II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1382

To amend title 11, District of Columbia Code, to redesignate the Family

Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia as the Family

Court of the Superior Court, to recruit and retain trained and experienced judges to serve in the Family Court, to promote consistency and

efficiency in the assignment of judges to the Family Court and in

the consideration of actions and proceedings in the Family Court, and

for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 3, 2001

Mr. DEWINE (for himself and Ms. LANDRIEU) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To amend title 11, District of Columbia Code, to redesignate

the Family Division of the Superior Court of the District

of Columbia as the Family Court of the Superior Court,

to recruit and retain trained and experienced judges to

serve in the Family Court, to promote consistency and

efficiency in the assignment of judges to the Family

Court and in the consideration of actions and proceedings in the Family Court, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2

•S 1382 IS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia

3 Family Court Act of 2001’’.

4 SEC. 2. REDESIGNATION OF FAMILY DIVISION AS FAMILY

5 COURT OF THE SUPERIOR COURT.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 11–902, District of Co7 lumbia Code, is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘§ 11–902. Organization of the court

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Superior Court shall consist

10 of the following:

11 ‘‘(1) The Civil Division.

12 ‘‘(2) The Criminal Division.

13 ‘‘(3) The Family Court.

14 ‘‘(4) The Probate Division.

15 ‘‘(5) The Tax Division.

16 ‘‘(b) BRANCHES.—The divisions of the Superior

17 Court may be divided into such branches as the Superior

18 Court may by rule prescribe.

19 ‘‘(c) DESIGNATION OF PRESIDING JUDGE OF FAMILY

20 COURT.—The chief judge of the Superior Court shall des21 ignate one of the judges assigned to the Family Court of

22 the Superior Court to serve as the presiding judge of the

23 Family Court of the Superior Court.

24 ‘‘(d) JURISDICTION DESCRIBED.—The Family Court

25 shall have original jurisdiction over the actions, applica-
3

•S 1382 IS

1 tions, determinations, adjudications, and proceedings de2 scribed in section 11–1101.’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 9.—

4 Section 11–906(b), District of Columbia Code, is amended

5 by inserting ‘‘the Family Court and’’ before ‘‘the various

6 divisions’’.

7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 11.—

8 (1) The heading for chapter 11 of title 11, District of Co9 lumbia, is amended by striking ‘‘FAMILY DIVISION’’ and

10 inserting ‘‘FAMILY COURT’’.

11 (2) The item relating to chapter 11 in the table of

12 chapters for title 11, District of Columbia, is amended by

13 striking ‘‘FAMILY DIVISION’’ and inserting ‘‘FAMILY

14 COURT’’.

15 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 16.—

16 (1) CALCULATION OF CHILD SUPPORT.—Sec17 tion 16–916.1(o)(6), District of Columbia Code, is

18 amended by striking ‘‘Family Division’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘Family Court of the Superior Court’’.

20 (2) EXPEDITED JUDICIAL HEARING OF CASES

21 BROUGHT BEFORE HEARING COMMISSIONERS.—Sec22 tion 16–924, District of Columbia Code, is amended

23 by striking ‘‘Family Division’’ each place it appears

24 in subsections (a) and (f) and inserting ‘‘Family

25 Court’’.
4

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1 (3) GENERAL REFERENCES TO PRO2 CEEDINGS.—Chapter 23 of title 16, District of Co3 lumbia Code, is amended by inserting after section

4 16–2301 the following new section:

5 ‘‘§ 16–2301.1. References deemed to refer to Family

6 Court of the Superior Court

7 ‘‘Any reference in this chapter or any other Federal

8 or District of Columbia law, Executive order, rule, regula9 tion, delegation of authority, or any document of or per10 taining to the Family Division of the Superior Court of

11 the District of Columbia shall be deemed to refer to the

12 Family Court of the Superior Court of the District of Co13 lumbia.’’.

14 (4) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec15 tions for subchapter I of chapter 23 of title 16, Dis16 trict of Columbia, is amended by inserting after the

17 item relating to section 16–2301 the following new

18 item:

‘‘16–2301.1. References deemed to refer to Family Court of the Superior

Court.’’.

19 SEC. 3. APPOINTMENT AND ASSIGNMENT OF JUDGES; NUM20 BER AND QUALIFICATIONS.

21 (a) NUMBER OF JUDGES FOR FAMILY COURT;

22 QUALIFICATIONS AND TERMS OF SERVICE.—Chapter 9 of

23 title 11, District of Columbia Code, is amended by insert24 ing after section 11–908 the following new section:
5

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1 ‘‘§ 11–908A. Special rules regarding assignment and

2 service of judges of Family Court

3 ‘‘(a) NUMBER OF JUDGES.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The number of judges serv5 ing on the Family Court of the Superior Court at

6 any time may not be less than 12 or more than 15.

7 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The total number of judges on

8 the Superior Court may exceed the limit on such

9 judges to the extent necessary to maintain the re10 quirements of this subsection if the chief judge of

11 the Superior Court—

12 ‘‘(A) obtains the approval of the Joint

13 Committee on Judicial Administration; and

14 ‘‘(B) reports to Congress regarding the cir15 cumstances that gave rise to the necessity to

16 exceed the cap.

