The Supreme Court of Nevada has announced the release of the final report for the Nevada District Court, Family Division Assessment.
Conducted between January and August of this year by the National Center for Juvenile Justice, the research division of the Nevada-based National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), the assessment re-examines the court operation model the Nevada legislature adopted in 1993 for judicial districts serving total populations of more than 100,000. Coordinated family divisions were subsequently implemented in the Second Judicial District Court (Washoe County) and the Eighth Judicial District Court (Clark County).
Download the full report“Twenty-five years after the Nevada Legislature implemented the family division legislation, there is continued support among judicial officers and stakeholders to continue the model,” said Hunter Hurst, III, project director at the National Center for Juvenile Justice. “Both jurisdictions can present many specific examples for how they operate under these goals, even if under workload pressure and strain, but generally with a high level of commitment to service to the community and families in court.”
The goal of the assessment was to determine whether the family courts are meeting expectations of families and lawmakers, following state and local courts rules, and resolving legal disputes timely and effectively through phone interviews, electronic surveys, and site visits in both Las Vegas and Reno.
During the process, the National Center for Juvenile Justice reviewed performance statistics and established a baseline for the resolution of family law cases in Nevada. The statistics and interviews were used to determine how Nevada’s family courts compare with best practices and other jurisdictions.
“Much has changed within our environment since the Nevada Legislature first implemented the coordinated family court models in Washoe and Clark counties,” said Justice James W. Hardesty. “This report provides a snapshot of how our coordinated family courts in Washoe and Clark counties are doing, how we compare to other jurisdictions, and provides recommendations for improvement.”
The National Center for Juvenile Justice, located in Pittsburgh, Penn., is the oldest juvenile justice research group in the U.S., having conducted national and sub-national studies on crime and delinquency since 1973.
For additional information about the findings and recommendations contained within the report, contact Hunter Hurst at hhurst@ncjfcj.org or (412) 246-0842.