ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
superior court; fees
Increases conciliation court
fees from $50 to $65.
Historically, conciliation
services have provided conciliation counseling to reconcile marriages and other
services designed to reduce parental conflict, including mediation and family
assessment. The demand for these
services has increased dramatically and conciliation courts have been unable to
keep up at present levels of funding.
For example, conciliation services workloads for Maricopa County alone
have increased 37.2% from 1995-1999 and 43.5% for Pima County from 1992 through
FY 1998-1999. Rural counties have
experienced similar problems filling the need for conciliation services. For example, Pinal County has had to reduce
the number of family assessments, brief marriage and divorce counseling
performed due to the inability to provide more staff. This at a time when Pinal County reports a 14% increase in requests
for mediation and a 25% increase in request for parent education since the
program’s inception in 1997. Graham
County is unable to establish conciliation courts, in part due to lack of
financial support. Coconino County’s
conciliation services are unable to offer mediation for high-conflict cases due
to lack funds to pay for additional mediators.
Conciliation court fees were last increased in 1991.
In addition to providing the
services mentioned above, conciliation seeks to promote public welfare by
preserving and protecting family life, the rights of children, and a means of
amicable settlement of family and domestic controversies.
Persons who file for annulment, legal separation, or dissolution of marriage are required to pay a fifty-dollar fee, which goes to the conciliation fund. Conciliation fund monies may be used to investigate facts on which warrants, subpoenas, orders or directions to an action or proceeding filed in or transferred to conciliation court. Other uses for conciliation funds are: conciliation conferences with parties who request them, supervision in connection with conciliation, to cause orders and findings of the judge to be entered in the same way as they are in superior court and to cause and keep reports on findings as a judge directs. Maricopa County’s general fund aids conciliation services by contributing funds amounting to 30% of the total costs. Pinal County’s general fund supplies 61% of the funding for conciliation services. Maricopa County intends to hire additional mediators to provide more services in a more timely manner and would use the fifteen-dollar fee increase toward paying mediator salaries. Other counties plan on: establishing conciliation courts, using funds to hire more staff, providing services in a more timely manner, and adding specialized programs, such as dependency mediation. The increase would also add more counseling and visitation programs and would provide information to judges faster so that more cases could be resolved in shorter periods of time. (Conciliation service mediators must have at least a Masters of Science degree in Social and Behavioral Science and be trained in mediation.)
There is no fiscal impact to
the state general fund.
1. Increases conciliation court fees from $50 to $65.
2. Makes technical changes.
3. Provides for a general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Staff
January 28, 2000