17 ‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The chief judge may not as18 sign an individual to serve on the Family Court of the

19 Superior Court unless—

20 ‘‘(1) the individual has training or expertise in

21 family law;

22 ‘‘(2) the individual certifies to the chief judge

23 that the individual intends to serve the full term of

24 service, except that this paragraph shall not apply

25 with respect to individuals serving as senior judges
6

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1 under section 11–1504 and individuals serving as

2 temporary judges under section 11–908;

3 ‘‘(3) the individual certifies to the chief judge

4 that the individual will participate in the ongoing

5 training programs carried out for judges of the

6 Family Court under section 11–1104(c); and

7 ‘‘(4) the individual meets the requirements of

8 section 11–1732A(b).

9 ‘‘(c) TERM OF SERVICE.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

11 ‘‘(A) SERVING JUDGES.—An individual as12 signed to serve as a judge of the Family Court

13 of the Superior Court who is serving as a judge

14 in the Superior Court on the date of the enact15 ment of the District of Columbia Family Court

16 Act of 2001 shall serve for a term of not fewer

17 than 3 years as determined by the chief judge

18 of the Superior Court (including any consecu19 tive period of service on the Family Division of

20 the Superior Court immediately preceding the

21 date of the enactment of such Act).

22 ‘‘(B) NEW JUDGES.—An individual as23 signed to serve as a judge of the Family Court

24 of the Superior Court who is not serving as a

25 judge in the Superior Court on the date of the
7

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1 enactment of the District of Columbia Family

2 Court Act of 2001 shall serve for a term of 5

3 years.

4 ‘‘(2) ASSIGNMENT FOR ADDITIONAL SERVICE.—

5 After the term of service of a judge of the Family

6 Court (as described in paragraph (1)) expires, at the

7 judge’s request the judge may be assigned for addi8 tional service on the Family Court for a period of

9 such duration (consistent with section 431(c) of the

10 District of Columbia Home Rule Act) as the chief

11 judge may provide.

12 ‘‘(3) PERMITTING SERVICE ON FAMILY COURT

13 FOR ENTIRE TERM.—At the request of the judge, a

14 judge may serve as a judge of the Family Court for

15 the judge’s entire term of service as a judge of the

16 Superior Court under section 431(c) of the District

17 of Columbia Home Rule Act.

18 ‘‘(d) REASSIGNMENT TO OTHER DIVISIONS.—The

19 chief judge may reassign a judge of the Family Court to

20 any division of the Superior Court if the chief judge deter21 mines that the judge is unable, for cause, to continue serv22 ing in the Family Court.’’.

23 (b) PLAN FOR FAMILY COURT TRANSITION.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the chief
8

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1 judge of the Superior Court of the District of Co2 lumbia shall prepare and submit to the President

3 and Congress a transition plan for the Family Court

4 of the Superior Court, and shall include in the plan

5 the following:

6 (A) The chief judge’s determination of the

7 role and function of the presiding judge of the

8 Family Court.

9 (B) The chief judge’s determination of the

10 number of judges needed to serve on the Family

11 Court.

12 (C) The chief judge’s determination of the

13 number of magistrate judges of the Family

14 Court needed for appointment under section

15 11–1732, District of Columbia Code.

16 (D) The chief judge’s determination of the

17 appropriate functions of such magistrate

18 judges, together with the compensation of and

19 other personnel matters pertaining to such

20 magistrate judges.

21 (E) A plan for case flow, case manage22 ment, and staffing needs (including the needs

23 for both judicial and nonjudicial personnel) for

24 the Family Court.
9

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1 (F) A plan for space, equipment, and other

2 physical plant needs and requirements during

3 the transition, as determined in consultation

4 with the Administrator of General Services.

5 (G) An analysis of the success of the use

6 of magistrate judges under the expedited ap7 pointment procedures established under section

8 6(d) in reducing the number of pending actions

9 and proceedings within the jurisdiction of the

10 Family Court (as described in section 11–

11 902(d), District of Columbia, as amended by

12 subsection (a)).

13 (H) Consistent with the requirements of

14 paragraph (2), a proposal for the disposition or

15 transfer to the Family Court of actions and

16 proceedings within the jurisdiction of the Fam17 ily Court as of the date of the enactment of this

18 Act (together with actions and proceedings de19 scribed in section 11–1101, District of Colum20 bia Code, which were initiated in the Family

21 Division but remain pending in other Divisions

22 of the Superior Court as of such date) in a

23 manner consistent with applicable Federal and

24 District of Columbia law and best practices, in25 cluding best practices developed by the Amer-
10

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1 ican Bar Association and the National Council

2 of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.

