| What is the Family Services Program?
In 1998, the Maryland Judiciary
was given the responsibility of overseeing the Family Divisions and Family
Services Program with an initiative by the legislature. Maryland circuit
courts have initiated comprehensive services to benefit families entering
the court system. These services provide efficient case management
of family law cases for families and children who are entering the judicial
system. With the creation of the Family Services Program, St. Mary’s
County Circuit Court encourages and believes parents should be the primary
decision-makers. Fostering parents as the primary decision-makers is
the basis for the creation of the services provided through the court process.
The Family Support Services
Coordinator assists the County Administrative Judge in efficient case management
of family law cases involving children and families. The Family Services
Coordinator also maintains and establishes working and cooperative relationships
with community based agencies.
What are the programs
offered through the Family Services Office?
CUSTODY AND VISITATION MEDIATION
When there are contested issues
of custody and/or visitation, a case will be set in for a Scheduling Conference
with the Master of Domestic Relations. The purpose of the Scheduling Conference
is to discuss any outstanding issues as it relates only to custody and visitation.
The Master of Domestic Relations may refer your case to participate in mediation.
You will be given a Court Order referring your case to mediation, which may
consist of two sessions. The court order will direct the parties to
contact the mediator to schedule their mediation. The Family
Services Office has two mediation programs:
Court approved Mediators through
Mediation Services of Southern Maryland using a co-mediation approach.
This program is paid by a grant through the Family Services Office.
Referrals for this program have to be made through the court process and there
are no fees assessed to the parties.
Mediation is also provided
by court approved mediators for custody and visitation mediation. The
cost of mediation is $100.00 per person per two-hour session. The Clerks
Office maintains a list of court approved mediators.
COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIP INTERVENTION PROGRAM
The Master’s Office is devoted
to assisting parents in the resolution of conflicts through positive and
cooperative efforts. The Center for Children provides assistance by
having a therapist during the Master of Domestic Relations domestic docket
on Mondays, Tuesday, and Wednesdays. The therapist provides attention
to those cases involving conflict in parental relationships to help them
overcome the personal reasons of the divorce and/or separation and focus
more on the impact the separation has on the children.
Fees: None
Contact: Linda J. Grove, Family
Support Services Coordinator, and St. Mary’s County Circuit Court
(301) 475-7844
CO-PARENTING
DIVORCE AND SEPARATION EDUCATION PROGRAM
The Transparenting Seminar
is a six-hour co-parenting divorce and separation education program.
This program emphasizes how to avoid harm to children when the parents are
involved in a contested custody and/or visitation case. The program focuses
on fostering the child’s emotional health during periods of stress and adjustment.
This program is offered monthly for two days. The program is split up
in two days. The cost of the program is $120.00 per person.
Fees: $120.00
Contact: Sandra Curtis, Walden/Sierra, Inc. (301) 863-6670 or Linda J. Grove, Family Support Services Coordinator at (301) 475-7844
CHILDREN'S PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT GROUP
“Rollercoasters” is a program
provided by Walden/Sierra, Inc. of St. Mary’s County, Maryland. The
“Rollercoasters” Program is a companion to the “Transparenting” parenting seminar
and runs concurrently with that program. It is a six-week program,
which is offered once a week for a one-hour session. “Rollercoasters”
is an educational support group for children of separated and divorced parents
between the ages of 5 to 12 years of age. The format deals with the
self-blame and helps the children with developmental progress during a time
of adjustment, loss and domestic strife.
Fees: $70.00
Contact: Sarah Stevens, Walden/Sierra, Inc. (301) 863-6670
SUPERVISED VISITATION PROGRAM
The Center for Children has
developed a supervised visitation program in conjunction with the Court to
help ensure that the time spent during visitation is rewarding to both parent
and child. The Center for Children provides this program at their Leonardtown
Office. Cases referred for supervised visitation require a court order,
agreement by the attorneys and/or the parties involved in a particular case
or can be referred by the Department of Social Services.
Fees: Intake Fee $25.00 and $15.00 per visit per child
Contact: Kathy Kolesar, Supervised Visitation Coordinator
Location: Center for Children (301) 609-9887
CUSTODY EVALUATIONS AND HOME STUDIES
Custody evaluations provide in-depth interviews with the parents and other collateral contacts that are significant in a child's life. Home studies look at the physical and safety conditions of a home. Custody evaluations are recommended to assist the court in making child custody and visitation arrangements that are in the best interests of a child
PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS
Address a legal question in order to assist the court in makin a child focused decision.
OTHER FAMILY SERVICE REFERRALS
Sometimes the court will order
a custody evaluation in some family law cases. The court will assign
a psychologist and/or a licensed social worker to conduct a custodial evaluation
of all of the family members. Custodial evaluations can take approximately
90 days to conduct and can cost up to several thousand dollars. The court
will typically put in the order that the cost of the evaluation is to be split
equally between the parties. The psychologist then provides a report
to the court.
Sometimes the court will appoint
an attorney for the child, which is called a Best Interests Attorney. Best Interests Attorney is appointed when the child’s own interest needs to be served by
an attorney. The costs of the Best Interests Attorney are typically split
between the parties.
FAMILY LAW SELF HELP LEGAL CLINIC
The Family Law Self Help Legal Clinic also referred to as the Pro Se Assistance Clinic
assists litigants representing themselves without an attorney in family law
matters. A family law attorney provides legal advice and information to people acting as their own attorney. The
attorney can provide the following assistance: which paperwork to file, assistance
with completing the paperwork, how to navigate the court system, what you
need to know at the time of the hearing, etc. The Family Law Self Help Legal Clinic
is available four times a month, once a week.
Eligibility Requirements: NONE
Fees: FREE
Contact Person: Linda J. Grove,
(301) 475-7844, press 5 for Office of the Circuit court, press 2 for Family Services, press 1 for Clinic dates. (Dates vary month to month)
PEOPLES
LAW LIBRARY OUTREACH SITE
The Peoples Law Library Outreach
Site is a project aimed at putting legal resources physically where people
need them. At this site we have provided a computer which can access
the Internet, legal self-help materials and access to legal hotlines to help
you address your legal concerns. St. Mary’s County Circuit Court in
partnership with the St. Mary’s Memorial Library is providing this site.
The site is located at the Memorial Library in Leonardtown, Maryland.
The People’s Law Library (www.peoples-law.org)
is a web site created to provide access to legal information and legal self-help
materials on a variety of common legal areas. The services we provide
are available and useful to all members of the public, although development
of the web site is based on areas of interest primarily to users with low
and moderate incomes.
Fees: None
Contact Person: Linda J. Grove,
St. Mary’s County Circuit Court, (301) 475-7844
Location: St. Mary’s Memorial
Library, (301) 475-2846
LEGAL
AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES
- Family Law Hotline 1-800-845-8550
(Monday – Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
- Legal Forms Helpline 1-800-818-9888
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday –
9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Wednesday 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Thursday
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service 1-800-510-0050
- Walden/Sierra Crisis Hotline
– 301-863-6661 24 hours/7days a week
- Southern Maryland Center for Family Advocacy (previously known as the Women's Center) (301) 373-4141
- Department of Social Services
(St. Mary’s) 240-895-7001
- Child Support Customer Service
(St. Mary’s) 240-895-7100
- Clerk of the Court (St. Mary’s
County) 301-475-7844
- Maryland Family Law Forms available online @ www.mdcourts.gov/family/ Click on FORMS under section Help for the Self Represented
- St. Mary's County Circuit Court Law Library hours Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
- Legal Aid Bureau, Inc. (301) 884-5935
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