VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Magistrate Maria Kalis
Coshocton County Juvenile Court

“The need is huge. I see it every day with my docket.”
 

“More and more cases involving children services due to drug issues are being filed as third party custody actions in the Coshocton County Juvenile Court. These grandparents, relatives and friends have no idea what they need to do, and are already under a heightened financial burden by taking in children – they can’t afford to hire attorneys.”

Magistrate Maria Kalis is not alone in her observations. SEOLS has heard similar concerns from judges and magistrates across the region over the last few years. To address these concerns in Coshocton County, Magistrate Kalis worked with her judicial colleagues to launch a pro bono clinic in 2016.

Coshocton County Judges Blanchard and Batchelor, along with Court Administrator Doug Schonauer, had discussed the need for a pro bono clinic in their county for some time. In 2016, Magistrate Maria Kalis was able to bring together key players to make the clinic a reality. Her experience on the bench in Coshocton County Juvenile Court, and her many years of volunteering at the Muskingum County Domestic Relations Clinic, were instrumental in starting the Coshocton County Family Law Clinic.

Magistrate Kalis facilitated conversations between Judge Blanchard and Judge Hooper in Muskingum County. She also brought SEOLS into the conversation to help organize and support the pro bono clinic.

The Coshocton County Family Law Clinic began in June 2016, and has been a great success with a consistent volunteer attorney presence and a growing number of clients attending the clinic each month. Magistrate Kalis commented that “the local attorneys have all been phenomenally supportive of the effort and have volunteered their time and knowledge to an amazing extent for such a small bar association.”

The coordination and support provided by the Coshocton County Juvenile Court has been key to the clinic’s success. Court Administrator, Doug Schonauer, schedules attorney volunteers for each clinic. While the Court provides the space, the Court is still separate from the clinic. SEOLS runs the monthly clinic, with Brenda Canella, a legal secretary from the SEOLS New Philadelphia office, attending each clinic to coordinate client intake and pro bono attorneys.

Magistrate Kalis believes that the clinic has been a great resource for the court to refer pro se litigants to. “The opportunity to meet with an attorney, even for a short time, provides invaluable advice and assistance that the litigants won’t be able to get any other way.”

To volunteer at the Coshocton County Family Law Clinic —or any other clinic in the SEOLS service area—please express your interest here. SEOLS offers free access to its trainings, CLE credit for your pro bono hours, and mentoring to new lawyers.

Courtesy of :
Southeastern Ohio Legal Services: Pursuing Justice, Changing Lives
DECEMBER ISSUE: Volunteer Spotlight – Maria Kalis 

Court Staff Receives National Certification

Nicole Shaw, Chief Probation Officer of the Coshocton County Juvenile Court recently received her Certified Court Manager (CCM) certification in a ceremony at The Thomas J. Moyer Judicial Center in Columbus. With 37 more court professionals achieving national certification recently, Ohio now employs nearly 300 certified court managers working in courts statewide.

Offered through a partnership between the Ohio Supreme Court’s Judicial College and the National Center for State Courts’ Institute for Court Management since 2002, the Court Management Program addresses specific training needs of court leaders.

Each court professional attained the credential by completing a three-year program of courses, including the purposes and responsibilities of courts, case flow management, and court performance standards.

Ohio is among a handful of states that bring this training program to court professionals so that traveling out-of-state isn’t necessary.

Participants represent all jurisdictions and regions of the state and include court administrators, elected and appointed clerks, chief probation officers and other court staff in management positions.

Supreme Court Justice Patrick F. Fischer offered his congratulations, as did Supreme Court Administrative Director Michael L. Buenger during a graduation ceremony at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center.

2018 Family Law Clinic Flyer

Court Expands Pro Se Legal Services with Capital University Family & Youth Law Center

COURT PROGRAMS AND PARTNERS AWARDED FUNDING

Coshocton County Juvenile Court and Coshocton County Common Pleas Court along with Coshocton Behavioral Health Choices and the Muskingum Area Mental Health and Recovery Services Board have been awarded $188,257 for State Fiscal Year 2018 in Addiction Treatment Program Funds from the State of Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services.

To qualify for the program funding, eligible Courts must have certified Specialized Docket Drug Court Programs which utilize medication assisted treatment.  Enhancements as recommended in treatment plans by the clinicians may now include additional supports for skill attainment, recovery support services, and other items which contribute to client success.

Probate-Juvenile Court Summer Records Project

Thanks to Coshocton County JFS Summer Youth Employment Program, the Court has a more accurate inventory and location index of many important records! Anna Havranek, site supervisor and (2) summer youth workers helped the Court to organize and index a large number of records, as well as consolidate locations and provide an accurate mapping and rotational system for records management.

Some 13,644 cases were logged and 11, 652 that were eligible for sealing and expungement were removed from the Main Courthouse storage areas. These records included: 1,992 Abuse, Neglect and Dependency cases from 1907-1979; 7,942 Delinquency, Contributing and Unruly cases from 1906-1986; 3,710 Traffic, Delinquency and Unruly cases from 1968-1998.

In addition to the above work: 25 boxes of trash and old paperwork from the attic of the Main Courthouse were able to be destroyed, the staff assisted the County Commissioners Office with re-organizing their storage area at the County Records Building, 40 boxes that were previously damaged were re-boxed at the Records Building.

Finally, when this work did not keep the team busy enough, they also helped to gather computer equipment for auction, copied Marriage License Index Books to convert to Digital format, Re-indexed and organized all Probate records at the County Storage Building from 1811-2010, and then transferred some 45 boxes into new space which are on a set schedule for sealing and expungement.

The Summer Project was capped with a cookout at the Probate –Juvenile Court and small gifts of appreciation were presented to the crew for their help on this valuable project.

Special Thanks to the County Maintenance Department for their cooperation in moving many truckloads of records from place to place!

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On October 10, 2017, the Probate Court held a Guardian’s training course at the Coshocton COTC Campus.  The class, entitled Medications and Medical Advocacy, was available to all Guardians and counted toward the required continuing education.  There were over 50 guardians in attendance!

If you have any questions or need to complete your guardianship training, please contact Kelly Bratton at 740.295.7417.

Click link below to review the upcoming Family Law Clinic dates:

2017 Legal Clinic

04/2017 – Technology Grant Approval Letter