The New York State Legislature, the Governor and the Judiciary are to be commended for passing a budget that respects the needs of people who have no choice but to seek help in Family Court to resolve the most basic and critical problems in their lives. Every day public interest attorneys—from my organization and many others representing poor and low-income clients in Family Court—see firsthand the toll taken because of the shortage of judges. Children in foster care wait to be returned to their families, victims of domestic violence remain at risk, and critical support payments are delayed.
I am confident, despite past inaction, that this time there is the will, and the bi-partisan support, to address the crisis in our Family Court system.
Yisroel Schulman
The author is president and attorney in charge
at New York Legal Assistance Group.