3 (2) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROPOSAL FOR

4 TRANSFER OR DISPOSITION OF ACTIONS AND PRO5 CEEDINGS TO FAMILY COURT.—

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The chief judge of the

7 Superior Court and the presiding judge of the

8 Family Court shall take such steps as may be

9 required as provided in the proposal for disposi10 tion of actions and proceedings under para11 graph (1)(H) to ensure that each action or pro12 ceeding within the jurisdiction of the Family

13 Court of the Superior Court (as described in

14 section 11–902(d), District of Columbia Code,

15 as amended by subsection (a)) is transferred to

16 the Family Court or otherwise disposed of as

17 provided in subparagraph (B). The requirement

18 of this subparagraph shall not apply to an ac19 tion or proceeding pending before a senior

20 judge as defined in section 11–1504, District of

21 Columbia Code.

22 (B) DEADLINE.—Notwithstanding any

23 other provision of this Act or any amendment

24 made by this Act, no action or proceeding which

25 is within the jurisdiction of the Family Court
11

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1 (as described in section 11–902(d), District of

2 Columbia Code, as amended by subsection (a))

3 shall remain pending with a judge not serving

4 on the Family Court upon the expiration of 18

5 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

6 (C) PROGRESS REPORTS.—The chief judge

7 of the Superior Court shall report to the Com8 mittee on Appropriations of each House, the

9 Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Sen10 ate, and the Committee on Government Reform

11 of the House of Representatives 6 months and

12 12 months after the date of enactment of this

13 Act on the progress made towards disposing of

14 actions or proceedings described in subpara15 graph (B).

16 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF

17 PLAN.—The chief judge of the Superior Court may

18 not take any action to implement the transition plan

19 under this subsection until the expiration of the 30-

20 day period which begins on the date the chief judge

21 submits the plan to the President and Congress

22 under paragraph (1).

23 (c) TRANSITION TO REQUIRED NUMBER OF

24 JUDGES.—
12

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1 (1) ANALYSIS BY CHIEF JUDGE OF SUPERIOR

2 COURT.—The chief judge of the Superior Court of

3 the District of Columbia shall include in the transi4 tion plan prepared under subsection (b)—

5 (A) the chief judge’s determination of the

6 number of individuals serving as judges of the

7 Superior Court who meet the qualifications for

8 judges of the Family Court of the Superior

9 Court under section 11–908A, District of Co10 lumbia Code (as added by subsection (a)); and

11 (B) if the chief judge determines that the

12 number of individuals described in subpara13 graph (A) is less than 15, a request that the

14 Judicial Nomination Commission recruit and

15 the President nominate (in accordance with sec16 tion 433 of the District of Columbia Home Rule

17 Act) such additional number of individuals to

18 serve on the Superior Court who meet the

19 qualifications for judges of the Family Court

20 under such section as may be required to enable

21 the chief judge to make the required number of

22 assignments.

23 (2) ROLE OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JUDICIAL

24 NOMINATION COMMISSION.—For purposes of section

25 434(d)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule
13

•S 1382 IS

1 Act, the submission of a request from the chief

2 judge of the Superior Court of the District of Co3 lumbia under paragraph (1)(B) shall be deemed to

4 create a number of vacancies in the position of judge

5 of the Superior Court equal to the number of addi6 tional appointments so requested by the chief judge,

7 except that the deadline for the submission by the

8 District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commis9 sion of nominees to fill such vacancies shall be 90

10 days after the creation of such vacancies. In car11 rying out this paragraph, the District of Columbia

12 Judicial Nomination Commission shall recruit indi13 viduals for possible nomination and appointment to

14 the Superior Court who meet the qualifications for

15 judges of the Family Court of the Superior Court.

16 (d) REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp19 troller General shall prepare and submit to Congress

20 and the chief judge of the Superior Court of the Dis21 trict of Columbia a report on the implementation of

22 this Act (including the transition plan under sub23 section (b)), and shall include in the report the fol24 lowing:
14

•S 1382 IS

1 (A) An analysis of the procedures used to

2 make the initial appointments of judges of the

3 Family Court under this Act and the amend4 ments made by this Act, including an analysis

5 of the time required to make such appointments

6 and the effect of the qualification requirements

7 for judges of the Court (including requirements

8 relating to the length of service on the Court)

9 on the time required to make such appoint10 ments.

11 (B) An analysis of the impact of mag12 istrate judges for the Family Court (including

13 the expedited initial appointment of magistrate

14 judges for the Court under section 6(d)) on the

15 workload of judges and other personnel of the

16 Court.

17 (C) An analysis of the number of judges

18 needed for the Family Court, including an anal19 ysis of how the number may be affected by the

20 qualification requirements for judges, the avail21 ability of magistrate judges, and other provi22 sions of this Act or the amendments made by

23 this Act.

24 (2) SUBMISSION TO CHIEF JUDGE OF SUPERIOR

25 COURT.—Prior to submitting the report under para-
15

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1 graph (1) to Congress, the Comptroller General shall

2 provide a preliminary version of the report to the

3 chief judge of the Superior Court and shall take any

4 comments and recommendations of the chief judge

5 into consideration in preparing the final version of

6 the report.

