The Family Law Committee engages in a broad range of projects related to domestic relations courts and the experiences of families while moving through them. We look at issues of access, as well as efficiency and equity, in the Cook County Courts as well as in the Illinois child support system.
The Committee works on projects aimed to improve the experience of parents, children, families, and divorce litigants navigating the Cook County courts, with a particular emphasis on unrepresented parents and particularly vulnerable children.
LATEST NEWS
Project Areas
Domestic Relations Hearing Officers—When the Domestic Relations Division consolidated its Parentage and Domestic Relations/Divorce divisions into a unified docket in 2017, it also restructured the administrative hearing officer program, greatly expanding the range of issues they were empowered to hear. The Child & Family Law Committee is evaluating the Hearing Officer Program with the hope to advocate for its expansion throughout Cook County, the state, and nationally
- Information Sheet: Domestic Relations Hearing Officers in Cook County (November 2020)
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- “Solutions Rather Than Obstacles” – An Evaluation of the Hearing Officer Program Cook County’s Domestic Relations Court (August 2021)
- The Early Resolution Program: Observations and Assessment (August 2019)
- Change in the Domestic Relations Division: The New Role of Hearing Officers (March 2018)
- Bringing Domestic Relations hearing officers under the County’s Judiciary Budget (November 2017)
Child Support—The Committee is engaged in creating community-based resources and workshops to help parents navigate the opaque and complex child support system in Illinois – with or without attorneys.
- Information Sheets (October 2020) – Child Support Debt Relief & Illinois’ “Clean Slate” Program | DHFS Administrative Child Support Process in Illinois | “Income Shares” Child Support Model in Illinois | “Pass Through and Disregard” Policy Advocacy for Illinois Families
- Guides (November 2019) – For Attorneys: Illinois Administrative Order Establishment and Enforcement Remedies Processes | For Litigants: Illinois Administrative Order Establishment and Enforcement Remedies Processes
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Domestic Relations Court—Originally, Cook County’s Domestic Relations Court had one track to divorcing parents and another for parents whom had never been married. We completed a constitutionality assessment of this process and were invited to serve on the Presiding Judge’s Task Force to consolidate the division.
READ: A Constitutionality Analysis of the Cook County Parentage Court (2012)