II

Calendar No. 257

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1382

[Report No. 107–107]

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

DECEMBER 5, 2001

Reported by Mr. LIEBERMAN, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

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
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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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

5 Family Court Act of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. REDESIGNATION OF FAMILY DIVISION AS FAMILY

7 COURT OF THE SUPERIOR COURT.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 11–902, District of Co9 lumbia Code, is amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘§ 11–902. Organization of the court

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

12 of the following:

13 ‘‘(1) The Civil Division.

14 ‘‘(2) The Criminal Division.

15 ‘‘(3) The Family Court.

16 ‘‘(4) The Probate Division.

17 ‘‘(5) The Tax Division.

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

19 Court may be divided into such branches as the Superior

20 Court may by rule prescribe.

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

22 COURT.—The chief judge of the Superior Court shall des23 ignate one of the judges assigned to the Family Court of
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1 the Superior Court to serve as the presiding judge of the

2 Family Court of the Superior Court.

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

4 shall have original jurisdiction over the actions, applica5 tions, determinations, adjudications, and proceedings de6 scribed in section 11–1101.’’.

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 9.—

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

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

10 divisions’’.

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 11.—

12 (1) The heading for chapter 11 of title 11, District of Co13 lumbia, is amended by striking ‘‘FAMILY DIVISION’’ and

14 inserting ‘‘FAMILY COURT’’.

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

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

17 striking ‘‘FAMILY DIVISION’’ and inserting ‘‘FAMILY

18 COURT’’.

19 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 16.—

20 (1) CALCULATION OF CHILD SUPPORT.—Sec21 tion 16–916.1(o)(6), District of Columbia Code, is

22 amended by striking ‘‘Family Division’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘Family Court of the Superior Court’’.

24 (2) EXPEDITED JUDICIAL HEARING OF CASES

25 BROUGHT BEFORE HEARING COMMISSIONERS.—Sec-
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1 tion 16–924, District of Columbia Code, is amended

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

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

4 Court’’.

5 (3) GENERAL REFERENCES TO PRO6 CEEDINGS.—Chapter 23 of title 16, District of Co7 lumbia Code, is amended by inserting after section

8 16–2301 the following new section:

9 ‘‘§ 16–2301.1. References deemed to refer to Family

10 Court of the Superior Court

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

12 or District of Columbia law, Executive order, rule, regula13 tion, delegation of authority, or any document of or per14 taining to the Family Division of the Superior Court of

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

16 Family Court of the Superior Court of the District of Co17 lumbia.’’.

18 (4) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec19 tions for subchapter I of chapter 23 of title 16, Dis20 trict of Columbia, is amended by inserting after the

21 item relating to section 16–2301 the following new

22 item:

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

Court.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. APPOINTMENT AND ASSIGNMENT OF JUDGES; NUM2 BER AND QUALIFICATIONS.

3 (a) NUMBER OF JUDGES FOR FAMILY COURT;

4 QUALIFICATIONS AND TERMS OF SERVICE.—Chapter 9 of

5 title 11, District of Columbia Code, is amended by insert6 ing after section 11–908 the following new section:

7 ‘‘§ 11–908A. Special rules regarding assignment and

8 service of judges of Family Court

9 ‘‘(a) NUMBER OF JUDGES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The number of judges serv11 ing on the Family Court of the Superior Court at

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

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

14 the Superior Court may exceed the limit on such

15 judges to the extent necessary to maintain the re16 quirements of this subsection if the chief judge of

17 the Superior Court—

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

19 Committee on Judicial Administration; and

20 ‘‘(B) reports to Congress regarding the cir21 cumstances that gave rise to the necessity to

22 exceed the cap.

23 ‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The chief judge may not as24 sign an individual to serve on the Family Court of the

25 Superior Court unless—
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1 ‘‘(1) the individual has training or expertise in

2 family law;

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

4 that the individual intends to serve the full term of

5 service, except that this paragraph shall not apply

6 with respect to individuals serving as senior judges

7 under section 11–1504 and individuals serving as

8 temporary judges under section 11–908;

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

10 that the individual will participate in the ongoing

11 training programs carried out for judges of the

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

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

14 section 11–1732A(b).

15 ‘‘(c) TERM OF SERVICE.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

17 ‘‘(A) SERVING JUDGES.—An individual as18 signed to serve as a judge of the Family Court

19 of the Superior Court who is serving as a judge

20 in the Superior Court on the date of the enact21 ment of the District of Columbia Family Court

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

23 than 3 years as determined by the chief judge

24 of the Superior Court (including any consecu25 tive period of service on the Family Division of
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1 the Superior Court immediately preceding the

2 date of the enactment of such Act).

3 ‘‘(B) NEW JUDGES.—An individual as4 signed to serve as a judge of the Family Court

5 of the Superior Court who is not serving as a

6 judge in the Superior Court on the date of the

7 enactment of the District of Columbia Family

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

9 years.

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

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

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

13 judge’s request the judge may be assigned for addi14 tional service on the Family Court for a period of

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

16 District of Columbia Home Rule Act) as the chief

17 judge may provide.

18 ‘‘(3) PERMITTING SERVICE ON FAMILY COURT

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

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

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

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

23 of Columbia Home Rule Act.

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

25 chief judge may reassign a judge of the Family Court to
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1 any division of the Superior Court if the chief judge deter2 mines that the judge is unable, for cause, to continue serv3 ing in the Family Court.’’.

4 (b) PLAN FOR FAMILY COURT TRANSITION.—

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

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the chief

7 judge of the Superior Court of the District of Co8 lumbia shall prepare and submit to the President

9 and Congress a transition plan for the Family Court

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

11 the following:

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

13 role and function of the presiding judge of the

14 Family Court.

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

16 number of judges needed to serve on the Family

17 Court.

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

19 number of magistrate judges of the Family

20 Court needed for appointment under section

21 11–1732, District of Columbia Code.

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

23 appropriate functions of such magistrate

24 judges, together with the compensation of and
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1 other personnel matters pertaining to such

2 magistrate judges.

3 (E) A plan for case flow, case manage4 ment, and staffing needs (including the needs

5 for both judicial and nonjudicial personnel) for

6 the Family Court.

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

8 physical plant needs and requirements during

9 the transition, as determined in consultation

10 with the Administrator of General Services.

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

12 of magistrate judges under the expedited ap13 pointment procedures established under section

14 6(d) in reducing the number of pending actions

15 and proceedings within the jurisdiction of the

16 Family Court (as described in section 11–

17 902(d), District of Columbia, as amended by

18 subsection (a)).

19 (H) Consistent with the requirements of

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

21 transfer to the Family Court of actions and

22 proceedings within the jurisdiction of the Fam23 ily Court as of the date of the enactment of this

24 Act (together with actions and proceedings de25 scribed in section 11–1101, District of Colum-
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1 bia Code, which were initiated in the Family

2 Division but remain pending in other Divisions

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

4 manner consistent with applicable Federal and

5 District of Columbia law and best practices, in6 cluding best practices developed by the Amer7 ican Bar Association and the National Council

8 of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.

