The Judicial Council shall do all of the following:
(a) Assist courts in implementing mediation and conciliation proceedings under this code.
(b) Establish and implement a uniform statistical reporting system relating to proceedings brought for dissolution of marriage, for nullity of marriage, or for legal separation of the parties, including, but not limited to, a custody disposition survey.
(c) Administer a program of grants to public and private agencies submitting proposals for research, study, and demonstration projects in the area of family law, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The development of conciliation and mediation and other newer dispute resolution techniques, particularly as they relate to child custody and to avoidance of litigation.
(2) The establishment of criteria to ensure that a child support order is adequate.
(3) The development of methods to ensure that a child support order is paid.
(4) The study of the feasibility and desirability of guidelines to assist judges in making custody decisions.
(d) Administer a program for the training of court personnel involved in family law proceedings, which shall be available to the court personnel and which shall be totally funded from funds specified in Section 1852. The training shall include, but not be limited to, the order of preference for custody of minor children and the meaning of the custody arrangements under Part 2 (commencing with Section 3020) of Division 8.
(e) Conduct research on the effectiveness of current family law for the purpose of shaping future public policy.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 470, Sec. 16. (AB 1529) Effective January 1, 2013.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018