2011 budget summary - St. Louis County

DEPARTMENT OF JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATIONand administration support to the 21st JudicialCircuit of St. Louis County. Their duties are: File, maintain and docket court cases andrecords; Develop, revise and maintain informationsystems for the Court; Assess, collect, account and disburse court costsand fees; Record monies deposited into the registry ofthe Court; Prepare reports as required by the SupremeCourt and Circuit Court pertaining to cases filedand heard in the circuit.Family CourtIn November 1993, several judicial divisions of theSt. Louis County Circuit Court were consolidatedinto the Family Court of St. Louis County under thedirection of an Administrative Judge. Judges andCommissioners assigned to these divisionsexclusively hear cases involving children andfamilies. Their training and experience equip themto deal with all types of family issues.Hearings within the Family Court are conducted intwo separate buildings located in Clayton. Juvenilematters are heard at the Family Court Center onBrentwood Boulevard. This facility also houses theJuvenile Detention Center and various staff offices.Non‐juvenile matters are primarily conducted at theCircuit Courthouse in downtown Clayton.In addition to hearing cases, the Family Court alsoprovides numerous support services for thosecoming to the attention of the Court. Individual andgroup counseling, probationary services, parenteducation classes and restitution programs areexamples of the many programs offered.The Family Court operates under the principal of“one Family – one Judge.” All matters involving aparticular family are assigned to the same Judge orCommissioner whenever possible, bringingincreased continuity and consistency to the judicialprocess.The Court has sole authority to hear a variety ofcases including domestic relations actions, motionsto modify, adult abuse cases and juvenileproceedings. In addition, it handles some mattersreferred from other non‐Family Court divisions,such as guardianships transferred from the ProbateDivision.- 171 -FISCAL YEAR 2011ADOPTED BUDGET