9 (2) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROPOSAL FOR

10 TRANSFER OR DISPOSITION OF ACTIONS AND PRO11 CEEDINGS TO FAMILY COURT.—

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

13 Superior Court and the presiding judge of the

14 Family Court shall take such steps as may be

15 required as provided in the proposal for disposi16 tion of actions and proceedings under para17 graph (1)(H) to ensure that each action or pro18 ceeding within the jurisdiction of the Family

19 Court of the Superior Court (as described in

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

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

22 the Family Court or otherwise disposed of as

23 provided in subparagraph (B). The requirement

24 of this subparagraph shall not apply to an ac25 tion or proceeding pending before a senior
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1 judge as defined in section 11–1504, District of

2 Columbia Code.

3 (B) DEADLINE.—Notwithstanding any

4 other provision of this Act or any amendment

5 made by this Act, no action or proceeding which

6 is within the jurisdiction of the Family Court

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

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

9 shall remain pending with a judge not serving

10 on the Family Court upon the expiration of 18

11 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

12 (C) PROGRESS REPORTS.—The chief judge

13 of the Superior Court shall report to the Com14 mittee on Appropriations of each House, the

15 Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Sen16 ate, and the Committee on Government Reform

17 of the House of Representatives 6 months and

18 12 months after the date of enactment of this

19 Act on the progress made towards disposing of

20 actions or proceedings described in subpara21 graph (B).

22 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF

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

24 not take any action to implement the transition plan

25 under this subsection until the expiration of the 30-
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1 day period which begins on the date the chief judge

2 submits the plan to the President and Congress

3 under paragraph (1).

4 (c) TRANSITION TO REQUIRED NUMBER OF

5 JUDGES.—

6 (1) ANALYSIS BY CHIEF JUDGE OF SUPERIOR

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

8 the District of Columbia shall include in the transi9 tion plan prepared under subsection (b)—

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

11 number of individuals serving as judges of the

12 Superior Court who meet the qualifications for

13 judges of the Family Court of the Superior

14 Court under section 11–908A, District of Co15 lumbia Code (as added by subsection (a)); and

16 (B) if the chief judge determines that the

17 number of individuals described in subpara18 graph (A) is less than 15, a request that the

19 Judicial Nomination Commission recruit and

20 the President nominate (in accordance with sec21 tion 433 of the District of Columbia Home Rule

22 Act) such additional number of individuals to

23 serve on the Superior Court who meet the

24 qualifications for judges of the Family Court

25 under such section as may be required to enable
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1 the chief judge to make the required number of

2 assignments.

3 (2) ROLE OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JUDICIAL

4 NOMINATION COMMISSION.—For purposes of section

5 434(d)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule

6 Act, the submission of a request from the chief

7 judge of the Superior Court of the District of Co8 lumbia under paragraph (1)(B) shall be deemed to

9 create a number of vacancies in the position of judge

10 of the Superior Court equal to the number of addi11 tional appointments so requested by the chief judge,

12 except that the deadline for the submission by the

13 District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commis14 sion of nominees to fill such vacancies shall be 90

15 days after the creation of such vacancies. In car16 rying out this paragraph, the District of Columbia

17 Judicial Nomination Commission shall recruit indi18 viduals for possible nomination and appointment to

19 the Superior Court who meet the qualifications for

20 judges of the Family Court of the Superior Court.

21 (d) REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—

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

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp24 troller General shall prepare and submit to Congress

25 and the chief judge of the Superior Court of the Dis-
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1 trict of Columbia a report on the implementation of

2 this Act (including the transition plan under sub3 section (b)), and shall include in the report the fol4 lowing:

5 (A) An analysis of the procedures used to

6 make the initial appointments of judges of the

7 Family Court under this Act and the amend8 ments made by this Act, including an analysis

9 of the time required to make such appointments

10 and the effect of the qualification requirements

11 for judges of the Court (including requirements

12 relating to the length of service on the Court)

13 on the time required to make such appoint14 ments.

15 (B) An analysis of the impact of mag16 istrate judges for the Family Court (including

17 the expedited initial appointment of magistrate

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

19 workload of judges and other personnel of the

20 Court.

21 (C) An analysis of the number of judges

22 needed for the Family Court, including an anal23 ysis of how the number may be affected by the

24 qualification requirements for judges, the avail25 ability of magistrate judges, and other provi-
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1 sions of this Act or the amendments made by

2 this Act.

3 (2) SUBMISSION TO CHIEF JUDGE OF SUPERIOR

4 COURT.—Prior to submitting the report under para5 graph (1) to Congress, the Comptroller General shall

6 provide a preliminary version of the report to the

7 chief judge of the Superior Court and shall take any

8 comments and recommendations of the chief judge

9 into consideration in preparing the final version of

10 the report.

11 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The first sentence

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

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

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

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

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

17 amended by inserting after the item relating to section

18 11–908 the following new item:

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

Court.’’.

19 SEC. 4. IMPROVING ADMINISTRATION OF CASES AND PRO20 CEEDINGS IN FAMILY COURT.

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

22 of Columbia, is amended by striking section 1101 and in23 serting the following:
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1 ‘‘§ 11–1101. Jurisdiction of the Family Court

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

3 of Columbia shall be assigned and have original jurisdic4 tion over—

5 ‘‘(1) actions for divorce from the bond of mar6 riage and legal separation from bed and board, in7 cluding proceedings incidental thereto for alimony,

8 pendente lite and permanent, and for support and

9 custody of minor children;

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

11 bed and board;

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

13 required by law;

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

15 including petitions for writs of habeas corpus;

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

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

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

19 ‘‘(8) determinations and adjudications of prop20 erty rights, both real and personal, in any action re21 ferred to in this section, irrespective of any jurisdic22 tional limitation imposed on the Superior Court;

23 ‘‘(9) proceedings in adoption;

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

25 1957 (D.C. Code, secs. 30–301 to 30–324);
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1 ‘‘(11) proceedings to determine paternity of any

2 child born out of wedlock;

3 ‘‘(12) civil proceedings for protection involving

4 intrafamily offenses, instituted pursuant to chapter

5 10 of title 16;

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

7 in section 16–2301, is alleged to be delinquent, ne8 glected, or in need of supervision;

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

10 relating to the commitment of the mentally ill;

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

12 relating to the commitment of the substantially re13 tarded; and

14 ‘‘(16) proceedings under Interstate Compact on

15 Juveniles (described in title IV of the District of Co16 lumbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of

17 1970).

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

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

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

21 of subsection (a).

22 ‘‘§ 11–1102. Use of alternative dispute resolution

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

24 and proceedings in the Family Court of the Superior

25 Court shall be resolved through alternative dispute resolu-
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1 tion procedures, in accordance with such rules as the Su2 perior Court may promulgate.

3 ‘‘§ 11–1103. Standards of practice for appointed coun4 sel

5 ‘‘The Superior Court shall establish standards of

6 practice for attorneys appointed as counsel in the Family

7 Court of the Superior Court.

8 ‘‘§ 11–1104. Administration

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

10 CASES AND PROCEEDINGS.—To the greatest extent prac11 ticable and feasible, if an individual who is a party to an

12 action or proceeding assigned to the Family Court has an

13 immediate family or household member who is a party to

14 another action or proceeding assigned to the Family

15 Court, the individual’s action or proceeding shall be as16 signed to the same judge or magistrate judge to whom

17 the immediate family member’s action or proceeding is as18 signed.

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

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the require21 ment of subsection (a), any action or proceeding as22 signed to the Family Court of the Superior Court

23 shall remain under the jurisdiction of the Family

24 Court until the action or proceeding is finally dis25 posed.
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1 ‘‘(2) ONE FAMILY, ONE JUDGE.—

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

3 proceeding assigned pursuant to this subsection

4 shall remain with the judge or magistrate judge

5 to whom the action or proceeding is assigned

6 for the duration of the action or proceeding to

7 the greatest extent practicable, feasible, and

8 lawful.

9 ‘‘(B) ALL CASES INVOLVING AN INDI10 VIDUAL.—If an individual who is a party to an

11 action or proceeding assigned to the Family

12 Court becomes a party to another action or pro13 ceeding assigned to the Family Court, the indi14 vidual’s subsequent action or proceeding shall

15 be assigned to the same judge or magistrate

16 judge to whom the individual’s initial action or

17 proceeding is assigned to the greatest extent

18 practicable, feasible, and lawful.

