New domestic-relations bureau director outlines plans to modernize services

Judge John Broden introduced Kate Williams as the new director of the Domestic Relations Counseling Bureau and said Williams had already begun reviewing how the bureau operates and how senate legislation could affect services.

Williams described the bureau’s statutory mission — screening, evaluation, case management, education and mediation — and said the office serves about 200 families a year. She said custody evaluations done privately can cost $5,000 to $10,000 and be slow; the bureau provides evaluations at a lower cost with a sliding fee. “We charge under $1,000 for an evaluation and we employ a sliding fee scale,” Williams said.

Williams identified three near-term priorities: adopting a case-management system to track referrals and timeliness, rewriting policies and procedures to reduce ambiguity between evaluation and case-management services, and improving transparency so participants know what to expect. She also said the bureau is short one family court specialist and is exploring whether some case-management tasks could be done at a lower credential level to control costs while preserving clinical capacity.

Williams said better data would strengthen grant applications and allow the bureau to demonstrate measurable reductions in conflict and time-in-court. She also raised reconciliation and early-intervention programs as potential areas for new work and suggested partnering with local institutions and legal-aid groups for pilot projects.

The council thanked Williams and asked that the presentation slides be circulated by email ahead of further budget discussions. The committee did not take formal action on funding during the presentation; Williams said she would follow up with materials and additional information on staffing and software needs.