The Supreme Court Commission on Children in the Courts, created in 2005, consists of judges, lawyers, representatives of the legislative and executive branches, and children’s advocates. Its charge is to study systemic issues and make recommendations to the Supreme Court to ensure that the court system is as responsive as possible for children who interact with, or are directly affected by the courts. It is co-chaired by Judge Francie Riedmann, Appellate Court Judge, and Douglas County Separate Juvenile Court Judge Douglas F. Johnson, who is a Past President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. The main work of the Commission is done in subcommittees.

Click here for a list of Commission Members. 

Examples of the Commission’s past and present priorities include: 1) studying and making recommendations regarding a unified family court, 2) proposing uniform standards in guardianship laws, 3) developing recommendations for court practices to provide greater oversight over children’s educational needs, 4) researching and making recommendations to expedite the appellate process, 5) studying and making recommendations for service provision needs across the state, 6) developing guidelines and training recommendations for lawyers who represent children in cases involving abuse & neglect, juvenile law violations, and family dissolution & child custody, 7) developing recommendations and protocols for collaborative practices, including pre-hearing conferences, mediation, victim-youth conferencing, and family group conferences, and 8) developing case progression standards.

The Commission meets twice yearly to review subcommittee progress and work products relating to the Commission’s goals, to investigate system concerns, to research more effective and efficient approaches to cases involving children, and to make recommendations to the Supreme Court.

Click here for active and archived subcommitttees.