The Alaska Court Early Resolution Program (ERP) in Anchorage addresses many issues in family cases including self representation in divorce and custody cases, triaging to determine the appropriate resolution approach and the importance of early intervention. This evaluation focuses on ERP for family cases and shows reduced time to resolution, reduced staff time spent on cases, and no impact on the number of post-dispoition motions to modifiy.
The evaluation looks at 299 ERP cases from 2011-2013 that resolved through settlement and compared them to a control group of 392 cases that closed before th ERP was implemented. These cases followed a tradiational court track involving an initial status conference, a pre-trial conference and a trial or settlement conference. For the study, the pre-ERP cses were screened the same way as cases filed after the implementation of the ERP so that they could be comparable.
The ERP cases showed a high rate of resolution and a quicker time to disposition. The evaluation indicates that the Early Resolution Program in Anchorage has increaed efficiency in cases involving self-represented litigants without inducing parties to enter into agreements that aren't sustainable.
Please note that this resource is available online but is located behind a paywall.