The Circuit Court for Baltimore City’s Family Division strives to
effectively and efficiently resolve legal matters involving families in
crisis. In doing so, the Court assists families with obtaining services
designed to address the underlying causes of family conflict in the
hopes that families can be restored to a satisfactory level of
functioning. In addition to cases involving dissolution of marriages,
Family Division judges address adoption, guardianship, child support,
and custody and visitation matters.
In fashioning remedies appropriate to the individual family’s needs
and that attend to the best interests of any involved children, the
division’s four judges and five masters (in conjunction with
specialized personnel assigned to assist the family division) attempt to
identify the sources of family conflict and direct families to specific
services that will assist family members in obtaining and maintaining
stability.
In attempting to craft family-specific remedies, the Court also has
as a goal helping families it assists to obtain communication skills and
other tools needed to resolve future conflicts without the need to
resort to court intervention. Thus, families may be required to attend
educational seminars and mediation sessions in order to learn how to
communicate effectively for the benefit of their children.
