transFormingFamiLYLaw : emBraCingtheFamiLYCourtguidingprinCipLes
Marital & Family law Section
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to services , and various forums to resolve issues without additional trauma . If attorneys , judges , magistrates , paralegals , case managers , and other stakeholders embraced these principles and focused on helping the family to heal their underlying issues rather than simply symptoms , the number of cases in family court could decrease .
Trauma often underlies litigants ’ problematic behavior in contested family matters . Trauma is a biopsycho-social experience affecting individuals physically , mentally , emotionally , and socially due to events causing moderate to severe stress reactions characterized by horror , helplessness , serious injury , or the threat of serious injury or death . 5 Properly identifying and connecting families with local resources to address their trauma can potentially reduce or eliminate the need for court involvement . In essence , healing trauma can heal the family .
In 2023-2024 , Florida ’ s courts took significant steps to implement the Guiding Principles . The Office of State Courts Administrator and The Family Law Section of the Florida Bar , in an unprecedented partnership , hosted eleven workshops throughout Florida on trauma in family law cases . 6 These workshops fostered collaboration between the bench , the bar , and local resources to implement therapeutic justice . Over 970 registrants participated , leading to ongoing local and statewide meetings , additional training sessions , and an increase in traumainformed practices among the judiciary , practitioners , and courts .
Help us continue to transform Florida ’ s family law system by becoming trauma-informed and trauma-responsive . Join this movement to improve lives by contacting the Florida Bar Family Law Section ’ s Immediate Past Chair Sarah E . Kay at Sarah @ kayfamilylaw . com or 813-520-2700 to get involved . Together , we can build a stronger Florida and brighter future one family at a time . n
1
Ronald Reagan , Proclamation 5281 – National Family Week ( Nov . 15 , 1984 ) ( available at : https :// www . presidency . ucsb . edu / documents / proclamation- 5281-national-family-week-1984 )
2
In re Report of Family Court Steering Committee , 794 So . 2d 518 ( Fla . 2001 ). For a judicial perspective of implemen - tation of the Guiding Principles , see Judge John Guy , Florida Family Courts ’ Guiding Principles , Florida Family Law
Section Commentator , 14 , Vol . 2 ( Spring 2024 ).
3
Guiding Principle 10 .
4
Guiding Principle 5 .
5
Helping Patients Cope With a Traumatic Event , CDC [ https :// perma . cc / SH6H-MJAM ].
6
Office of State Courts Administrator , Responding to Trauma in Family Court Cases , Full Court Press ( Summer 2024 ) ( available at : https :// www . flcourts . gov / Publications-Statistics / Publications / Full-Court- Press / Full-Court- Press-Summer- 2024
Author : Sarah E . Kay – Kay Family Law PLLC
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