$2,000 grant for family court project

The Putnam County Family Court Project will receive a $2,000 grant from the Indiana Supreme Court's Division of State Court Administration.

Judge Matthew Headley will serve as lead on the project.

In 2006, the Putnam County Family Court Project served 38 children and 55 adults.

The Indiana Supreme Court's Family Court Project encourages a coordinated, holistic approach to serve the needs of families involved in multiple court cases. Family courts coordinate the cases and stress common-sense, non-adversarial solutions.

"The Family Court concept assists families and benefits the judicial system and communities because it stresses comprehensive, long-term solutions for families facing multiple problems," said Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard.

These grants are considered "seed money" and courts eventually become self-funded. The Indiana Family Court Project began in 1999 as a cooperative effort between the Indiana General Assembly and the Indiana Supreme Court.

Since 1999, the Supreme Court has distributed more than $1,825,000 to support Family Court projects.

The core component of the Family Court Project is coordination of multiple cases involving the same family. This avoids inconsistent orders and promotes more informed decision making.

Options for the coordination includes:

* One judge -- one family

* Information sharing between multiple courts

* Facilitation and pre-trial conferences

* Affordable alternative dispute resolution

* Family-focused service, assessment, or referral for high-risk families

* Expeditious and efficient processing of pro se cases.

More information on the Indiana Supreme Court's Family Court Project is available online at http://www.in.gov/judiciary/family-court.