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• Overview
• Expansion Of Role

3. Family Court
co-ordinator

OVERVIEW

90 THE FAMILY COURT CO-ORDINATOR (known originally as the counselling co-ordinator) has been an integral part of the Family Court since it was set up in 1981. The role has subsequently changed, and we recommend it be expanded and invigorated.

91 Section 8 of the Family Courts Act 1980 provides:

Counselling supervisors, counsellors and other officers

(1) There shall from time to time be appointed under the State Sector Act 1988, as an officer of the Department for Courts, a person whose principal responsibility shall be to perform such duties as the [c]hief [e]xecutive of the Department for Courts may direct to facilitate the proper functioning of the Family Courts and of counselling related services.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1) of this section, there may from time to time be appointed under the State Sector Act 1988 such counselling supervisors, counsellors and other officers as may be necessary to enable Family Courts to perform any function conferred on them by any enactment.

(3) Every such counselling supervisor, counsellor and other officer, while performing any duty under the auspices of a Family Court, shall for the purposes of the District Courts Act 1947 be an officer of that court.

92 Only counselling/Family Court co-ordinators have ever been appointed under this section, although the job description has also changed over time.

Original job description

93 The counselling co-ordinator’s original job description stated: “The position ensures the effective functioning of the Family Court by co-ordinating arrangements for counselling, mediation conferences, appointment of counsel for child and the obtaining of specialist reports. It creates a link between the Family Court system and the community it serves by fostering liaison and community education.”

94 Key tasks included administering counselling referrals and specialist reports, and appointing counsel for the child.

95 The co-ordinator was also expected to:

• be regularly available to the public, in person and by telephone;

• help the public with accurate information and appropriate assistance and/or referrals;

• liaise with the legal profession, Marriage Guidance, and private counsellors;

• arrange training and information events for the Department of Social Welfare, the Department of Education, psychologists, social workers, and anger management and cultural groups, and inform them of changes and administrative requirements;

• inform interested community groups about the services Family Courts offer;

• distribute pamphlets and other material;

• encourage section 9 referrals as a first resort;

• arrange training events.

A large part of the job was, therefore, liaising between the Family Court and the community.

96 Counselling co-ordinators undertook these tasks throughout the 1980s. When the Family Court was first set up, its jurisdiction was much more limited than it is today. Since then, the number of applications processed annually has increased dramatically, and the co-ordinator’s role changed accordingly.

Shrinking role since 1990

97 In response to changes that began earlier, the counselling co-ordinator’s job description changed in 1995, and the position was renamed Family Court co-ordinator.

98 The objective of the new position was:

To promote the effective functioning of the Family Court by co-ordinating arrangements for counselling, mediation, conferences, appointment of counsel for children and the obtaining of specialist reports.

99 Its scope and objectives changed so that tasks were oriented more towards administering counselling, obtaining specialist reports and making counsel for children appointments, and less towards community education and public liaison, and one-on-one interviews.

100 Although key tasks still include providing appropriate public assistance and information by telephone and over the counter, and crisis intervention counselling and referrals, the emphasis has been on administering services such as counselling and specialist reports. Family Court education has extended only to keeping the public informed about available services, accepting appropriate speaking engagements, and liaising with community service groups and organisations.

101 As the Family Court jurisdiction has expanded, so has the Family Court co-ordinator’s administration of core services (especially in relation to the Domestic Violence Act 1995), so that maintaining the same national number of co-ordinators has meant reducing their tasks.

102 Many Courts do not offer co-ordinators any administrative, clerical or typing support, requiring them to make referrals, as well as manage administrative tasks and relevant documentation. Consequently, much of their work consists of clerical and administrative duties.

103 Co-ordinators in most Courts are obliged to offer crisis counselling to people presenting at the Family Court counter. But not all co-ordinators have time to give clients information, and counsel them about their situation and possible referrals. Most have time only for a minimal community education role.

104 The Christchurch Family Court is one court that has managed to keep its co-ordinators carrying out a full range of functions. They still do community liaison, interview people coming to the Court, and give basic counselling and information. The Christchurch Family Court is able to do this partly because it is a large court servicing a wide area and employing three co-ordinators, thus spreading the workload. Its co-ordinators also have clerical and secretarial support.

