Submitted article

COLUMBUS – With a goal of minimizing conflict for Ohio children and families, teams of domestic relations court judges and their justice system partners from around Ohio attended a statewide summit last week to assess their case management systems, examine resources, and share promising practices.

A team of representatives from Crawford County participated in the two-day statewide summit on April 24 and 25.

Participating from Crawford County were: Judge Russell B. Wiseman, Magistrate Mary Eileen Holm (who also served on the DR Summit Planning Committee), Magistrate Robert Clark Neff, Jr., Court Paralegal and Mediator Leslie Mack, Attorney Stephen F. Tilson and Attorney Brad S. Starkey.

To evaluate the current state of their court, using a facilitator provided by the Ohio Supreme Court, teams completed an assessment of their local case management practices by identifying tasks that each party performs to advance a case through the entire caseflow process. In addition, teams analyzed the case management for steps that can be streamlined, combined, or reorganized; assessed their resources to ensure their optimal use; and identified challenges and solutions.

The Supreme Court staff envisioned the summit as a way to shine a light on Ohio’s domestic relations courts, which have jurisdiction over all proceedings involving divorce or dissolution of marriages, annulment, legal separation, spousal support, and allocation of parental rights and responsibilities for the care of children.

Modeled after the National Summit on Children, the idea for the summit came about after the success of the Supreme Court’s Beyond the Numbers project, which primarily focused on improving court processes for the benefit of children and families.

“Domestic relations cases are among the most important cases we handle in Common Pleas Court,” said Magistrate Rob Neff. “We have had more domestic relations cases than criminal cases in each of the past three years. Often the families involved in these cases are in crisis,” Magistrate Neff continued. “Providing prompt and fair assistance for families in resolving these disputes pays long-term dividends by giving children in our communities the stability that they need to thrive.”