Statewide Coordination Of Family Mediation And Conciliation Services - Conciliation Proceedings - CA Family Law

Section § 1850

The Judicial Council in California has several important responsibilities related to family law. They help courts with mediation and conciliation proceedings, set up a system to track marriage dissolution, legal separation, and custody issues, and manage grants for research and projects on family law issues such as mediation, child support, and custody guidelines. They also facilitate training for court personnel on family law matters, funded by specific sources, and conduct research to improve future family law policies.

The Judicial Council shall do all of the following:

(a) Assist courts in implementing mediation and conciliation proceedings under this code.

(b) Establish and implement a uniform statistical reporting system relating to proceedings brought for dissolution of marriage, for nullity of marriage, or for legal separation of the parties, including, but not limited to, a custody disposition survey.

(c) Administer a program of grants to public and private agencies submitting proposals for research, study, and demonstration projects in the area of family law, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) The development of conciliation and mediation and other newer dispute resolution techniques, particularly as they relate to child custody and to avoidance of litigation.

(2) The establishment of criteria to ensure that a child support order is adequate.

(3) The development of methods to ensure that a child support order is paid.

(4) The study of the feasibility and desirability of guidelines to assist judges in making custody decisions.

(d) Administer a program for the training of court personnel involved in family law proceedings, which shall be available to the court personnel and which shall be totally funded from funds specified in Section 1852. The training shall include, but not be limited to, the order of preference for custody of minor children and the meaning of the custody arrangements under Part 2 (commencing with Section 3020) of Division 8.

(e) Conduct research on the effectiveness of current family law for the purpose of shaping future public policy.

Judicial Council mediation conciliation statistical reporting dissolution of marriage nullity of marriage legal separation custody disposition survey research grants dispute resolution child custody child support orders court personnel training custody arrangements public policy research

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 470, Sec. 16. (AB 1529) Effective January 1, 2013.)

Section § 1851

This section requires the Judicial Council to set up a committee made up of people with different backgrounds and expertise in family law. This committee's job is to suggest how to pick organizations for grants, including how to evaluate proposals. They also advise on submitting these results to the Legislature, Governor, and family law courts and help decide the priority of grant proposals.

The Judicial Council shall establish an advisory committee of persons representing a broad spectrum of interest in and knowledge about family law. The committee shall recommend criteria for determining grant recipients pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1850, which shall include proposal evaluation guidelines and procedures for submission of the results to the Legislature, the Governor, and family law courts. In accordance with established criteria, the committee shall receive grant proposals and shall recommend the priority of submitted proposals.

Judicial Council advisory committee family law grant recipients proposal evaluation Legislature submission Governor submission family law courts grant proposals priority recommendations criteria establishment broad spectrum representation

(Enacted by Stats. 1992, Ch. 162, Sec. 10. Operative January 1, 1994.)

Section § 1852

The Family Law Trust Fund is a special account in California's State Treasury, collecting money from various sources like certain fees, grants, and donations. This fund earns interest and is used to support family law activities. The Judicial Council oversees the fund, but it can delegate duties to the Administrative Office of the Courts. Any leftover money at the fiscal year’s end automatically rolls over to the next year. Local officials can keep up to 10% of what they collect to cover their costs.

(a) There is in the State Treasury the Family Law Trust Fund.

(b) Moneys collected by the state pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 103625 of the Health and Safety Code, Section 70674 of the Government Code, and grants, gifts, or devises made to the state from private sources to be used for the purposes of this part shall be deposited into the Family Law Trust Fund.

(c) Moneys deposited in the Family Law Trust Fund shall be placed in an interest bearing account. Any interest earned shall accrue to the fund and shall be disbursed pursuant to subdivision (d).

(d) Money deposited in the Family Law Trust Fund shall be disbursed for purposes specified in this part and for other family law related activities.

(e) Moneys deposited in the Family Law Trust Fund shall be administered by the Judicial Council. The Judicial Council may, with appropriate guidelines, delegate the administration of the fund to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

(f) Any moneys in the Family Law Trust Fund that are unencumbered at the end of the fiscal year are automatically appropriated to the Family Law Trust Fund of the following year.

(g) In order to defray the costs of collection of these funds, pursuant to this section, the local registrar, county clerk, or county recorder may retain a percentage of the funds collected, not to exceed 10 percent of the fee payable to the state pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 103625 of the Health and Safety Code.

Family Law Trust Fund State Treasury interest bearing account Judicial Council Administrative Office of the Courts rollover funds end of fiscal year defray collection costs local registrar county clerk county recorder fees and donations disbursed for family law fund administration private sources donations

(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 75, Sec. 45. Effective July 19, 2005. Operative January 1, 2006, by Sec. 156 of Ch. 75.)