Job Description
The Court Conciliator conducts a wide array of Family Court Conferences such as conciliation, mediation, parenting conference, child interview, and parent education. The purpose is to assist families in making informed and thoughtful decisions in the best interest of the child(ren). Our services help parties communicate on divorce, reconciliation, legal decision-making, and parenting time disputes. In addition, the Court Conciliator aids the Judiciary with assessing and identifying barriers by providing timely and accurate information to the Court.
About The Superior Court
The Superior Court of the Judicial Branch of Arizona in Maricopa County is dedicated to providing a safe, fair and impartial forum for resolving disputes, enhancing access to our services, and providing innovative, evidenced-based practices that improve the safety of our community and ensure the public’s trust and confidence in the Judicial Branch. The Superior Court in Maricopa County, one of the largest, most innovative and progressive trial courts in the nation, seeks innovative individuals to join our team who will embrace our vision of
excellence and the principles inherent in the Rule of Law...every person, every day, every time. We fulfill these principles through a culture that values fairness, respect, integrity, innovation, and safety.
Position Qualifications
We recognize your time is valuable, so please apply if you meet the following required qualifications:
Education
- Master’s Degree in Marital and Family Counseling, Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or a related field
Experience
- Three (3) years of postgraduate behavioral health experience in any of the following areas:
- Family Counseling
- Assessment and evaluation of clients
- Mediation and negotiation
- Family support services
- Other related social/behavior fields such as child development, substance abuse, group counseling, etc.
Our Preferred Candidate Has
- Licensure by a Board of Behavioral Health Examiners in social work, counseling, or marriage and family therapy
Knowledge Of
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Principles, practices, and professional standards in conciliation counseling, mediation and/or family assessment and supervision
- Public, private, and community organization resources for children and families
- State and federal laws, regulations, rules, standards, and provisions of conciliation, counseling, and mediation
- Principles of human behavior and child development
Skill In
- Intermediate skills in MS Office applications and DocuSign
- Team decision-making and group facilitation
- Creative problem solving and the ability to think “outside the box”
- Effectively utilizing the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar
Ability To
- Facilitate discussions between parties to prepare for and engage in conversation
- Tolerate and work comfortably with high levels of conflict
- Critically analyze situations and make sound decisions
- Cultivate and maintain effective working relationships
- Communicate effectively verbally and in writing
- Adjust to changing circumstances, remain flexible, and adapt to changing priorities as the situation may require
- Process and handle confidential information with discretion
Essential Job Tasks
(This is not an all-inclusive list of all job duties that may be required; employees will be required to perform other related duties as assigned.)
- Conducts various conferences with parents, relatives, and other individuals involved in conciliation proceedings relating to disputes with parenting time and legal decision-making
- Assesses issues of parental unfitness (mental health, domestic violence, child abuse, and high conflict) to determine the children’s best interests
- Preserves neutrality while actively assisting all involved parties to engage in problem-solving to reach agreements relating to parenting time and legal decision-making
- Gathers and analyzes the information to prepare recommendations in an evaluative report for the Court regarding legal decision-making and parenting time to determine the children’s best interest
- Recognize and clarify red flags to determine the course of action that would be in the best interest of the child
- Explains healthy and unhealthy parenting behaviors to parents
- Recognizes and identifies behavioral issues displayed by parents, including the ability to explain how behaviors affect the parent/child relationship and focus on changing the behavior
- Ensures appropriate documentation is collected so that processing reports are within the appropriate time frame and follow policies and procedures
- Interview children who are the subject of a parental dispute
- Refers parties to various community resources
- Responds to inquiries from the public and judicial staff
- Testifies in court as requested or subpoenaed
- Facilitates and provides parenting and/or dispute education to adult learners in a classroom setting
Working Conditions
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to speak clearly and hear; see details of objects that are less than a few feet away; sit for long periods of time; stand, walk, use hands to finger handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; and occasionally push, pull, or lift up to 20 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.
Judicial Branch facilities are located throughout Maricopa County. This position may be reassigned to other locations. Assignments will be made based upon the needs of the department.
