New rules on expedited child custody proceedings and minimum requirements for participating lawyers and judges were announced Feb. 10 by the Illinois Supreme Court.

“We have to be conscious that these cases be dealt with in a reasonable period of time because a child's life doesn't stop and wait for us,” said Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald, liaison to the court's Special Committee on Child Custody Issues.

Encapsulated in the 900 series, the new rules mandate that custody proceedings be scheduled and heard on an expedited basis, and that continuances not be granted without good cause and concern for the health, safety and best interests of the child.

Attorneys who are appointed in custody and adoption cases, and the judges who hear them, must meet certain requirements, including attendance at continuing legal edu-cation courses.

All custody proceedings relating to an individual child must be conducted by one judge.

Chief Judge Clark E. Erickson of the 21st Circuit told members of the Kankakee County Bar Association on March 2 that the new rules represent a “sea change” that he expects to be for the better.

Effective July 1, the rules present a chal-lenge, Erickson said, noting the lack of sufficient numbers of trained mediators to handle large caseloads in the smaller circuits. Kankakee County has only two.

Each judicial circuit is required to establish custody and visitation mediation programs, and to develop appropriate qualifications and education requirements, as well as a plan to procure qualified attorneys (Rules 905 and 906).

Rule 923 calls for case management con-ferences where parents must show proof that they have the completed parental education programs established by the circuit or county.

If parents cannot agree on a custody and parenting plan during a case management conference, the matter will be sent to mediation.

A Parenting Education Requirement, set forth in Rule 924, recognizes that the outcome of a child custody proceeding should have a positive impact on the child and be free of adult problems that may be harmful.

The committee of 15 judges was chaired by Appellate Justice Alan Greiman of the 1st District. He said the members believe that the new rules “will raise the quality and knowledgeability of the courts and the bar in the determination of child custody cases.”

Among judges who serve on the com-mittee are Robert J. Anderson of the 18th Circuit, a member of the ISBA Criminal Justice Section Council; Dennis J. Burke, Cook County, of the Tort Law Section Council, and Judge Barbara Crowder, 3rd Circuit, of the Bench and Bar Section Council.

The new rules relate to all custody pro-ceedings under the Juvenile Court Act, the Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, the Parentage Act, the Domestic Violence Act, Article 112A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and Article XI of the Probate Act, but not the Adoption Act.