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

20 whom the action or proceeding is assigned

21 ceases to serve on the Family Court prior to the

22 final disposition of the action or proceeding, the

23 presiding judge of the Family Court shall en24 sure that the matter or proceeding is reassigned

25 to a judge serving on the Family Court, except
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1 that a judge who ceases to serve in Family

2 Court but remains in Superior Court may re3 tain the case or proceeding for not more than

4 6 months after ceasing to serve if such reten5 tion is in the best interests of the parties.

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

7 actions of a judge or magistrate judge in retaining

8 an action or proceeding under this paragraph shall

9 be subject to applicable standards of judicial ethics.

10 ‘‘(c) TRAINING PROGRAM.—

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

12 Family Court shall carry out an ongoing program to

13 provide training in family law and related matters

14 for judges of the Family Court, including magistrate

15 judges, attorneys who practice in the Family Court,

16 and appropriate nonjudicial personnel, and shall in17 clude in the program information and instruction re18 garding the following:

19 ‘‘(A) Child development.

20 ‘‘(B) Family dynamics, including domestic

21 violence.

22 ‘‘(C) Relevant Federal and District of Co23 lumbia laws.

24 ‘‘(D) Permanency planning principles and

25 practices.
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1 ‘‘(E) Recognizing the risk factors for child

2 abuse.

3 ‘‘(F) Any other matters the presiding

4 judge considers appropriate.

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

6 carried out under this section shall use the resources

7 of lawyers and legal professionals, social workers,

8 and experts in the field of child development and

9 other related fields.

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

11 PROCEEDINGS; PROMOTION OF ‘FAMILY-FRIENDLY’ EN12 VIRONMENT.—

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

14 practicable, the presiding judge of the Family Court

15 shall ensure that the materials and services provided

16 by the Family Court are understandable and acces17 sible to the individuals and families served by the

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

19 a manner which reflects the special needs of families

20 with children.

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

22 maximum extent feasible, safe, and practicable,

23 cases and proceedings in the Family Court shall be

24 conducted at locations readily accessible to the par25 ties involved.
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1 ‘‘(e) INTEGRATED COMPUTERIZED CASE TRACKING

2 AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—The Executive Officer of

3 the District of Columbia courts under section 11–1703

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

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

6 cases and proceedings in the Family Court are

7 stored and maintained in electronic format accessible

8 by computers for the use of judges, magistrate

9 judges, and nonjudicial personnel of the Family

10 Court, and for the use of other appropriate offices

11 of the District government in accordance with the

12 plan for integrating computer systems prepared by

13 the Mayor of the District of Columbia under section

14 4(b) of the District of Columbia Family Court Act

15 of 2001;

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

17 tracking and management system for cases and pro18 ceedings in the Family Court for the use of judges

19 and nonjudicial personnel of the Family Court, using

20 the records and materials stored and maintained

21 pursuant to paragraph (1); and

22 ‘‘(3) to expand such system to cover all divi23 sions of the Superior Court as soon as practicable.
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1 ‘‘§ 11–1105. Social services and other related services

2 ‘‘(a) ON-SITE COORDINATION OF SERVICES AND IN3 FORMATION.—

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

5 of Columbia, in consultation with the chief judge of

6 the Superior Court, shall ensure that representatives

7 of the appropriate offices of the District government

8 which provide social services and other related serv9 ices to individuals and families served by the Family

10 Court (including the District of Columbia Public

11 Schools, the District of Columbia Housing Author12 ity, the Child and Family Services Agency, the Of13 fice of the Corporation Counsel, the Metropolitan

14 Police Department, the Department of Health, and

15 other offices determined by the Mayor) are available

16 on-site at the Family Court to coordinate the provi17 sion of such services and information regarding such

18 services to such individuals and families.

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

20 head of each office described in paragraph (1), in21 cluding the Superintendent of the District of Colum22 bia Public Schools and the Director of the District

23 of Columbia Housing Authority, shall provide the

24 Mayor with such information, assistance, and serv25 ices as the Mayor may require to carry out such

26 paragraph.
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1 ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES LIAISON

2 WITH FAMILY COURT.—The Mayor of the District of Co3 lumbia shall appoint an individual to serve as a liaison

4 between the Family Court and the District government for

5 purposes of subsection (a) and for coordinating the deliv6 ery of services provided by the District government with

7 the activities of the Family Court and for providing infor8 mation to the judges, magistrate judges, and nonjudicial

9 personnel of the Court regarding the services available

10 from the District government to the individuals and fami11 lies served by the Court. The Mayor shall provide on an

12 ongoing basis information to the chief judge of the Supe13 rior Court and the presiding judge of the Family Court

14 regarding the services of the District government which

15 are available for the individuals and families served by the

16 Family Court.

17 ‘‘§ 11–1106. Reports to Congress

18 ‘‘Not later than 90 days after the end of each cal19 endar year, the chief judge of the Superior Court shall

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

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

22 following:

23 ‘‘(1) The chief judge’s assessment of the pro24 ductivity and success of the use of alternative dis25 pute resolution pursuant to section 11–1102.
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1 ‘‘(2) Goals and timetables as required by the

2 Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 to improve

3 the Family Court’s performance in the following

4 year.

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

6 Court met deadlines and standards applicable under

7 Federal and District of Columbia law to the review

8 and disposition of actions and proceedings under the

9 Court’s jurisdiction during the year.

10 ‘‘(4) Information on the progress made in es11 tablishing locations and appropriate space for the

12 Family Court that are consistent with the mission of

13 the Family Court until such time as the locations

14 and space are established.

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

16 under the control of the Family Court which inter17 fere with or prevent the Court from carrying out its

18 responsibilities in the most effective manner possible.

19 ‘‘(6) Based on outcome measures derived

20 through the use of the information stored in elec21 tronic format under section 11–1104(d), an analysis

22 of the Court’s efficiency and effectiveness in man23 aging its case load during the year, including an

24 analysis of the time required to dispose of actions

25 and proceedings among the various categories of the
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1 Court’s jurisdiction, as prescribed by applicable law

2 and best practices, including (but not limited to)

3 best practices developed by the American Bar Asso4 ciation and the National Council of Juvenile and

5 Family Court Judges.

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

7 standards, and outcome measures described in the

8 previous paragraphs, a proposed remedial action

9 plan to address the failure.’’.

10 (b) EXPEDITED APPEALS FOR CERTAIN FAMILY

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

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

13 end the following new subsection:

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

15 of the District of Columbia terminating parental rights or

16 granting or denying a petition to adopt shall receive expe17 dited review by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals

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

19 on appeal shall be deemed to be waived unless specifically

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

21 (c) PLAN FOR INTEGRATING COMPUTER SYSTEMS.—

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

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

24 Mayor of the District of Columbia shall submit to

25 the President and Congress a plan for integrating
27

•S 1382 RS

1 the computer systems of the District government

2 with the computer systems of the Superior Court of

3 the District of Columbia so that the Family Court

4 of the Superior Court and the appropriate offices of

5 the District government which provide social services

6 and other related services to individuals and families

7 served by the Family Court of the Superior Court

8 (including the District of Columbia Public Schools,

9 the District of Columbia Housing Authority, the

10 Child and Family Services Agency, the Office of the

11 Corporation Counsel, the Metropolitan Police De12 partment, the Department of Health, and other of13 fices determined by the Mayor) will be able to access

14 and share information on the individuals and fami15 lies served by the Family Court.

16 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

17 There are authorized to be appropriated to the

18 Mayor of the District of Columbia such sums as may

19 be necessary to carry out paragraph (1).