105 The counselling co-ordinators’ shrinking role might be attributable to the Court’s bigger workload and limited budget. Maintaining the original role would have meant employing more staff and possibly increasing their salaries. Changes that have made the position less professional and more administrative have contributed to a lack of appreciation of its value. There seems to have been ongoing tension between the Department for Courts, Family Court management, and Family Court co-ordinators themselves.

106 Some Courts are now suggesting there is no need for the co-ordinator role at all, and that it might be filled by case officers. If the role is reduced to referrals, of course, that would be true. But even under the present system, co-ordinators organise and maintain availability of specialist services, which could not be done by case officers. The co-ordinator also helps other Family Court staff by being available to manage and cope with distressed and possibly angry parties. These are skills not normally demanded of administrative staff and should not be under-rated, especially in the Family Court context.

107 There are currently 30 Family Court co-ordinators employed in New Zealand Family Courts, only two of them men. This has prompted some male respondents to comment negatively on the predominance of women in Family Court administration.

108 Family Court co-ordinators are employed in salary band D, currently between $36 125 and $46 750. This compares with the Child, Youth and Family Services social worker salary range, where a senior without responsibility for staff earns between $45 000 and $55 000, and a senior overseeing staff gets between $47 500 and $60 000.

EXPANSION OF ROLE

109 We recommend a Family Court conciliation service that provides and manages referrals to information sessions, counselling, mediation and various specialist interventions.

110 We consider the Family Court co-ordinator the ideal person to take on this role.

111 Should our recommendations be adopted, New Zealand would need twice as many co-ordinators as it has now. Consideration could be given to creating senior and junior positions in each Court.

112 We consider the new position would demand higher qualifications. The qualification required currently is secondary school study to sixth form certificate level, or relevant work experience; a relevant tertiary qualification is desirable. The new role would require a tertiary or equivalent qualification in social work, counselling, clinical psychology or similar, as well as good administrative skills. If there were to be several co-ordinator positions in one court, the senior person would also need staff management skills.

113 The salary range for senior positions would have to be extended to attract people with the qualifications and experience we consider necessary.

114 We suggest renaming the position conciliation services co-ordinator or manager.

115 Although we believe the position justifies qualifications and skills not necessarily required of current co-ordinators, we consider the latter’s experience to be valuable. They have institutional memory and a range of community knowledge it would be a mistake to jettison. We recommend retaining present staff, with recruitment for new positions undertaken on the new basis.

116 Conciliation service co-ordinator tasks would include intake procedures; co-ordinating and managing counselling and mediation referrals and specialist services; case management assistance; community education and liaison; and, possibly professional supervision, updating and education about new information services and programmes.

117 We visualise the new position incorporating all the key tasks allotted to the Family Courts specialist services co-ordinator as part of the Wellington Development Court trial. Key responsibilities are grouped under these headings:

• co-ordinate specialist service providers;

• manage cases;

• manage relationships;

• assess clients/cases;

• settle on appropriate actions;

• provide Family Court education;

• administer documents and files;

• maintain knowledge capital.

The full key tasks are set out in appendix B.

118 We understand that the Wellington Family Court co-ordinator considered this description reflected her current work. But the tasks we envisage are more extensive than could possibly be managed in that court by one person. The specialist services co-ordinator’s job description does not cover all the new conciliation services co-ordinator’s tasks because these relate to proposed new services, including co-ordinating information and mediation services, specialist interventions, and, possibly, an expanded community education role.

119 New conciliation service co-ordinator positions are a key factor in developing the Family Court’s conciliation service.

Recommendations

There should be an extended Family Court co-ordinator role, renamed conciliation service co-ordinator.

A conciliation service co-ordinator would require higher qualifications and more skills than a current Family Court co-ordinator.

More conciliation service co-ordinators should be employed.

The salary for the position should be increased.

Tasks should include intake procedures; assistance with case management; co-ordinating and managing counselling, mediation referrals and specialist services; community education and liaison; and appropriate professional supervision, updating and education.

Current Family Court co-ordinators should keep their positions, with recommended criteria applying to new appointees.

Costing

120 Our proposal would require major expenditure, and would probably double the current co-ordinator wage bill. Family Courts would have to provide office space for these new employees, and interviewing rooms so parties could talk privately. Co-ordinators would need to be near case officers, to help with case management, but would also need private spaces for conducting face-to-face interviews and making confidential telephone calls.