SECTIONS 1850-1852 - California Statutes

FAMILY.CODE

SECTION 1850-1852

1850. The Judicial Council shall do all of the following:
(a) Assist counties in implementing mediation and conciliation
proceedings under this code.
(b) Establish and implement a uniform statistical reporting system
relating to proceedings brought for dissolution of marriage, for
nullity of marriage, or for legal separation of the parties,
including, but not limited to, a custody disposition survey.
(c) Administer a program of grants to public and private agencies
submitting proposals for research, study, and demonstration projects
in the area of family law, including, but not limited to, all of the
following:
(1) The development of conciliation and mediation and other newer
dispute resolution techniques, particularly as they relate to child
custody and to avoidance of litigation.
(2) The establishment of criteria to ensure that a child support
order is adequate.
(3) The development of methods to ensure that a child support
order is paid.
(4) The study of the feasibility and desirability of guidelines to
assist judges in making custody decisions.
(d) Administer a program for the training of court personnel
involved in family law proceedings, which shall be available to the
court personnel and which shall be totally funded from funds
specified in Section 1852. The training shall include, but not be
limited to, the order of preference for custody of minor children and
the meaning of the custody arrangements under Part 2 (commencing
with Section 3020) of Division 8.
(e) Conduct research on the effectiveness of current family law
for the purpose of shaping future public policy.

1851. The Judicial Council shall establish an advisory committee of
persons representing a broad spectrum of interest in and knowledge
about family law. The committee shall recommend criteria for
determining grant recipients pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
1850, which shall include proposal evaluation guidelines and
procedures for submission of the results to the Legislature, the
Governor, and family law courts. In accordance with established
criteria, the committee shall receive grant proposals and shall
recommend the priority of submitted proposals.

1852. (a) There is in the State Treasury the Family Law Trust Fund.
(b) Moneys collected by the state pursuant to subdivision (c) of
Section 103625 of the Health and Safety Code, Section 70674 of the
Government Code, and grants, gifts, or devises made to the state from
private sources to be used for the purposes of this part shall be
deposited into the Family Law Trust Fund.
(c) Moneys deposited in the Family Law Trust Fund shall be placed
in an interest bearing account. Any interest earned shall accrue to
the fund and shall be disbursed pursuant to subdivision (d).
(d) Money deposited in the Family Law Trust Fund shall be
disbursed for purposes specified in this part and for other family
law related activities.
(e) Moneys deposited in the Family Law Trust Fund shall be
administered by the Judicial Council. The Judicial Council may, with
appropriate guidelines, delegate the administration of the fund to
the Administrative Office of the Courts.
(f) Any moneys in the Family Law Trust Fund that are unencumbered
at the end of the fiscal year are automatically appropriated to the
Family Law Trust Fund of the following year.
(g) In order to defray the costs of collection of these funds,
pursuant to this section, the local registrar, county clerk, or
county recorder may retain a percentage of the funds collected, not
to exceed 10 percent of the fee payable to the state pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 103625 of the Health and Safety Code.