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

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

22 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.’’.
28

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1 SEC. 5. TREATMENT OF HEARING COMMISSIONERS AS

2 MAGISTRATE JUDGES.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—

4 (1) REDESIGNATION OF TITLE.—Section 11–

5 1732, District of Columbia Code, is amended—

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

7 each place it appears in subsection (a), sub8 section (b), subsection (d), subsection (i), sub9 section (l), and subsection (n) and inserting

10 ‘‘magistrate judges’’;

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

12 each place it appears in subsection (b), sub13 section (c), subsection (e), subsection (f), sub14 section (g), subsection (h), and subsection (j)

15 and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge’’;

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

17 each place it appears in subsection (e) and sub18 section (k) and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge’s’’;

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

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

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

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

23 commissioners’’ and inserting ‘‘Mag24 istrate Judges’’.

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

26 11–1732(c)(3), District of Columbia Code, is amend-
29

•S 1382 RS

1 ed by striking ‘‘, except that’’ and all that follows

2 and inserting a period.

3 (B) Section 16–924, District of Columbia Code,

4 is amended—

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

6 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘magistrate

7 judge’’; and

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

9 commissioner’s’’ and inserting ‘‘magistrate

10 judge’s’’.

11 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating

12 to section 11–1732 of the table of sections of chap13 ter 17 of title 11, D.C. Code, is amended to read as

14 follows:

‘‘11–1732. Magistrate judges.’’.

15 (b) TRANSITION PROVISION REGARDING HEARING

16 COMMISSIONERS.—Any individual serving as a hearing

17 commissioner under section 11–1732 of the District of Co18 lumbia Code as of the date of the enactment of this Act

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

20 magistrate judge, and may be reappointed as a magistrate

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

22 Columbia Code, except that any individual serving as a

23 hearing commissioner as of the date of the enactment of

24 this Act who was appointed as a hearing commissioner

25 prior to the effective date of section 11–1732 of the Dis-
30

•S 1382 RS

1 trict of Columbia Code shall not be required to be a resi2 dent of the District of Columbia to be eligible to be re3 appointed.

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

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

6 of this Act.

7 SEC. 6. SPECIAL RULES FOR MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF FAM8 ILY COURT.

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

10 of Columbia Code, is amended by inserting after section

11 11–1732 the following new section:

12 ‘‘§ 11–1732A. Special rules for magistrate judges of

13 the Family Court of the Superior Court

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

15 SELECTION PANEL.—The advisory selection merit panel

16 used in the selection of magistrate judges for the Family

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

18 shall include certified social workers specializing in child

19 welfare matters who are residents of the District and who

20 are not employees of the District of Columbia Courts.

21 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS.—Notwithstanding

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

23 magistrate judge for the Family Court of the Superior

24 Court unless that individual—

25 ‘‘(1) is a citizen of the United States;
31

•S 1382 RS

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.
32

•S 1382 RS

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,
33

•S 1382 RS

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—
34

•S 1382 RS

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.—
35

•S 1382 RS

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.
36

•S 1382 RS

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.
37

•S 1382 RS

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.
38

•S 1382 RS

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 Colum7 bia 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 Court

17 may be divided into such branches as the Superior Court

18 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, applica26 tions, determinations, adjudications, and proceedings de-
39

•S 1382 RS

1 scribed in section 11–1101. Actions, applications, deter2 minations, adjudications, and proceedings being assigned

3 to cross-jurisdictional units established by the Superior

4 Court, including the Domestic Violence Unit, on the date

5 of enactment of this section may continue to be so assigned

6 after the date of enactment of this section.’’.

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 9.—Sec8 tion 11–906(b), District of Columbia Code, is amended by

9 inserting ‘‘the Family Court and’’ before ‘‘the various divi10 sions’’.

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 11.—(1)

12 The heading for chapter 11 of title 11, District of Columbia,

13 is amended by striking ‘‘FAMILY DIVISION’’ and inserting

14 ‘‘FAMILY COURT’’.

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

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

17 striking ‘‘FAMILY DIVISION’’ and inserting ‘‘FAMILY

18 COURT’’.

19 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 16.—

20 (1) CALCULATION OF CHILD SUPPORT.—Section

21 16–916.1(o)(6), District of Columbia Code, is amend22 ed by striking ‘‘Family Division’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘Family Court of the Superior Court’’.

24 (2) EXPEDITED JUDICIAL HEARING OF CASES

25 BROUGHT BEFORE HEARING COMMISSIONERS.—Sec-
40

•S 1382 RS

1 tion 16–924, District of Columbia Code, is amended

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

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

4 Court’’.

5 (3) GENERAL REFERENCES TO PROCEEDINGS.—

6 Chapter 23 of title 16, District of Columbia Code, is

7 amended by inserting after section 16–2301 the fol8 lowing new section:

9 ‘‘§ 16–2301.1. References deemed to refer to Family

10 Court of the Superior Court

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

12 or District of Columbia law, Executive order, rule, regula13 tion, delegation of authority, or any document of or per14 taining to the Family Division of the Superior Court of

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

16 Family Court of the Superior Court of the District of Co17 lumbia.’’.

18 (4) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec19 tions for subchapter I of chapter 23 of title 16, Dis20 trict of Columbia, is amended by inserting after the

21 item relating to section 16–2301 the following new

22 item:

‘‘16–2301.1. References deemed to refer to Family Court of the Superior Court.’’.
41

•S 1382 RS

1 SEC. 3. APPOINTMENT AND ASSIGNMENT OF JUDGES; NUM2 BER AND QUALIFICATIONS.

3 (a) NUMBER OF JUDGES FOR FAMILY COURT; QUALI4 FICATIONS AND TERMS OF SERVICE.—Chapter 9 of title 11,

5 District of Columbia Code, is amended by inserting after

6 section 11–908 the following new section:

7 ‘‘§ 11–908A. Special rules regarding assignment and

8 service of judges of Family Court

9 ‘‘(a) NUMBER OF JUDGES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The number of judges serv11 ing on the Family Court of the Superior Court shall

12 be not more than 15.

13 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—If the chief judge determines

14 that, in order to carry out the intent and purposes of

15 this Act, an emergency exists such that the number of

16 judges needed on the Family Court of the Superior

17 Court at any time is more than 15, the chief judge

18 may temporarily reassign qualified judges from other

19 divisions of the Superior Court or qualified senior

20 judges to serve on the Family Court. Such reassigned

21 judges shall not be subject to the term of service re22 quirements of this Act.

23 ‘‘(3) COMPOSITION.—The total number of judges

24 on the Superior Court may exceed the limit on such

25 judges specified in section 11–903 to the extent nec-
42

•S 1382 RS

1 essary to maintain the requirements of this subsection

2 if—

3 ‘‘(A) the number of judges serving on the

4 Family Court is less than 15; and

5 ‘‘(B) the Chief Judge of the Superior

6 Court—

7 ‘‘(i) is unable to secure a volunteer

8 judge who is sitting on the Superior Court

9 outside of the Family Court for reassign10 ment to the Family Court;

11 ‘‘(ii) obtains approval of the Joint

12 Committee on Judicial Administration; and

13 ‘‘(iii) reports to Congress regarding the

14 circumstances that gave rise to the necessity

15 to exceed the cap.

16 ‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The chief judge may not as17 sign an individual to serve on the Family Court of the Su18 perior Court or handle a Family Court case unless—

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

20 family law;

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

22 that the individual intends to serve the full term of

23 service, except that this paragraph shall not apply

24 with respect to individuals serving as senior judges

25 under section 11–1504, individuals serving as tem-
43

•S 1382 RS

1 porary judges under section 11–908, and any other

2 judge serving in another division of the Superior

3 Court;

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

5 that the individual will participate in the ongoing

6 training programs carried out for judges of the Fam7 ily Court under section 11–1104(c); and

8 ‘‘(4) the individual meets the requirements of sec9 tion 11–1501(b).