7 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The first sentence

8 of section 11–908(a), District of Columbia Code, is

9 amended by striking ‘‘The chief judge’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘Subject to section 11–908A, the chief judge’’.

11 (f) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

12 for chapter 9 of title 11, District of Columbia Code, is

13 amended by inserting after the item relating to section

14 11–908 the following new item:

‘‘11–908A. Special rules regarding assignment and service of judges of Family

Court.’’.

15 SEC. 4. IMPROVING ADMINISTRATION OF CASES AND PRO16 CEEDINGS IN FAMILY COURT.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 11, District

18 of Columbia, is amended by striking section 1101 and in19 serting the following:

20 ‘‘§ 11–1101. Jurisdiction of the Family Court

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Family Court of the District

22 of Columbia shall be assigned and have original jurisdic23 tion over—
16

•S 1382 IS

1 ‘‘(1) actions for divorce from the bond of mar2 riage and legal separation from bed and board, in3 cluding proceedings incidental thereto for alimony,

4 pendente lite and permanent, and for support and

5 custody of minor children;

6 ‘‘(2) applications for revocation of divorce from

7 bed and board;

8 ‘‘(3) actions to enforce support of any person as

9 required by law;

10 ‘‘(4) actions seeking custody of minor children,

11 including petitions for writs of habeas corpus;

12 ‘‘(5) actions to declare marriages void;

13 ‘‘(6) actions to declare marriages valid;

14 ‘‘(7) actions for annulments of marriage;

15 ‘‘(8) determinations and adjudications of prop16 erty rights, both real and personal, in any action re17 ferred to in this section, irrespective of any jurisdic18 tional limitation imposed on the Superior Court;

19 ‘‘(9) proceedings in adoption;

20 ‘‘(10) proceedings under the Act of July 10,

21 1957 (D.C. Code, secs. 30–301 to 30–324);

22 ‘‘(11) proceedings to determine paternity of any

23 child born out of wedlock;
17

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1 ‘‘(12) civil proceedings for protection involving

2 intrafamily offenses, instituted pursuant to chapter

3 10 of title 16;

4 ‘‘(13) proceedings in which a child, as defined

5 in section 16–2301, is alleged to be delinquent, ne6 glected, or in need of supervision;

7 ‘‘(14) proceedings under chapter 5 of title 21

8 relating to the commitment of the mentally ill;

9 ‘‘(15) proceedings under chapter 11 of title 21

10 relating to the commitment of the substantially re11 tarded; and

12 ‘‘(16) proceedings under Interstate Compact on

13 Juveniles (described in title IV of the District of Co14 lumbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of

15 1970).

16 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this chapter, the term ‘action

17 or proceeding’ with respect to the Family Court refers to

18 cause of action described in paragraphs (1) through (16)

19 of subsection (a).

20 ‘‘§ 11–1102. Use of alternative dispute resolution

21 ‘‘To the greatest extent practicable and safe, cases

22 and proceedings in the Family Court of the Superior

23 Court shall be resolved through alternative dispute resolu24 tion procedures, in accordance with such rules as the Su25 perior Court may promulgate.
18

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1 ‘‘§ 11–1103. Standards of practice for appointed coun2 sel

3 ‘‘The Superior Court shall establish standards of

4 practice for attorneys appointed as counsel in the Family

5 Court of the Superior Court.

6 ‘‘§ 11–1104. Administration

7 ‘‘(a) ‘ONE FAMILY, ONE JUDGE’ REQUIREMENT FOR

8 CASES AND PROCEEDINGS.—To the greatest extent prac9 ticable and feasible, if an individual who is a party to an

10 action or proceeding assigned to the Family Court has an

11 immediate family or household member who is a party to

12 another action or proceeding assigned to the Family

13 Court, the individual’s action or proceeding shall be as14 signed to the same judge or magistrate judge to whom

15 the immediate family member’s action or proceeding is as16 signed.

17 ‘‘(b) RETENTION OF JURISDICTION OVER CASES.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the require19 ment of subsection (a), any action or proceeding as20 signed to the Family Court of the Superior Court

21 shall remain under the jurisdiction of the Family

22 Court until the action or proceeding is finally dis23 posed.

24 ‘‘(2) ONE FAMILY, ONE JUDGE.—

25 ‘‘(A) FOR THE DURATION.—An action or

26 proceeding assigned pursuant to this subsection
19

•S 1382 IS

1 shall remain with the judge or magistrate judge

2 to whom the action or proceeding is assigned

3 for the duration of the action or proceeding to

4 the greatest extent practicable, feasible, and

5 lawful.

6 ‘‘(B) ALL CASES INVOLVING AN INDI7 VIDUAL.—If an individual who is a party to an

8 action or proceeding assigned to the Family

9 Court becomes a party to another action or pro10 ceeding assigned to the Family Court, the indi11 vidual’s subsequent action or proceeding shall

12 be assigned to the same judge or magistrate

13 judge to whom the individual’s initial action or

14 proceeding is assigned to the greatest extent

15 practicable, feasible, and lawful.

