Customer Complaint Process

At Family Court Services, we appreciate you taking the time to inform us of your complaint about the services you received through our offices. We encourage you to notify us of your complaint as early as possible. We are interested only in helping you and the courts make the best decisions possible to meet the needs and interests of your children.

Family Court Services takes all customer complaints seriously. You are encouraged to notify the Family Court Services Manager of your complaint as early as possible.

FORMAL COMPLAINT PROCESS:  If you want an investigation of and response to a complaint, you must submit the Court Customer Complaint Form in writing to the office of Family Court Services. You may submit attachments to the complaint form which must not exceed three pages, double spaced. Once the complaint has been investigated, a written response will be prepared and sent to the complaining court customer. The manager will respond 30 days after the response was submitted to the court if at all possible.

HOW FAMILY COURT SERVICES WORKS

1. Responsibility for making official orders about parenting arrangements and recommendations for investigation rests with the court. Only a judge can order a child custody or visitation arrangement, whether to grant a petition or any court ordered decision. All assessments and recommendations made to the court by an investigator take into consideration the best interest of the children or dependent adult, but they do not make court orders or decisions. The judge is the only person authorized to order a child custody or visitation arrangements.
2. Family Court Services cannot reverse or change a court-ordered parenting plan. Only the judge can change the order. If you are concerned about the custody or visitation orders that were made by a judge, you must make your appeal directly to the court for a review of the case. Your attorney or staff at the Self Help Center can guide you on how to appeal a court decision.
3. A complaint about how you were treated in Family Court Services or about the procedures used can be addressed directly by the Family Court Services office.
4. Submitting a complaint through the use of the Court Customer Complaint Form is not an appeal for a review or reversal of court orders that have been made in your case. An appeal is a legal process over which Family Court Services has no control. Use of this form is, however, the proper way to express your grievances about the way in which Family Court Services handled your mediation, screening, assessment or evaluation case.
5. All complaints must have a name and a signature. No anonymous complaints will be accepted.

Customer Complain Form