Justice System with the Ethic of Care
I Introduction .............................................................................

II Defining Care and the Ethic of Care................................................

III Historical Background...............................................................

IV The Ethic of Care and the Law.....................................................

V The Ethic of Care versus the Ethic of Justice.....................................

VI Conclusion.............................................................................




Family Narratives and Caring Justice

I Introduction..............................................................................

II Defining Narrative








Narrative Law................................................................



Narrative Practice............................................................



III Narrative and the Law: An Historical Perspective.................................

IV The Importance of Narrative.........................................................

V Narrative Attributes.....................................................................

VI How Narrative Works: Narrative Competence and Narrative Capacities








Narrative Competence........................................................



Narrative Capacities










Empathy....................................................................



Decision Making..........................................................



Ethical Awareness.........................................................



V Conclusion..............................................................................






Applying an Ethic of Care to the Family Justice System: The Transformative Power of Caring and Narrative
I Introduction.......................................................................................

II Envisioning the Family Justice System as a Care Center...................................

III The Role of Narrative in Promoting Care...................................................

IV Is Caring Teachable?.................................................................................................

V Conclusion.....................................................................................




Portraits of Caring

I Introduction.......................................................................................

II Court Facilities and Aesthetics................................................................

III Specialty Court Programs








Courts Targeting Young Children..................................................



Girls Court..............................................................................



Minors' Court, Reggio Calabria, Italy..............................................



Aboriginal Children's Court Program, Australia................................



A Floating Court on the Amazon, Brazil...........................................



IV Court-Supplied Services....................................................................








Court-Based Childcare Programs...................................................



Court-Based Family Services........................................................



Translation Services...................................................................



V Court-Community Connections...............................................................

VI Court Policies








Training for Judges and Court Personnel...........................................



Court Procedures.......................................................................



VII Caring Judges








Judicial Opinions.......................................................................



Judicial Reflections.....................................................................



VIII Conclusion: Caring Family Courts...........................................................

Index