16 ‘‘(C) REASSIGNMENT.—If the judge to

17 whom the action or proceeding is assigned

18 ceases to serve on the Family Court prior to the

19 final disposition of the action or proceeding, the

20 presiding judge of the Family Court shall en21 sure that the matter or proceeding is reassigned

22 to a judge serving on the Family Court, except

23 that a judge who ceases to serve in Family

24 Court but remains in Superior Court may re25 tain the case or proceeding for not more than
20

•S 1382 IS

1 6 months after ceasing to serve if such reten2 tion is in the best interests of the parties.

3 ‘‘(3) STANDARDS OF JUDICIAL ETHICS.—The

4 actions of a judge or magistrate judge in retaining

5 an action or proceeding under this paragraph shall

6 be subject to applicable standards of judicial ethics.

7 ‘‘(c) TRAINING PROGRAM.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The presiding judge of the

9 Family Court shall carry out an ongoing program to

10 provide training in family law and related matters

11 for judges of the Family Court, including magistrate

12 judges, attorneys who practice in the Family Court,

13 and appropriate nonjudicial personnel, and shall in14 clude in the program information and instruction re15 garding the following:

16 ‘‘(A) Child development.

17 ‘‘(B) Family dynamics, including domestic

18 violence.

19 ‘‘(C) Relevant Federal and District of Co20 lumbia laws.

21 ‘‘(D) Permanency planning principles and

22 practices.

23 ‘‘(E) Recognizing the risk factors for child

24 abuse.
21

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1 ‘‘(F) Any other matters the presiding

2 judge considers appropriate.

3 ‘‘(2) USE OF CROSS-TRAINING.—The program

4 carried out under this section shall use the resources

5 of lawyers and legal professionals, social workers,

6 and experts in the field of child development and

7 other related fields.

8 ‘‘(d) ACCESSIBILITY OF MATERIALS, SERVICES, AND

9 PROCEEDINGS; PROMOTION OF ‘FAMILY-FRIENDLY’ EN10 VIRONMENT.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the greatest extent

12 practicable, the presiding judge of the Family Court

13 shall ensure that the materials and services provided

14 by the Family Court are understandable and acces15 sible to the individuals and families served by the

16 Court, and that the Court carries out its duties in

17 a manner which reflects the special needs of families

18 with children.

19 ‘‘(2) LOCATION OF PROCEEDINGS.—To the

20 maximum extent feasible, safe, and practicable,

21 cases and proceedings in the Family Court shall be

22 conducted at locations readily accessible to the par23 ties involved.

24 ‘‘(e) INTEGRATED COMPUTERIZED CASE TRACKING

25 AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—The Executive Officer of
22

•S 1382 IS

1 the District of Columbia courts under section 11–1703

2 shall work with the chief judge of the Superior Court—

3 ‘‘(1) to ensure that all records and materials of

4 cases and proceedings in the Family Court are

5 stored and maintained in electronic format accessible

6 by computers for the use of judges, magistrate

7 judges, and nonjudicial personnel of the Family

8 Court, and for the use of other appropriate offices

9 of the District government in accordance with the

10 plan for integrating computer systems prepared by

11 the Mayor of the District of Columbia under section

12 4(b) of the District of Columbia Family Court Act

13 of 2001;

14 ‘‘(2) to establish and operate an electronic

15 tracking and management system for cases and pro16 ceedings in the Family Court for the use of judges

17 and nonjudicial personnel of the Family Court, using

18 the records and materials stored and maintained

19 pursuant to paragraph (1); and

20 ‘‘(3) to expand such system to cover all divi21 sions of the Superior Court as soon as practicable.

22 ‘‘§ 11–1105. Social services and other related services

23 ‘‘(a) ON-SITE COORDINATION OF SERVICES AND IN24 FORMATION.—
23

•S 1382 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Mayor of the District

2 of Columbia, in consultation with the chief judge of

3 the Superior Court, shall ensure that representatives

4 of the appropriate offices of the District government

5 which provide social services and other related serv6 ices to individuals and families served by the Family

7 Court (including the District of Columbia Public

8 Schools, the District of Columbia Housing Author9 ity, the Child and Family Services Agency, the Of10 fice of the Corporation Counsel, the Metropolitan

11 Police Department, the Department of Health, and

12 other offices determined by the Mayor) are available

13 on-site at the Family Court to coordinate the provi14 sion of such services and information regarding such

15 services to such individuals and families.

16 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF HEADS OF OFFICES.—The

17 head of each office described in paragraph (1), in18 cluding the Superintendent of the District of Colum19 bia Public Schools and the Director of the District

20 of Columbia Housing Authority, shall provide the

21 Mayor with such information, assistance, and serv22 ices as the Mayor may require to carry out such

23 paragraph.