10 ‘‘(c) TERM OF SERVICE.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

12 ‘‘(A) SITTING JUDGES.—An individual as13 signed to serve as a judge of the Family Court

14 of the Superior Court who is serving as a judge

15 in the Superior Court on the date of enactment

16 of the District of Columbia Family Court Act of

17 2001 shall serve in the Family Court for a term

18 of not fewer than 3 years as determined by the

19 chief judge of the Superior Court (including any

20 period of service on the Family Division of the

21 Superior Court immediately preceding the date

22 of enactment of such Act).

23 ‘‘(B) NEW JUDGES.—An individual as24 signed to serve as a judge of the Family Court

25 of the Superior Court who is not serving as a
44

•S 1382 RS

1 judge in the Superior Court on the date of enact2 ment of the District of Columbia Family Court

3 Act of 2001 shall serve for a term of 5 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 and with the approval of the chief

8 judge, the judge may be assigned for additional serv9 ice on the Family Court for a period of such duration

10 (consistent with section 431(c) of the District of Co11 lumbia Home Rule Act) as the chief judge may pro12 vide.

13 ‘‘(3) PERMITTING SERVICE ON FAMILY COURT

14 FOR ENTIRE TERM.—At the request of the judge and

15 with the approval of the chief judge, a judge may

16 serve as a judge of the Family Court for the judge’s

17 entire term of service as a judge of the Superior Court

18 under section 431(c) of the District of Columbia

19 Home Rule Act.

20 ‘‘(d) REASSIGNMENT TO OTHER DIVISIONS.—The chief

21 judge may reassign a judge of the Family Court to any

22 division of the Superior Court if the chief judge determines

23 that in the interest of justice the judge is unable to continue

24 serving in the Family Court.’’.

25 (b) PLAN FOR FAMILY COURT TRANSITION.—
45

•S 1382 RS

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

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the chief judge

3 of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

4 shall prepare and submit to the President and Con5 gress a transition plan for the Family Court of the

6 Superior Court, and shall include in the plan the fol7 lowing:

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

9 role and function of the presiding judge of the

10 Family Court.

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

12 number of judges needed to serve on the Family

13 Court.

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

15 number of magistrate judges of the Family Court

16 needed for appointment under section 11–1732,

17 District of Columbia Code.

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

19 appropriate functions of such magistrate judges,

20 together with the compensation of and other per21 sonnel matters pertaining to such magistrate

22 judges.

23 (E) A plan for case flow, case management,

24 and staffing needs (including the needs for both
46

•S 1382 RS

1 judicial and nonjudicial personnel) for the Fam2 ily Court.

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

4 physical plant needs and requirements during

5 the transition, as determined in consultation

6 with the Administrator of General Services.

7 (G) An analysis of the number of mag8 istrate judges needed under the expedited ap9 pointment procedures established under section

10 6(d) in reducing the number of pending actions

11 and proceedings within the jurisdiction of the

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

13 District of Columbia, as amended by subsection

14 (a)).

15 (H) Consistent with the requirements of

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

17 transfer to the Family Court of child abuse and

18 neglect actions pending as of the date of enact19 ment of this Act (which were initiated in the

20 Family Division but remain pending before

21 judges serving in other Divisions of the Superior

22 Court as of such date) in a manner consistent

23 with applicable Federal and District of Colum24 bia law and best practices, including best prac25 tices developed by the American Bar Association
47

•S 1382 RS

1 and the National Council of Juvenile and Fam2 ily Court Judges.

3 (I) An estimate of the number of cases for

4 which the deadline for disposition or transfer to

5 the Family Court, specified in paragraph (2)(B),

6 cannot be met and the reasons why such deadline

7 cannot be met.

8 (2) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROPOSAL FOR

9 TRANSFER OR DISPOSITION OF ACTIONS AND PRO10 CEEDINGS TO FAMILY COURT.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

12 subparagraph (C), the chief judge of the Superior

13 Court and the presiding judge of the Family

14 Court shall take such steps as may be required

15 as provided in the proposal for disposition of ac16 tions and proceedings under paragraph (1)(H)

17 to ensure that each child abuse and neglect ac18 tion of the Superior Court (as described in sec19 tion 11–902(d), District of Columbia Code, as

20 amended by subsection (a)) is transferred to the

21 Family Court or otherwise disposed of as pro22 vided in subparagraph (B). The requirement of

23 this subparagraph shall not apply to a child

24 abuse or neglect action pending before a senior
48

•S 1382 RS

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

2 Columbia Code.

3 (B) DEADLINE.—

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding

5 any other provision of this Act or any

6 amendment made by this Act and except as

7 provided in subparagraph (C), no child

8 abuse or neglect action shall remain pend9 ing with a judge not serving on the Family

10 Court upon the expiration of 18 months

11 after the filing of the transition plan re12 quired under paragraph (1).

13 (ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Noth14 ing in this subparagraph shall preclude the

15 immediate transfer of cases to the Family

16 Court, particularly cases which have been

17 filed with the court for less than 6 months

18 prior to the date of enactment of this Act.

19 (C) RETAINED CASES.—Child abuse and ne20 glect cases that were initiated in the Family Di21 vision but remain pending before judges in other

22 Divisions of the Superior Court as of the date of

23 enactment of this Act may remain before judges

24 in such other Divisions when—
49

•S 1382 RS

1 (i) the case remains at all times in full

2 compliance with section 103(a)(3) of Public

3 Law 105–89 (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(E)); and

4 (ii) the case has been assigned continu5 ously to the judge for 18 months or more

6 and the judge has a special knowledge of the

7 child’s needs, such that reassignment would

8 be harmful to the child.

9 (D) PROGRESS REPORTS.—The chief judge

10 of the Superior Court shall report to the Com11 mittee on Appropriations of each House, the

12 Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Sen13 ate, and the Committee on Government Reform

14 of the House of Representatives at 6-month inter15 vals for a period of 2 years after the date of en16 actment of this Act on the progress made towards

17 disposing of actions or proceedings described in

18 subparagraph (B).

19 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF

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

21 not take any action to implement the transition plan

22 under this subsection until the expiration of the 30-

23 day period which begins on the date the chief judge

24 submits the plan to the President and Congress under

25 paragraph (1).
50

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1 (c) TRANSITION TO REQUIRED NUMBER OF JUDGES.—

2 (1) ANALYSIS BY CHIEF JUDGE OF SUPERIOR

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

4 District of Columbia shall include in the transition

5 plan prepared under subsection (b)—

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

7 number of individuals serving as judges of the

8 Superior Court who—

9 (i) meet the qualifications for judges of

10 the Family Court of the Superior Court

11 under section 11–908A, District of Colum12 bia Code (as added by subsection (a)); and

13 (ii) are willing and able to serve on the

14 Family Court; and

15 (B) if the chief judge determines that the

16 number of individuals described in subpara17 graph (A) is less than 15, a request that the Ju18 dicial Nomination Commission recruit and the

19 President nominate (in accordance with section

20 433 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act)

21 such additional number of individuals to serve

22 on the Superior Court who meet the qualifica23 tions for judges of the Family Court under sec24 tion 11–908A, District of Columbia Code, as
51

•S 1382 RS

1 may be required to enable the chief judge to make

2 the required number of assignments.

