Supreme Court Commission on Children in the Courts

Supreme Court Commission on Children in the Courts

The Supreme Court Commission on Children in the Courts, created in 2005, consists of judges, lawyers, representatives of the legislative and executive branches, and children’s advocates. Its charge is to study systemic issues and make recommendations to the Supreme Court to ensure that the court system is as responsive as possible for children who interact with, or are directly affected by the courts. It is co-chaired by Judge Francie Riedmann, Appellate Court Judge, and Douglas County Separate Juvenile Court Judge Douglas F. Johnson, who is a Past President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. The main work of the Commission is done in subcommittees.

Click here for a list of Commission Members. 

Examples of the Commission’s past and present priorities include: 1) studying and making recommendations regarding a unified family court, 2) proposing uniform standards in guardianship laws, 3) developing recommendations for court practices to provide greater oversight over children’s educational needs, 4) researching and making recommendations to expedite the appellate process, 5) studying and making recommendations for service provision needs across the state, 6) developing guidelines and training recommendations for lawyers who represent children in cases involving abuse & neglect, juvenile law violations, and family dissolution & child custody, 7) developing recommendations and protocols for collaborative practices, including pre-hearing conferences, mediation, victim-youth conferencing, and family group conferences, and 8) developing case progression standards.

The Commission meets twice yearly to review subcommittee progress and work products relating to the Commission’s goals, to investigate system concerns, to research more effective and efficient approaches to cases involving children, and to make recommendations to the Supreme Court.

Click here for active and archived subcommitttees.

 

2023

2023
2023

June 20 Agenda, Minutes

December 8 Agenda, Minutes

2022

2022
2022

June 10 AgendaMinutes

December 9 AgendaMinutes

2021

2021
2021

June 20 AgendaMinutes

December 10 Agenda, Minutes

2020

2020
2020

June 12 AgendaMinutes

December 11 AgendaMinutes

2019

2019

2018

2018
2018

June 1 - Agenda, Minutes

December 7 - Agenda, Minutes

2017

2017
2017

June 2 -  Agenda, Minutes

December 1 - Agenda, Minutes

2016

2016
2016

June 17 -  Agenda, Minutes 

December 2 -  Agenda, Minutes 

2015

2015
2015

June 12 - Agenda, Minutes

December 4 - Agenda, Minutes 

2013

2013
2013

June 14 - Agenda, Minutes

December 6 - Minutes

2014

2014
2014

June 13 - Agenda, Minutes

December 5 - Agenda, Minutes

2012

2012
2012

June 22 - Agenda, Minutes

December 7 - Agenda, Minutes

2011

2011
2011

June 3 - Agenda, Minutes

December 2 - Agenda, Minutes

2010

2010
2010

June 25 - Agenda, Minutes

December 17 - Agenda, Minutes

2009

2009
2009

June 12 - Agenda, Minutes

December 4 - Agenda, Minutes

2008

2008
2008

July 18 - Minutes

December 15 - Agenda, Minutes

2007

2007
2007

June 15 - Agenda, Minutes

November 30 - Minutes

2006

2006
2006

March 17 - Agenda, Minutes

May 5 - Agenda, Minutes

August 25 - Agenda, Minutes

December 15 - Agenda, Minutes

2005

2005
2005

February 21 - Agenda, Minutes

May 6 - Agenda, Minutes

August 5 - Agenda, Minutes

December 16 - Agenda, Minutes