Mission Statement
"To promote the public welfare by preserving, promoting and protecting family life and the institution of matrimony, to protect the rights of children, and to provide means for the reconciliation of spouses and the amicable settlement of domestic and family controversies."
What We Do
The purpose of the Conciliation Court is to provide a range of services to families that are going through the process of divorce and separation or involved in a paternity action and to assist in the settlement of domestic disputes. Most services are offered at no cost and are either provided through Court order or by direct request from the family.
The services are designed to help families focus on the children's best interests by developing parenting plans and providing confidential mediation for legal decision-making and parenting time disputes or disputes involving property and debt. Our non-confidential evaluative services allow for us to identify any areas of parental fitness concern and we provide recommendations to the Court based on assessment findings. We interview parents and may also interview children or conduct observations of parents interacting with the children to help make decisions that are based on the children's best interests.
Conciliation Court also provides assistance for self-represented litigants to help answer general questions about the court process, explain court rules, procedures, and practices, provide information and explain how to file a case, and review forms for accuracy and completeness. We offer brief counseling to assist spouses in making informed and thoughtful decisions regarding the future of their marriage by focusing on short-term problem solving.
Further, we offer the Parent Education course which is mandated for all new divorcing parents of minor children and unmarried parents with legal decision-making, parenting time, and child support disputes. This course is designed to help parents focus on their own needs as well as the needs of their children.