Supported by the State Justice Institute, Automating Family Justice Triage is working with national experts to develop a process and prototype that can be implemented in courts across the country.
Triage Toolbox
- The Progression of Family Justice Pathways provides a compelling case for adopting triage methods nationwide by charting the evolution of triage in family cases. This resource unpacks innovative possibilities, from aiding unrepresented families to risk identification, to service delivery, to automated decision-making.
- Automating Family Triage: Business Process, MindMap, and Visualization collectively offer a guide for exploring and implementing automated decision-making in the family triage process, including:
- A court business process walk-through
- A visual mapping of the triage workflow
- A breakdown of various prototypes that can be implemented locally
- Recommended Family Court Data Elements: This extension to NCSC's National Open Court Data Standards (NODS) provides data elements the rationale for family-specific criteria needed to triage and monitor cases.
- 11th Judicial Circuit Family Division Case Management Manual (Draft): The 11th Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade, Florida has created this draft Family Case Management Manual to support the initial implementation of the Streamlined Track. The manual will subsequently be updated to include a triage process at the time a response is filed as well as implementation of the Tailored Services and Judicial/Specialized Tracks. This manual contemplates the automation of triage processes as functionality is developed and as appropriate for the parties.
- Families in Transition Online course coming September 2023! Parents or families in dispute over parenting plans need support. For this reason, the Maricopa Superior Court of Arizona and the National Center for State Courts have created this 2-hour online course based on promising practices in parent education. Funded by the State Justice Institute, this course uses an internationally acclaimed film and interactive exercises to present childhood development and effective communication strategies. View the course trailer here.
- Promoting Well-Being in Domestic Relations Court: This report aims to delineate best-practice strategies to equip judges and staff with the tools to adeptly identify and address the trauma, mental health conditions, and domestic violence prevalent in the cases they handle.
"Aggressively triage cases at the earliest opportunity." - CCJ/COSCA Resolution 4 (2020)
Pathways approaches have been applied in civil and family cases with demonstrated effectiveness. The Cady Initiative for Family
Justice Reform recommends that courts “aggressively triage cases at the earliest opportunity” to determine which “pathway” is most likely to provide the services and case management that a family needs to resolve their case. This approach has been endorsed by the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators, the highest authorities in state court leadership.
- Davis, A., Buck, R., Hall J., Madrigal, Y., and Trujillo, M. (2023). Triage and Case Management Improvements: A Preliminary Look at Impacts in the Family Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida (Miami-Dade). National Center for State Courts.
- Davis, A., Miller, A., Hamilton, M., Vandenberg Van Zee, S., and Trujillo, M. (2023). An Analysis of Case Data from the Massachusetts Trial Court: An Efficiency and Effectiveness Analysis of Pathways Triage Model. National Center for State Courts.
- Davis, A., Geiger, C., Saini, M., and Trujillo, M. (2023). Implications of Domestic Violence Within the Triage Pathways Approach in Connecticut. National Center for State Courts.
- Davis, A. and Saini, M. (2021). Pathways through the Pandemic: An Application of Family Justice Pathways in Three Courts. NCSC Trends in State Courts, pp. 26-30.
- Marz, S. (2019). Faster and as Satisfying: An Evaluation of Alaska's Early Resolution Triage Program. Family Court Review, Vol. 57 No. 4, October 2019 478-490.
- National Center for State Courts (2018). Colorado State Court Administrator's Office Domestic Relation's Triage Project. National Center for State Courts, pp.1-32.
- National Center for State Courts. (2018). Executive Summary, Colorado Domestic Relations Triage Pilot.
- Clarke, T. (2017). Triage Protocols for Divorce and Child Custody Cases. National Center for State Courts.