What is Family Court?
A. The Family Division of Superior Court is much more than judges in courtrooms deciding cases. The family court handles all problems relating to family relationships, including child abuse, domestic violence, child support, custody, visitation and divorce cases. For juvenile cases involving criminal actions there are alternative ways to resolve less serious cases. These alternate ways are known as “diversion”, and are subject to screening guidelines administered by court intake staff. Two forms of diversion are juvenile conference committees and intake service conferences, both of which seek to reach agreements with parents or guardians as to what actions that the juvenile must undertake, including apology, restitution, and community service. If the case goes to hearing and is decided by a judge, a range of disposition actions are available, including probation, transferal of custody of the minor, DYFS oversight, fines, restitution, community service, participation in treatment progra
