Rule 5.430.Minimum standards for the Office of the Family Law Facilitator

Every superior court has a family law facilitator, and for many self-represented litigants it is the only legal help they encounter. The office must be headed by at least one attorney who is an active State Bar member, with five years in practice including substantial family law work — litigation, mediation, or both — plus knowledge of family law procedure, the title IV-D child support establishment and enforcement process, child support law and the uniform guideline, and a basic understanding of the law and psychology of domestic violence.

Courts may substitute additional experience, skills, or background appropriate to their own community for those qualifications. The rule also names experience it considers desirable rather than required: working with low-income, semiliterate, self-represented, or non-English-speaking litigants — a fair description of who actually walks in.

Services may be delivered by other paid and volunteer members of the office under the facilitator’s supervision. Two written protocols are mandatory: one for providing services when a facilitator is disqualified or biased, and one for a grievance procedure handling complaints against the facilitator. Facilitators should attend at least one Judicial Council training each year.