24 ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES LIAISON

25 WITH FAMILY COURT.—The Mayor of the District of Co-
24

•S 1382 IS

1 lumbia shall appoint an individual to serve as a liaison

2 between the Family Court and the District government for

3 purposes of subsection (a) and for coordinating the deliv4 ery of services provided by the District government with

5 the activities of the Family Court and for providing infor6 mation to the judges, magistrate judges, and nonjudicial

7 personnel of the Court regarding the services available

8 from the District government to the individuals and fami9 lies served by the Court. The Mayor shall provide on an

10 ongoing basis information to the chief judge of the Supe11 rior Court and the presiding judge of the Family Court

12 regarding the services of the District government which

13 are available for the individuals and families served by the

14 Family Court.

15 ‘‘§ 11–1106. Reports to Congress

16 ‘‘Not later than 90 days after the end of each cal17 endar year, the chief judge of the Superior Court shall

18 submit a report to Congress on the activities of the Family

19 Court during the year, and shall include in the report the

20 following:

21 ‘‘(1) The chief judge’s assessment of the pro22 ductivity and success of the use of alternative dis23 pute resolution pursuant to section 11–1102.

24 ‘‘(2) Goals and timetables as required by the

25 Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 to improve
25

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1 the Family Court’s performance in the following

2 year.

3 ‘‘(3) Information on the extent to which the

4 Court met deadlines and standards applicable under

5 Federal and District of Columbia law to the review

6 and disposition of actions and proceedings under the

7 Court’s jurisdiction during the year.

8 ‘‘(4) Information on the progress made in es9 tablishing locations and appropriate space for the

10 Family Court that are consistent with the mission of

11 the Family Court until such time as the locations

12 and space are established.

13 ‘‘(5) Information on any factors which are not

14 under the control of the Family Court which inter15 fere with or prevent the Court from carrying out its

16 responsibilities in the most effective manner possible.

17 ‘‘(6) Based on outcome measures derived

18 through the use of the information stored in elec19 tronic format under section 11–1104(d), an analysis

20 of the Court’s efficiency and effectiveness in man21 aging its case load during the year, including an

22 analysis of the time required to dispose of actions

23 and proceedings among the various categories of the

24 Court’s jurisdiction, as prescribed by applicable law

25 and best practices, including (but not limited to)
26

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1 best practices developed by the American Bar Asso2 ciation and the National Council of Juvenile and

3 Family Court Judges.

4 ‘‘(7) If the Court failed to meet the deadlines,

5 standards, and outcome measures described in the

6 previous paragraphs, a proposed remedial action

7 plan to address the failure.’’.

8 (b) EXPEDITED APPEALS FOR CERTAIN FAMILY

9 COURT ACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS.—Section 11–721,

10 District of Columbia Code, is amended by adding at the

11 end the following new subsection:

12 ‘‘(g) Any appeal from an order of the Family Court

13 of the District of Columbia terminating parental rights or

14 granting or denying a petition to adopt shall receive expe15 dited review by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals

16 and shall be certified by the appellant. An oral hearing

17 on appeal shall be deemed to be waived unless specifically

18 requested by a party to the appeal.’’.

19 (c) PLAN FOR INTEGRATING COMPUTER SYSTEMS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

22 Mayor of the District of Columbia shall submit to

23 the President and Congress a plan for integrating

24 the computer systems of the District government

25 with the computer systems of the Superior Court of
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1 the District of Columbia so that the Family Court

2 of the Superior Court and the appropriate offices of

3 the District government which provide social services

4 and other related services to individuals and families

5 served by the Family Court of the Superior Court

6 (including the District of Columbia Public Schools,

7 the District of Columbia Housing Authority, the

8 Child and Family Services Agency, the Office of the

9 Corporation Counsel, the Metropolitan Police De10 partment, the Department of Health, and other of11 fices determined by the Mayor) will be able to access

12 and share information on the individuals and fami13 lies served by the Family Court.

14 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to the

16 Mayor of the District of Columbia such sums as may

17 be necessary to carry out paragraph (1).

18 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

19 for chapter 11 of title 11, District of Columbia Code, is

20 amended by adding at the end the following new items:

‘‘11–1102. Use of alternative dispute resolution.

‘‘11–1103. Standards of practice for appointed counsel.

‘‘11–1104. Administration.

‘‘11–1105. Social services and other related services.

‘‘11–1106. Reports to Congress.’’.

21 SEC. 5. TREATMENT OF HEARING COMMISSIONERS AS

22 MAGISTRATE JUDGES.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—
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1 (1) REDESIGNATION OF TITLE.—Section 11–

2 1732, District of Columbia Code, is amended—

3 (A) by striking ‘‘hearing commissioners’’

4 each place it appears in subsection (a), sub5 section (b), subsection (d), subsection (i), sub6 section (l), and subsection (n) and inserting

7 ‘‘magistrate judges’’;

8 (B) by striking ‘‘hearing commissioner’’

9 each place it appears in subsection (b), sub10 section (c), subsection (e), subsection (f), sub11 section (g), subsection (h), and subsection (j)

12 and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge’’;

13 (C) by striking ‘‘hearing commissioner’s’’

14 each place it appears in subsection (e) and sub15 section (k) and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge’s’’;

16 (D) by striking ‘‘Hearing commissioners’’

17 each place it appears in subsections (b), (d),

18 and (i) and inserting ‘‘Magistrate judges’’; and

19 (E) in the heading, by striking ‘‘Hearing

20 commissioners’’ and inserting ‘‘Mag21 istrate Judges’’.

