ABSTRACT
In Chapter 6 we acknowledge many innovative efforts worldwide that illustrate caring family justice systems. These projects include specialty courts designed to address specific problems within the rubric of family law matters—those pertaining to at-risk youth, abused and neglected children, and victims of intra-familial violence, among them. The chapter also features initiatives that focus on access to justice for family law litigants, such as translation services and self-help centers. We advocate the implementation of specific training programs aimed at support for family court judges, lawyers, and court personnel to assist them with the challenging task of working in the family court’s legal emergency room. The chapter concludes with family court judges’ reflections that demonstrate their efforts to care for the litigants who appear before them. These accounts chronicle the daily work of a family court judge and contain excerpts from their written decisions steeped in the language of caring.
