MISSION

The Mission of the Administrative Office of the Courts:

The mission of the Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts is to foster fair, efficient, timely and accessible justice for all people by:

1. Providing guidance, services, support and resources to the courts, government agencies, communities and individuals.

2. Providing clear and accurate information to customers; and

3. Facilitating, coordinating and implementing innovative statewide judicial branch policies and programs.
 

From the Performance Standards and Measures for Maryland's Family Divisions:

The mission of Maryland's Family Divisions is to provide a fair and efficient forum to resolve family legal matters in a problem-solving manner, with the goal of improving the lives of families and children who appear before the court. To that end, the court shall make appropriate services available for families who need them. The court also shall provide an environment that supports judges, court staff and attorneys so that they can respond effectively to the many legal and non-legal issues of families in the justice system.

CUSTOMERS

The customers of the Department of Family Administration include the following:

Internal Customers

. AOC Staff
. Judges, masters, clerks
. Court administrators, coordinators
. Professional court staff
. MACRO
. Court-related agencies

External Customers

. Agencies (e.g. DHR, DSS, DHMH, GOCCP, OCYF, CSEA, etc.)
. Litigants
. Non-profit organizations
. The Bar and Bar Associations
. The Public
. Legal service providers
. Maryland Legal Services Corporation 
. Child advocates
. Domestic violence advocates
. Citizens' Review Board for Children
. CASA
. General Assembly 

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Goal 1: Enhance the court's response to families and children through the coordination and professionalization of the court and its service providers.

Objectives:

1.1 Enhance the skills of court and service professionals.

1.1.a. Develop training curricula and host trainings for each discipline.
1.1.b. Provide cross-training opportunities when necessary.
1.1.c. Host regular meetings for each group of court professionals.
1.1.d. Research innovative programs and best practices.

1.2.a. Facilitate the adoption of standards for each discipline.
1.2.b. Develop evaluation protocols for each discipline.

. Number of trainings
. Training evaluations
. Number of evaluation protocols developed
. Availability of data from evaluation data for each discipline
. Number of meetings hosted
. Number of programs implemented
. Development of standards for each discipline 

Goal 2: Improve the effectiveness of and confidence in the family law system through enhanced communication within the Department of Family Administration and with internal and external customers.

Objectives:

2.1 Improve data collection and statistical information to support legislative initiatives, policy development, and funding requests.

2.2 Enhance information sharing with customers.

2.2.a. Disseminate information on services, projects and opportunities.
2.2.a.i. Improve communication on grants and funding availability and on the grant decision-making process.
2.2.b. Provide regular updates to our customers on trends in family law and family court management.
2.2.c. Exchange project and event information within the department.
2.2.c.i. Enhance communication internally to coordinate and respond to intra-governmental needs.

2.4 Provide on-site support and technical assistance when necessary.

Sample Tasks:

. Directory of services and programs
. Regional trainings / updates
. Group calendar
. Enhanced e-mail / web use
. Quarterly meeting updates 

Targeted Outcomes / Output and Measures of Success:

. Number of hits on web-site
. Newsletter publication and distribution
. Practice tools developed
. Availability, collection and analysis of data
. Technical assistance provided
. Customer satisfaction survey (pre- and post- changes)

Goal 3: Strengthen the work environment by respecting individual needs and promoting healthy interaction between co-workers.

Objective:

3.1 Model the goal of the family law system within the Department of Family Administration by fostering a work environment that permits employees to put their own families first.

3.1.a Explore options to respond to individual work/life balance issues.

3.3 Enhance trust among co-workers.

3.4 Ensure Department of Family Administration staff understand how department, unit and individual responsibilities fit into the overall goals and structure of the Administrative Office of the Courts.

3.4.a Develop an employee orientation for department staff to cover specific information not covered by the general AOC orientation.
3.4.b Develop a Department of Family Administration staff manual.

Targeted Outcomes / Output and Measures of Success:

. Turnover rate
. Improvements in absenteeism
. Job satisfaction survey of staff (pre- and post- changes)
. Number of department meetings
. Develop of employee orientation / manual 

Goal 4: Serve as a change agent for the Judiciary by improving service to families and children through facilitation and implementation of innovative family law policies and programs.

Objectives:

4.1 Provide support to the Judiciary and clients we serve through the efficient administration of programs and policies.

4.1.a. Develop a policy on staffing and committee responsibilities.
4.1.b. Revise grant administration procedures and policies.
4.1.c. Streamline child support IV-D contract administration.

4.2.a. Permit department staff to avail themselves of outside training opportunities and publications.
4.2.b. Research and disseminate best practices.
4.2.b.i. Host a statewide family law conference.
4.2.c. Track trends via data and develop new programs and policies that reflect that data.
4.2.d Promote model programs through pilot projects.

4.3.a. Maintain an expertise in available funding.
4.3.b. Communicate funding opportunities to customers.
4.3.c. Provide technical assistance to help customers obtain funding.

. Development of policies and programs
. Model programs implemented
. Trainings attended
. Identify and obtain funding
. Data collected and case trends analyzed
. Development of policies and programs based on identified trends