SOLVING THE FAMILY COURT PUZZLE: INTEGRATING RESEARCH,POLICY, AND PRACTICE

In my opening remarks to the 42nd Annual Conference of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, I discuss trends in family law cases from the Supreme Court of Washington and the U.S. Supreme Court. I also review the wide variety of advancements in the way that court systems approach family law cases. Noting a recent emphasis on the fundamental rights of parents, I advocate a new paradigm, moving away from a focus on the parents and toward a focus on the child.