Educating Family Court Judges on the Front Lines of Combat Readjustment: Toward the Formulation and Delivery of a Core Curriculum on Military Family Issues

This article considers the results of the first national survey of family court judges, in which they ranked key concerns for cases involving military families. Consistent with estimates recognizing the significant number of service members with operational stress injuries and the link between such unseen injuries and military family turmoil, judges who initially had little experience with military families have encountered increasing numbers of such cases as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan intensified. This article reviews current efforts to establish a standardized curriculum that is responsive to judges' foremost concerns. After describing potential approaches for delivery of this core curriculum, the article suggests three factors that will greatly enhance efforts to meet judges' needs: (1) awareness of key aspects of military culture that have a bearing on family functioning, (2) greater incorporation of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Veterans Service Organizations in family court cases involving military families, and (3) identification of best practices in family courts located near military communities which function as de facto centers of excellence. The article draws on selected experiences and opinions of family court judges in North Carolina, Georgia, Hawaii, and Tennessee military communities and suggests key recommendations for meeting all courts' most dire needs.