3 (2) ROLE OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JUDICIAL

4 NOMINATION COMMISSION.—For purposes of section

5 434(d)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act,

6 the submission of a request from the chief judge of the

7 Superior Court of the District of Columbia under

8 paragraph (1)(B) shall be deemed to create a number

9 of vacancies in the position of judge of the Superior

10 Court equal to the number of additional appoint11 ments so requested by the chief judge, except that the

12 deadline for the submission by the District of Colum13 bia Judicial Nomination Commission of nominees to

14 fill such vacancies shall be 90 days after the creation

15 of such vacancies. In carrying out this paragraph, the

16 District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commis17 sion shall recruit individuals for possible nomination

18 and appointment to the Superior Court who meet the

19 qualifications for judges of the Family Court of the

20 Superior Court.

21 (d) REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—

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

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller

24 General shall prepare and submit to Congress and the

25 chief judge of the Superior Court of the District of Co-
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•S 1382 RS

1 lumbia a report on the implementation of this Act

2 (including the transition plan under subsection (b)),

3 and shall include in the report the following:

4 (A) An analysis of the procedures used to

5 make the initial appointments of judges of the

6 Family Court under this Act and the amend7 ments made by this Act, including an analysis

8 of the time required to make such appointments

9 and the effect of the qualification requirements

10 for judges of the Court (including requirements

11 relating to the length of service on the Court) on

12 the time required to make such appointments.

13 (B) An analysis of the impact of magistrate

14 judges for the Family Court (including the expe15 dited initial appointment of magistrate judges

16 for the Court under section 6(d)) on the workload

17 of judges and other personnel of the Court.

18 (C) An analysis of the number of judges

19 needed for the Family Court, including an anal20 ysis of how the number may be affected by the

21 qualification requirements for judges, the avail22 ability of magistrate judges, and other provisions

23 of this Act or the amendments made by this Act.

24 (2) SUBMISSION TO CHIEF JUDGE OF SUPERIOR

25 COURT.—Prior to submitting the report under para-
53

•S 1382 RS

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 of

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

9 by striking ‘‘The chief judge’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to sec10 tion 11–908A, the chief judge’’.

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

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

13 by inserting after the item relating to section 11–908 the

14 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 of

18 Columbia, is amended by striking section 1101 and insert19 ing 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 jurisdiction

23 over—
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•S 1382 RS

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, 1957

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

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

23 child born out of wedlock;
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•S 1382 RS

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 in

5 section 16–2301, is alleged to be delinquent, neglected,

6 or in need of supervision;

7 ‘‘(14) proceedings under chapter 5 of title 21 re8 lating to the commitment of the mentally ill;

9 ‘‘(15) proceedings under chapter 11 of title 21 re10 lating 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.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this chapter, the term ‘ac18 tion or proceeding’ with respect to the Family Court

19 refers to cause of action described in paragraphs (1)

20 through (16) of subsection (a).

21 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—An action or proceeding may

22 be assigned to or retained by cross-jurisdictional units

23 established by the Superior Court, including the Do24 mestic Violence Unit.
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1 ‘‘§ 11–1102. Use of alternative dispute resolution

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

3 proceedings in the Family Court of the Superior Court shall

4 be resolved through alternative dispute resolution proce5 dures, in accordance with such rules as the Superior Court

6 may promulgate.

7 ‘‘§ 11–1103. Standards of practice for appointed coun8 sel

9 ‘‘The Superior Court shall establish standards of prac10 tice for attorneys appointed as counsel in the Family Court

11 of the Superior Court.

12 ‘‘§ 11–1104. Administration

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

14 CASES AND PROCEEDINGS.—To the greatest extent prac15 ticable, feasible, and lawful, if an individual who is a party

16 to an action or proceeding assigned to the Family Court

17 has an immediate family or household member who is a

18 party to another action or proceeding assigned to the Fam19 ily Court, the individual’s action or proceeding shall be as20 signed to the same judge or magistrate judge to whom the

21 immediate family member’s action or proceeding is as22 signed.

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

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the require25 ment of subsection (a), any action or proceeding as26 signed to the Family Court of the Superior Court
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•S 1382 RS

1 shall remain under the jurisdiction of the Family

2 Court until the action or proceeding is finally dis3 posed, except as provided in paragraph (2)(C).

4 ‘‘(2) ONE FAMILY, ONE JUDGE.—

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

6 proceeding assigned pursuant to this subsection

7 shall remain with the judge or magistrate judge

8 to whom the action or proceeding is assigned for

9 the duration of the action or proceeding to the

10 greatest extent practicable, feasible, and lawful.

11 ‘‘(B) ALL CASES INVOLVING AN INDI12 VIDUAL.—If an individual who is a party to an

13 action or proceeding assigned to the Family

14 Court becomes a party to another action or pro15 ceeding assigned to the Family Court, the indi16 vidual’s subsequent action or proceeding shall be

17 assigned to the same judge or magistrate judge to

18 whom the individual’s initial action or pro19 ceeding is assigned to the greatest extent prac20 ticable and feasible.

21 ‘‘(C) FAMILY COURT CASE RETENTION.—If

22 the full term of a Family Court judge to whom

23 the action or proceeding is assigned is completed

24 prior to the final disposition of the action or

25 proceeding, the presiding judge of the Family
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•S 1382 RS

1 Court shall ensure that the matter or proceeding

2 is reassigned to a judge serving on the Family

3 Court.

4 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION.—A judge whose full term

5 on the Family Court is completed but who re6 mains in Superior Court may retain the case or

7 proceeding for not more than 18 months after

8 ceasing to serve if—

9 ‘‘(i) the case remains at all times in

10 full compliance with section 103(a)(3) of

11 Public Law 105–89 (42 U.S.C. 675(E)), if

12 applicable, and the case has been assigned

13 continuously to the judge for 18 months or

14 more and the judge has a special knowledge

15 of the child’s needs, such that reassignment

16 would be harmful to the child; and

17 ‘‘(ii) the chief judge, in consultation

18 with the presiding judge of the Family

19 Court determines that such retention is in

20 the best interests of the parties.

21 ‘‘(3) STANDARDS OF JUDICIAL ETHICS.—The ac22 tions of a judge or magistrate judge in retaining an

23 action or proceeding under this paragraph shall be

24 subject to applicable standards of judicial ethics.

25 ‘‘(c) TRAINING PROGRAM.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The chief judge, in consulta2 tion with the presiding judge of the Family Court,

3 shall carry out an ongoing program to provide train4 ing in family law and related matters for judges of

5 the Family Court and other judges of the Superior

6 Court who are assigned Family Court cases, includ7 ing magistrate judges, attorneys who practice in the

8 Family Court, and appropriate nonjudicial per9 sonnel, and shall include in the program information

10 and instruction regarding the following:

11 ‘‘(A) Child development.

12 ‘‘(B) Family dynamics, including domestic

13 violence.

14 ‘‘(C) Relevant Federal and District of Co15 lumbia laws.

16 ‘‘(D) Permanency planning principles and

17 practices.

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

19 abuse.

20 ‘‘(F) Any other matters the presiding judge

21 considers appropriate.

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

23 carried out under this section shall use the resources

24 of lawyers and legal professionals, social workers, and
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•S 1382 RS

1 experts in the field of child development and other re2 lated fields.

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

4 PROCEEDINGS; PROMOTION OF ‘FAMILY-FRIENDLY’ ENVI5 RONMENT.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the greatest extent prac7 ticable, the chief judge and the presiding judge of the

8 Family Court shall ensure that the materials and

9 services provided by the Family Court are under10 standable and accessible to the individuals and fami11 lies served by the Family Court, and that the Family

12 Court carries out its duties in a manner which re13 flects the special needs of families with children.

14 ‘‘(2) LOCATION OF PROCEEDINGS.—To the max15 imum extent feasible, safe, and practicable, cases and

16 proceedings in the Family Court shall be conducted at

17 locations readily accessible to the parties involved.

