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A typical custody matter in Family Court
When marriages fail, families explode,
kids go ballistic and parents get high, where you gonna
go? Family Court! It is a place where no one wants to go
but that we can't live without. This website
is an ongoing chronicle of the Las Vegas
facility by court observer and former
Area 51 researcher
Glenn Campbell. UFOs, aliens, divorce and adolescence: It's
all the same twisted reality....
These are the TRUE stories (more or less) of the denizens
and clients of the Clark County Family Courts and Services
Center in Las Vegas. This is where government tries to
pick up the pieces — or at least stop the bleeding
— of thousands of troubled families and failed
relationships.
It's a different side of Sin City, miles from the Strip but
not very far from its effects. Did you just have a quickie
wedding that you regret the morning after? This is the place
for a quickie annulment. Does the annullee refuse to leave
you alone? Then come on back for a Temporary Protective
Order. Did you arrive home late after drinking and gambling
to discover that your unattended children have vanished?
This is where you will probably find them, safely housed in
the pleasant cottages of Child Haven and hopefully not
next door in the Juvenile Detention Center. The
Family Services Center isn't just a courthouse; it's
one-stop shopping for all of your dysfunctional family
needs.
In addition to reporting what we observe, this website is
concerned with maintaining the integrity of the divorce,
child welfare and juvenile justice systems. We
will do our best—in our own way and within
our limited resources—to
make these systems more responsive to the needs of their
most vulnerable clients.
Read About This Project in the Las Vegas Sun (12/18/05)
“In one way or another, ALL families are dysfunctional. Even the most enlightened and well-meaning parents are going to impose a non-verbal language on their child which is not entirely within their conscious control and that is not all good.”
“No matter what your current pursuit may be, there always seems to be a "next step" that will solve all your problems.
What people don't see at the time is that this upgrade is often deadly.”
“I choose to be good not because of any call to authority but simply because it makes sense to me. I have thought through the logical implications of both good and evil acts, and good is more practical.”
“For social animals like us, the worst feeling in the world is to be trapped on a desert island with no one who cares about us, interacts with us and witnesses what we are doing.”
“Being "rich"—that is, having plenty of extra resources beyond your basic needs—is seen as a desirable goal in our society, but the disturbing reality for most people is that being rich makes you fat and lazy.”
“Some days it seems like a superhero can't win. You wake up in the morning with some idealism and hope, but by the end of the day, you're drained. All day long, you're racing around desperately trying to save people, but in the big picture nothing seems to change.”
“Slavery was supposedly outlawed in the United States a century and a half ago. One person can no longer own another and physically compel them to work for them. However, the experience of slavery continues to this day, and it is likely to touch all of us.”
“Knowing when to stop is an inherent problem in all forms of generosity and voluntarism. It is one of the reasons why some people don't give anything to anyone at all: Once you start caring about a needy person or cause, it tends to take you over, because the needs will always outstrip your resources.”
“I was walking on the trail about 20 feet ahead of the girls when suddenly the youngest one, Drama Mama, took off. She headed off the trail and into the thick woods, miffed by something that another girl said.”
“I am seen as your standard, All-American, white-bread
superhero, more emotionally stable than the rest, which
means I am expected to be the leader. What this basically means
is that I have to attend more meetings, give more speeches
and endure more public flack than anybody else. I am also
expected to resolve personnel issues within the team, like the
problem with Wonder Gal.”
The Media Stream and Observer's Blog
- Local newspaper articles on foster care, divorce,
juvenile justice
and other business of the Family Court in Las Vegas,
along with skeptical commentary by the webmaster.
Updated almost every day.
The Entity File - A cross-referenced
database of people, organizations, places and concepts
in Family Court, Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare in Las Vegas.
Photo Album
The Superhero Handbook -
An online book under active development in Fall 2007.
Advice for caseworkers, counselors, public defenders and
other tormented crusaders.
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The Case Against Marriage - A first draft of
an on-line book. Read it or weep!
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Family Court Stories
(Human dramas in the courthouse)
Now I have returned here as a ghost, wandering the halls and rattling my chains in search of peace. I step into courtrooms unannounced and listen to the proceedings. I strike up conversations with people in the hallways and ask them questions about what is going on. I don't want to be a victim of my past but the ruler of it, and to do this I need to understand this place that I fear.