22 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section

23 11–1732(c)(3), District of Columbia Code, is amend24 ed by striking ‘‘, except that’’ and all that follows

25 and inserting a period.
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1 (B) Section 16–924, District of Columbia Code,

2 is amended—

3 (i) by striking ‘‘hearing commissioner’’

4 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘magistrate

5 judge’’; and

6 (ii) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘hearing

7 commissioner’s’’ and inserting ‘‘magistrate

8 judge’s’’.

9 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating

10 to section 11–1732 of the table of sections of chap11 ter 17 of title 11, D.C. Code, is amended to read as

12 follows:

‘‘11–1732. Magistrate judges.’’.

13 (b) TRANSITION PROVISION REGARDING HEARING

14 COMMISSIONERS.—Any individual serving as a hearing

15 commissioner under section 11–1732 of the District of Co16 lumbia Code as of the date of the enactment of this Act

17 shall serve the remainder of such individual’s term as a

18 magistrate judge, and may be reappointed as a magistrate

19 judge in accordance with section 11–1732(d), District of

20 Columbia Code, except that any individual serving as a

21 hearing commissioner as of the date of the enactment of

22 this Act who was appointed as a hearing commissioner

23 prior to the effective date of section 11–1732 of the Dis24 trict of Columbia Code shall not be required to be a resi-
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1 dent of the District of Columbia to be eligible to be re2 appointed.

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

4 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment

5 of this Act.

6 SEC. 6. SPECIAL RULES FOR MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF FAM7 ILY COURT.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 17 of title 11, District

9 of Columbia Code, is amended by inserting after section

10 11–1732 the following new section:

11 ‘‘§ 11–1732A. Special rules for magistrate judges of

12 the Family Court of the Superior Court

13 ‘‘(a) USE OF SOCIAL WORKERS IN ADVISORY MERIT

14 SELECTION PANEL.—The advisory selection merit panel

15 used in the selection of magistrate judges for the Family

16 Court of the Superior Court under section 11–1732(b)

17 shall include certified social workers specializing in child

18 welfare matters who are residents of the District and who

19 are not employees of the District of Columbia Courts.

20 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS.—Notwithstanding

21 section 11–1732(c), no individual shall be appointed as a

22 magistrate judge for the Family Court of the Superior

23 Court unless that individual—

24 ‘‘(1) is a citizen of the United States;
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1 ‘‘(2) is an active member of the unified District

2 of Columbia Bar;

3 ‘‘(3) for the 5 years immediately preceding the

4 appointment has been engaged in the active practice

5 of law in the District, has been on the faculty of a

6 law school in the District, or has been employed as

7 a lawyer by the United States or District govern8 ment, or any combination thereof;

9 ‘‘(4) has not fewer than 3 years of training or

10 experience in the practice of family law; and

11 ‘‘(5)(A) is a bona fide resident of the District

12 of Columbia and has maintained an actual place of

13 abode in the District for at least 90 days imme14 diately prior to appointment, and retains such resi15 dency during service as a magistrate judge; or

16 ‘‘(B) is a bona fide resident of the areas con17 sisting of Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties

18 in Maryland, Arlington and Fairfax Counties, and

19 the City of Alexandria in Virginia, has maintained

20 an actual place of abode in such area for at least 5

21 years prior to appointment, and certifies that the in22 dividual will become a bona fide resident of the Dis23 trict of Columbia not later than 90 days after ap24 pointment.
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1 ‘‘(c) SERVICE OF CURRENT HEARING COMMIS2 SIONERS.—Those individuals serving as hearing commis3 sioners under section 11–1732 on the effective date of this

4 section who meet the qualifications described in subsection

5 (b)(4) may request to be appointed as magistrate judges

6 for the Family Court of the Superior Court under such

7 section.

8 ‘‘(d) FUNCTIONS.—A magistrate judge, when specifi9 cally designated by the presiding judge of the Family

10 Court of the Superior Court, and subject to the rules of

11 the Superior Court and the right of review under section

12 11–1732(k), may perform the following functions:

13 ‘‘(1) Administer oaths and affirmations and

14 take acknowledgements.

15 ‘‘(2) Subject to the rules of the Superior Court

16 and applicable Federal and District of Columbia law,

17 conduct hearings, make findings and enter interim

18 and final orders or judgments in uncontested or con19 tested proceedings within the jurisdiction of the

20 Family Court of the Superior Court (as described in

21 section 11–1101), excluding jury trials and trials of

22 felony cases, as assigned by the presiding judge of

23 the Family Court.

24 ‘‘(3) Subject to the rules of the Superior Court,

25 enter an order punishing an individual for contempt,
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1 except that no individual may be detained pursuant

2 to the authority of this paragraph for longer than

3 180 days.