18 ‘‘(e) INTEGRATED COMPUTERIZED CASE TRACKING

19 AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—The Executive Officer of the

20 District of Columbia courts under section 11–1703 shall

21 work with the chief judge of the Superior Court—

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

23 cases and proceedings in the Family Court are stored

24 and maintained in electronic format accessible by

25 computers for the use of judges, magistrate judges,
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•S 1382 RS

1 and nonjudicial personnel of the Family Court, and

2 for the use of other appropriate offices of the District

3 government in accordance with the plan for inte4 grating computer systems prepared by the Mayor of

5 the District of Columbia under section 4(b) of the

6 District of Columbia Family Court Act of 2001;

7 ‘‘(2) to establish and operate an electronic track8 ing and management system for cases and pro9 ceedings in the Family Court for the use of judges

10 and nonjudicial personnel of the Family Court, using

11 the records and materials stored and maintained pur12 suant to paragraph (1); and

13 ‘‘(3) to expand such system to cover all divisions

14 of the Superior Court as soon as practicable.

15 ‘‘§ 11–1105. Social services and other related services

16 ‘‘(a) ONSITE COORDINATION OF SERVICES AND INFOR17 MATION.—

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

19 Columbia, in consultation with the chief judge of the

20 Superior Court, shall ensure that representatives of

21 the appropriate offices of the District government

22 which provide social services and other related serv23 ices to individuals and families served by the Family

24 Court (including the District of Columbia Public

25 Schools, the District of Columbia Housing Authority,
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•S 1382 RS

1 the Child and Family Services Agency, the Office of

2 the Corporation Counsel, the Metropolitan Police De3 partment, the Department of Health, and other offices

4 determined by the Mayor) are available on-site at the

5 Family Court to coordinate the provision of such

6 services and information regarding such services to

7 such individuals and families.

8 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF HEADS OF OFFICES.—The head

9 of each office described in paragraph (1), including

10 the Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public

11 Schools and the Director of the District of Columbia

12 Housing Authority, shall provide the Mayor with

13 such information, assistance, and services as the

14 Mayor may require to carry out such paragraph.

15 ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES LIAISON

16 WITH FAMILY COURT.—The Mayor of the District of Co17 lumbia shall appoint an individual to serve as a liaison

18 between the Family Court and the District government for

19 purposes of subsection (a) and for coordinating the delivery

20 of services provided by the District government with the ac21 tivities of the Family Court and for providing information

22 to the judges, magistrate judges, and nonjudicial personnel

23 of the Family Court regarding the services available from

24 the District government to the individuals and families

25 served by the Family Court. The Mayor shall provide on
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•S 1382 RS

1 an ongoing basis information to the chief judge of the Supe2 rior Court and the presiding judge of the Family Court re3 garding the services of the District government which are

4 available for the individuals and families served by the

5 Family Court.

6 ‘‘§ 11–1106. Reports to Congress

7 ‘‘Not later than 90 days after the end of each calendar

8 year, the chief judge of the Superior Court shall submit a

9 report to Congress on the activities of the Family Court

10 during the year, and shall include in the report the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘(1) The chief judge’s assessment of the produc13 tivity and success of the use of alternative dispute res14 olution pursuant to section 11–1102.

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

16 Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 to improve

17 the Family Court’s performance in the following year.

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

19 Family Court met deadlines and standards applicable

20 under Federal and District of Columbia law to the re21 view and disposition of actions and proceedings

22 under the Family Court’s jurisdiction during the

23 year.

24 ‘‘(4) Information on the progress made in estab25 lishing locations and appropriate space for the Fam-
64

•S 1382 RS

1 ily Court that are consistent with the mission of the

2 Family Court until such time as the locations and

3 space are established.

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

5 under the control of the Family Court which interfere

6 with or prevent the Family Court from carrying out

7 its responsibilities in the most effective manner pos8 sible.

9 ‘‘(6) Information on—

10 ‘‘(A) the number of judges serving on the

11 Family Court as of the end of the year;

12 ‘‘(B) how long each such judge has served on

13 the Family Court;

14 ‘‘(C) the number of cases retained outside

15 the Family Court;

16 ‘‘(D) the number of reassignments to and

17 from the Family Court; and

18 ‘‘(E) the ability to recruit qualified sitting

19 judges to serve on the Family Court.

20 ‘‘(7) Based on outcome measures derived through

21 the use of the information stored in electronic format

22 under section 11–1104(d), an analysis of the Family

23 Court’s efficiency and effectiveness in managing its

24 case load during the year, including an analysis of

25 the time required to dispose of actions and pro-
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•S 1382 RS

1 ceedings among the various categories of the Family

2 Court’s jurisdiction, as prescribed by applicable law

3 and best practices, including (but not limited to) best

4 practices developed by the American Bar Association

5 and the National Council of Juvenile and Family

6 Court Judges.

7 ‘‘(8) If the Family Court failed to meet the dead8 lines, standards, and outcome measures described in

9 the previous paragraphs, a proposed remedial action

10 plan to address the failure.’’.

11 (b) EXPEDITED APPEALS FOR CERTAIN FAMILY

12 COURT ACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS.—Section 11–721, Dis13 trict of Columbia Code, is amended by adding at the end

14 the following new subsection:

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

16 of the District of Columbia terminating parental rights or

17 granting or denying a petition to adopt shall receive expe18 dited review by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.’’.

19 (c) PLAN FOR INTEGRATING COMPUTER SYSTEMS.—

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

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

22 District of Columbia shall submit to the President

23 and Congress a plan for integrating the computer sys24 tems of the District government with the computer

25 systems of the Superior Court of the District of Co-
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•S 1382 RS

1 lumbia so that the Family Court of the Superior

2 Court and the appropriate offices of the District gov3 ernment which provide social services and other re4 lated services to individuals and families served by

5 the Family Court of the Superior Court (including

6 the District of Columbia Public Schools, the District

7 of Columbia Housing Authority, the Child and Fam8 ily Services Agency, the Office of the Corporation

9 Counsel, the Metropolitan Police Department, the De10 partment of Health, and other offices determined by

11 the Mayor) will be able to access and share informa12 tion on the individuals and families served by the

13 Family Court.

14 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Mayor

16 of the District of Columbia such sums as may be nec17 essary to carry out paragraph (1).

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

19 chapter 11 of title 11, District of Columbia Code, is amend20 ed 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 MAG22 ISTRATE JUDGES.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—
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•S 1382 RS

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) and

12 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), and

18 (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.—Section 16–

23 924, District of Columbia Code, is amended—
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•S 1382 RS

1 (A) by striking ‘‘hearing commissioner’’

2 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘magistrate

3 judge’’; and

4 (B) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘hearing

5 commissioner’s’’ and inserting ‘‘magistrate

6 judge’s’’.

7 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating

8 to section 11–1732 of the table of sections of chapter

9 17 of title 11, D.C. Code, is amended to read as fol10 lows:

‘‘11–1732. Magistrate judges.’’.