The boy hasn't yet entered a plea, because it isn't
relevant. He is innocent until proven guilty, except in this
particular kind of hearing, where he is presumed guilty. We
are here for a much more significant proceeding than any
trial. In this hearing, the judge must decide whether this
teenager, recently arrested, should be processed as a child
or an adult. It is the difference between four years of
treatment and 20 years in prison.
I was attracted to the hearing by something that I sensed in the waiting area. I saw what I thought was a nervous and very guilty looking man sitting outside the courtroom. Such impressions, of course, are not admissible in court, but they were enough to attract my attention and draw me into the courtroom....
It turns out that the nervous man was not the accused.
As I was going to court on Friday, Mar. 9, at about noon, I saw two protesters on the sidewalk. I stopped and chatted with them and learned their stories.
Soapbox
— Comments on the family services system from our readers.
Statistics - For Juvenile Justice, Divorce and Abuse/Neglect in Las Vegas.
Audio Clips:
Glenn Campbell's 3-Minute Rants at the County Commission.Audio files of the activist's brief speeches during the
public comment period at the county commission meetings, progressing
over time from reasonable to outrageous.
9/19/06:
"Triage." (At the presentation of the "Safe Futures" plan.)
7/18/06:
"Happy Valentines Day!" (after approval of Virginia Valentine as county manager)
7/5/06:
"This stinks to high heaven!" (after approval of Thomas Morton as DFS director)
Legal Reference - Statutes and case law that pertain to Family
Services.
To be replaced by the Entity File.
Glossary — A slightly cynical dictionary of terms and concepts unique to Clark County Family Services or the philosophy
this website. (Okay, maybe a lot cynical.)
This glossary roams far and wide across all things "family", including
essays on
love, sex, parenting, domestic violence, law, psychology, and the meaning of life. This was the predecessor of our
Philosophy section.
Sample Book Chapters
— From a book that was started in mid-2005 and
abandoned a few months later. These chapters are retained
because that might contain useful information on the
Family Court, but they work will not continue.
(Any future book will take a different form.)
Note: The Media Stream
(news+blog)
is updated almost every day.
(Most additions are not shown above.)
Note: Any new webmaster commentary may be actively edited for the next 1-3 days following release.
(Come back in a couple of days for a more refined version.)
Opinions expressed on this website are those
of the webmaster and not of any other party or organization.
We
encourage your feedback, and we will correct our
errors, so if you see any, please contact the webmaster
at the email address or PO box below.
Because this website has been frozen,
reader comments can no longer be added to this page (effective 8/3/09).
If you feel that an existing comment is damaging or inappropriate, feel free to
contact the webmaster regarding its removal: familycourtguy (at) gmail.com
As of Aug. 2008, this site is no longer active or maintained.
Total page hits at FamilyCourtChronicles.com:
Page started: 5/30/05.
Keywords: DFS DCFS Child Haven
foster care Nevada Department of Child and Family Services
Clark County Department of Family Services
Juvenile Delinquency
Strip strippers sex industry marriage
nasty divorce contested divorce
These are the TRUE stories (more or less) of the denizens
and clients of the Clark County Family Courts and Services
Center in Las Vegas. This is where government tries to
pick up the pieces — or at least stop the bleeding
— of thousands of troubled families and failed
relationships.
In addition to reporting what we observe, this website is
concerned with maintaining the integrity of the divorce,
child welfare and juvenile justice systems. We
will do our best—in our own way and within
our limited resources—to
make these systems more responsive to the needs of their
most vulnerable clients.
It's a different side of Sin City, miles from the Strip but
not very far from its effects. Did you just have a quickie
wedding that you regret the morning after? This is the place
for a quickie annulment. Does the annullee refuse to leave
you alone? Then come on back for a Temporary Protective
Order. Did you arrive home late after drinking and gambling
to discover that your unattended children have vanished?
This is where you will probably find them, safely housed in
the pleasant cottages of Child Haven and hopefully not
next door in the Juvenile Detention Center. The
Family Services Center isn't just a courthouse; it's
one-stop shopping for all of your dysfunctional family
needs.
+
=
Book Draft:
In an attempt to come to grips with our webmaster's
sordid past, here are a few links to his work on Area 51.
None of this material is still active.