Franklin County hearing officers outline juvenile, dependency, divorce and support roles

Kristen Hamilton, the Franklin County juvenile hearing officer, and James (Jim) Stein, the county’s divorce and support hearing officer, gave separate presentations to the Franklin County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 22 about their offices’ functions and caseloads.

Hamilton said her role covers shelter care hearings, permanency review hearings and other dependency- and delinquency-related proceedings. “I am a quasi judicial official who works under the supervision of a judge,” Hamilton said, describing that her orders are regularly reviewed and can be overruled by a judge. She explained dependency cases aim to reunify children with families where possible and noted the Adoption and Safe Families Act’s timelines, saying, “We have 15 out of 22 months according to the Adoption and Safe Families Act.”

Hamilton provided counts for 2024: 238 delinquency hearings handled by the juvenile system (detention hearings, adjudications, placement reviews and similar actions) and 44 shelter-care events in dependency cases, noting some cases involve sibling groups or dual case management. She emphasized that the county schedules permanency reviews at least every 90 days to meet statutory timelines.

Jim Stein described the divorce hearing office (formerly called the master in divorce) and his dual role as support hearing officer. He explained that Pennsylvania law requires the court to grant divorces but allows hearing officers to handle many of the contested and uncontested proceedings to relieve the court. “We apply the rules of evidence, and then, ultimately, it’s my job to make a determination on how assets should be divided, whether or not there should be alimony paid,” Stein said. He estimated roughly 450 divorces are filed annually in Franklin County and that the hearing office sees about 10–20% of those — approximately 50 contested cases a year.

Both presenters stressed that hearing officers help conserve judicial time and allow the court system to focus limited judicial resources on matters that require a judge’s direct attention. Hamilton said the roles require specialized training, trauma-informed approaches and frequent contact with children and families; Stein highlighted settlement efforts and conferences that keep cases from reaching trial.

The commissioners praised the presentations, noting the county benefits from the hearing officers’ work to speed appropriate review and ease the workload of common pleas judges. The speakers remained available afterward to answer questions and posed for a photo with commissioners at the conclusion of their presentations.