11 (b) TRANSITION PROVISION REGARDING HEARING

12 COMMISSIONERS.—Any individual serving as a hearing

13 commissioner under section 11–1732 of the District of Co14 lumbia Code as of the date of the enactment of this Act

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

16 magistrate judge, and may be reappointed as a magistrate

17 judge in accordance with section 11–1732(d), District of Co18 lumbia Code, except that any individual serving as a hear19 ing commissioner as of the date of the enactment of this

20 Act who was appointed as a hearing commissioner prior

21 to the effective date of section 11–1732 of the District of

22 Columbia Code shall not be required to be a resident of the

23 District of Columbia to be eligible to be reappointed.
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•S 1382 RS

1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this

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

3 Act.

4 SEC. 6. SPECIAL RULES FOR MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF FAM5 ILY COURT.

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

7 Columbia Code, is amended by inserting after section 11–

8 1732 the following new section:

9 ‘‘§ 11–1732A. Special rules for magistrate judges of the

10 Family Court of the Superior Court and

11 the Domestic Violence Unit

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

13 SELECTION PANEL.—The advisory selection merit panel

14 used in the selection of magistrate judges for the Family

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

16 include certified social workers specializing in child welfare

17 matters who are residents of the District and who are not

18 employees of the District of Columbia Courts.

19 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS.—Notwithstanding sec20 tion 11–1732(c), no individual shall be appointed as a

21 magistrate judge for the Family Court of the Superior

22 Court or assigned to handle Family Court cases unless that

23 individual—

24 ‘‘(1) is a citizen of the United States;
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•S 1382 RS

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 government,

8 or any combination thereof;

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

10 experience in the practice of family law as a lawyer

11 or judicial officer; and

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

13 Columbia and has maintained an actual place of

14 abode in the District for at least 90 days immediately

15 prior to appointment, and retains such residency

16 during service as a magistrate judge; or

17 ‘‘(B) is a bona fide resident of the areas con18 sisting of Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties

19 in Maryland, Arlington and Fairfax Counties, and

20 the City of Alexandria in Virginia, has maintained

21 an actual place of abode in such area, areas, or the

22 District of Columbia for at least 5 years prior to ap23 pointment, and certifies that the individual will be24 come a bona fide resident of the District of Columbia

25 not later than 90 days after appointment.
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•S 1382 RS

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 for

6 the Family Court of the Superior Court under such section.

7 ‘‘(d) FUNCTIONS OF FAMILY COURT AND DOMESTIC

8 VIOLENCE UNIT MAGISTRATES.—A magistrate judge, when

9 specifically designated by the chief judge in consultation

10 with the presiding judge to serve in the Family Court or

11 in the Domestic Violence Unit and subject to the rules of

12 the Superior Court and the right of review under section

13 11–1732(k), may perform the following functions:

14 ‘‘(1) Administer oaths and affirmations and take

15 acknowledgements.

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

17 and applicable Federal and District of Columbia law,

18 conduct hearings, make findings and enter interim

19 and final orders or judgments in uncontested or con20 tested proceedings within the jurisdiction of the Fam21 ily Court and the Domestic Violence Unit of the Su22 perior Court (as described in section 11–1101), ex23 cluding jury trials and trials of felony cases, as as24 signed by the presiding judge of the Family Court.
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1 ‘‘(3) Subject to the rules of the Superior Court,

2 enter an order punishing an individual for contempt,

3 except that no individual may be detained pursuant

4 to the authority of this paragraph for longer than 180

5 days.

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

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

8 the Family Court of the Superior Court shall conduct pro9 ceedings at locations readily accessible to the parties in10 volved.

11 ‘‘(f) TRAINING.—The chief judge, in consultation with

12 the presiding judge of the Family Court of the Superior

13 Court, shall ensure that all magistrate judges of the Family

14 Court receive training to enable them to fulfill their respon15 sibilities, including specialized training in family law and

16 related matters.’’.

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

18 1732(a), District of Columbia Code, is amended by insert19 ing after ‘‘the duties enumerated in subsection (j) of this

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

21 for the Family Court or the Domestic Violence Unit of the

22 Superior Court, the duties enumerated in section 11–

23 1732A(d))’’.
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1 (2) Section 11–1732(c), District of Columbia Code, is

2 amended by striking ‘‘No individual’’ and inserting ‘‘Ex3 cept as provided in section 11–1732A(b), no individual’’.

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

5 amended—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (j),’’ and inserting

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

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

9 magistrate judges for the Family Court or the Domes10 tic Violence Unit of the Superior Court),’’; and

11 (B) by inserting after ‘‘appropriate division’’ the

12 following: ‘‘(or, in the case of an order or judgment

13 of a magistrate judge of the Family Court or the Do14 mestic Violence Unit of the Superior Court, by a

15 judge of the Family Court or the Domestic Violence

16 Unit)’’.

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

18 amended by inserting after ‘‘responsibilities’’ the following:

19 ‘‘(subject to the requirements of section 11–1732A(f) in the

20 case of magistrate judges of the Family Court of the Supe21 rior Court or the Domestic Violence Unit)’’.

22 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for

23 subchapter II of chapter 17 of title 11, District of Columbia,

24 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section

25 11–1732 the following new item:
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‘‘11–1732A. Special rules for magistrate judges of the Family Court of the Superior Court and the Domestic Violence Unit.’’.

1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

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

3 this section shall take effect on the date of enactment

4 of this Act.

5 (2) EXPEDITED INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the chief

8 judge of the Superior Court of the District of Co9 lumbia shall appoint not more than 5 individ10 uals to serve as magistrate judges for the Family

11 Division of the Superior Court in accordance

12 with the requirements of sections 11–1732 and

13 11–1732A, District of Columbia Code (as added

14 by subsection (a)).

15 (B) TRANSITION RESPONSIBILITIES OF INI16 TIALLY APPOINTED FAMILY COURT MAG17 ISTRATES.—The chief judge of the Superior

18 Court and the presiding judge of the Family Di19 vision of the Superior Court (acting jointly)

20 shall first assign the magistrate judges of Family

21 Court appointed under this paragraph to work

22 with judges to whom the cases are currently as23 signed in making case disposition or transfer de24 cisions as follows:
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1 (i) The action or proceeding involves

2 an allegation of abuse or neglect.

3 (ii) The judge to whom the action or

4 proceeding is assigned as of the date of en5 actment of this Act is not assigned to the

6 Family Division.

7 (iii) The action or proceeding was ini8 tiated in the Family Division prior to the

9 2-year period which ends on the date of en10 actment of this Act.

11 SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING BORDER AGREE12 MENT WITH MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA.

13 It is the sense of Congress that the State of Maryland,

14 the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Colum15 bia should promptly enter into a border agreement to facili16 tate the timely and safe placement of children in the Dis17 trict of Columbia’s welfare system in foster and kinship

18 homes and other facilities in Maryland and Virginia.

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

20 COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES.

21 It is the sense of the Senate that the chief judge of the

22 Superior Court and the presiding judge of the Family Divi23 sion should take all steps necessary to encourage, support,

24 and improve the use of Court Appointed Special Advocates

25 (CASA) in family court actions or proceedings.
76

•S 1382 RS

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 Ad6 ministration, shall submit to Congress a feasibility

7 study for the construction of appropriate permanent

8 courts and facilities for the Family Court; and

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

10 success of the use of magistrate judges under the expe11 dited appointment procedures established under sec12 tion 6(d) in reducing the number of pending actions

13 and proceedings within the jurisdiction of the Family

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

15 Columbia).

16 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Courts

18 of the District of Columbia and the District of Columbia

19 such sums as may be necessary to carry out the amendments

20 made by this Act.

21 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.

22 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect

23 upon the initial appropriation of funds specifically des24 ignated by Federal law for purposes of carrying out this

25 Act.

Calendar No. 257

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1382

[Report No. 107–107]

A BILL

To amend title 11, District of Columbia Code, to

redesignate the Family Division of the SuperiorCourt of the District of Columbia as the FamilyCourt of the Superior Court, to recruit and retain trained and experienced judges to serve inthe Family Court, to promote consistency and efficiency in the assignment of judges to the Family Court and in the consideration of actions andproceedings in the Family Court, and for otherpurposes.

DECEMBER 5, 2001

Reported with an amendment