Supreme Court Awards Grants
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAn Indiana Supreme Court funding initiative is boosting local family court projects throughout the state. The grants totaling more than $232,000 involve programs in nearly two dozen counties. March 3, 2014
News Release
STATEWIDE – The Indiana Supreme Court awarded $232,470 in grant money to benefit 23 counties to support local family court projects.
The grants will focus on creating innovative programs that improve the court process for families. Priority was given to applications that emphasized three areas of programming:
-Access to Justice – improving access to the courts for families without attorneys
-Alternative Dispute Resolution/Early Case Management – promoting timely resolution of cases
-Court-Related Services – implementing other programs that support families throughout the court process
The 2014 grants, ranging between $30,000 to $2,000, were awarded to the following counties:
-Judge Thomas Stefaniak, Jr., Lake County – $30,000
-Magistrate Jason Reyome, Marion County IV-D – Court – $25,000
-Judge Charles Pratt and Judge Thomas Felts, Allen County – $23,270
-Judge Thomas Alevizos, LaPorte County – $20,000
-Judge Judith Stewart, Brown County – $15, 000 (shared with Jackson/Lawrence Co.)
-Judge Bruce MacTavish, Jackson County – $15,000 (shared with Brown/Lawrence Co.)
-Judge Andrea McCord, Lawrence County – $15,000 (shared with Brown/Jackson Co.)
-Judge Cynthia Ayers, Marion County – $15,000
-Judge Don Daniel, Tippecanoe County – $12, 500
-Judge Mary Margaret LLoyd, Daviess/Floyd/Pike/Vanderburgh/Vigo County – $12, 000
-Judge Michael Reed, Kosciusko County – $10,000
-Judge Frances Hill, Monroe County – $10, 000
-Magistrate Ann Smith Mischler, Sullivan County – $10,000
-Judge Lori Thatcher Quillen, Owen County – $8,000
-Judge Lynne Ellis, Martin County – $7,500
-Judge David Bonfiglio, Elkhart County – $7,200
-Judge Jeffrey Meade, Gibson County – $5,000
-Judge Dena Martin, Greene County – $5,000
-Judge Paul Felix, Hamilton County – $5,000
-Judge Gary Smith, Jennings County – $5,000
-Judge Michael Robbins, Lawrence County – $5,000
-Judge Bruce Stengel, Vermillion County – $2,000
The Family Court Project began in 1999 with cooperation from the Indiana General Assembly. Since then, the Supreme Court has distributed more than 3 million dollars to support family court projects across the state. The grants are considered “seed money” and pilot counties are expected to transition within a reasonable time from “seed” funding to local funding.
More information on the Family Court Project is available at www.courts.in.gov/family-court.
Source: The Indiana Supreme Court