4 ‘‘(e) LOCATION OF PROCEEDINGS.—To the maximum

5 extent feasible, safe, and practicable, magistrate judges of

6 the Family Court of the Superior Court shall conduct pro7 ceedings at locations readily accessible to the parties in8 volved.

9 ‘‘(f) TRAINING.—The Family Court of the Superior

10 Court shall ensure that all magistrate judges of the Fam11 ily Court receive training to enable them to fulfill their

12 responsibilities, including specialized training in family

13 law and related matters.’’.

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 11–

15 1732(a), District of Columbia Code, is amended by insert16 ing after ‘‘the duties enumerated in subsection (j) of this

17 section’’ the following: ‘‘(or, in the case of magistrate

18 judges for the Family Court of the Superior Court, the

19 duties enumerated in section 11–1732A(d))’’.

20 (2) Section 11–1732(c), District of Columbia Code,

21 is amended by striking ‘‘No individual’’ and inserting ‘‘Ex22 cept as provided in section 11–1732A(b), no individual’’.

23 (3) Section 11–1732(k), District of Columbia Code,

24 is amended—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (j),’’ and inserting

2 the following: ‘‘subsection (j) (or proceedings and

3 hearings under section 11–1732A(d), in the case of

4 magistrate judges for the Family Court of the Supe5 rior Court),’’; and

6 (B) by inserting after ‘‘appropriate division’’

7 the following: ‘‘(or, in the case of an order or judg8 ment of a magistrate judge of the Family Court of

9 the Superior Court, by a judge of the Family

10 Court)’’.

11 (4) Section 11–1732(l), District of Columbia Code,

12 is amended by inserting after ‘‘responsibilities’’ the fol13 lowing: ‘‘(subject to the requirements of section 11–

14 1732A(f) in the case of magistrate judges of the Family

15 Court of the Superior Court)’’.

16 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

17 for subchapter II of chapter 17 of title 11, District of Co18 lumbia, is amended by inserting after the item relating

19 to section 11–1732 the following new item:

‘‘11–1732A. Special rules for magistrate judges of Family Court of the Superior

Court.’’.

20 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by

22 this section shall take effect on the date of the en23 actment of this Act.

24 (2) EXPEDITED INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

3 chief judge of the Superior Court of the District

4 of Columbia shall appoint not more than 5 indi5 viduals to serve as magistrate judges for the

6 Family Division of the Superior Court in ac7 cordance with the requirements of sections 11–

8 1732 and 11–1732A, District of Columbia Code

9 (as added by subsection (a)).

10 (B) APPOINTMENTS MADE WITHOUT RE11 GARD TO SELECTION PANEL.—Sections 11–

12 1732(b) and 11–1732A(a), District of Columbia

13 Code (as added by subsection (a)) shall not

14 apply with respect to any magistrate judge ap15 pointed under this paragraph.

16 (C) PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN ACTIONS AND

17 PROCEEDINGS.—The chief judge of the Supe18 rior Court and the presiding judge of the Fam19 ily Division of the Superior Court (acting joint20 ly) shall first assign and transfer to the mag21 istrate judges appointed under this paragraph

22 actions and proceedings described as follows:

23 (i) The action or proceeding involves

24 an allegation of abuse or neglect.
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1 (ii) The judge to whom the action or

2 proceeding is assigned as of the date of the

3 enactment of this Act is not assigned to

4 the Family Division.

5 (iii) The action or proceeding was ini6 tiated in the Family Division prior to the

7 2-year period which ends on the date of

8 the enactment of this Act.

9 SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING BORDER AGREE10 MENT WITH MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA.

11 It is the sense of Congress that the State of Mary12 land, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of

13 Columbia should promptly enter into a border agreement

14 to facilitate the timely and safe placement of children in

15 the District of Columbia’s welfare system in foster and

16 kinship homes and other facilities in Maryland and Vir17 ginia.

18 SEC. 8. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE USE OF

19 COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES.

20 It is the sense of the Senate that the Chief Judge

21 of the Superior Court and the Presiding Judge of the

22 Family Division should take all steps necessary to encour23 age and support the use of Court Appointed Special Advo24 cates (CASA) in family court actions or proceedings.
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1 SEC. 9. INTERIM REPORTS.

2 Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment

3 of this Act, the chief judge of the Superior Court and the

4 presiding judge of the Family Court—

5 (1) in consultation with the General Services

6 Administration, shall submit to Congress a feasi7 bility study for the construction of appropriate per8 manent courts and facilities for the Family Court;

9 and

10 (2) shall submit to Congress an analysis of the

11 success of the use of magistrate judges under the ex12 pedited appointment procedures established under

13 section 6(d) in reducing the number of pending ac14 tions and proceedings within the jurisdiction of the

15 Family Court (as described in section 11–902(d),

16 District of Columbia).

17 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 There are authorized to be appropriated to the

19 Courts of the District of Columbia and the District of Co20 lumbia such sums as may be necessary to carry out the

21 amendments made by this Act.

22 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.

23 The amendments made by section 4 shall take effect

24 upon the expiration of the 18 month period which begins

25 on the date of the enactment of this Act.

Æ