Every organization has that one job that everyone wants to avoid. Believe it or not, the county court system has one too — and it is called Family Court. Senior Judge Dudley Anderson admitted this openly at a ribbon cutting ceremony held at the Lycoming County Court House on Monday, June 17th. He noted that many new judges detest being assigned Family Court, and would do almost anything to avoid it.

This is what makes Judge Joy Reynolds McCoy so incredibly unique, as she actually has a passion for Family Court. And it was her passion, and the commitment of the county commissioners, as well as an enormous amount of planning and preparation by many others that has led to the dedication of the fourth floor of the County Court House now serving as the home for all the offices of the Family Court Division.

The reason why most judges dislike serving on Family Court is because it also could be nicknamed Messy Court. It must hear cases involving divorce, child custody, child support, domestic abuse, etc. In his opening remarks, Judge Anderson noted how Judge McCoy has taken on this mantle for the county with such dedication, that now she has become a recognized expert in the Commonwealth in these matters. But what takes place in Court Rooms #6 & #7 are just one facet of the court’s business.

With the relocation, new office spaces have been updated and created to better assist and serve the public who have business with the court’s offices, but also provides an efficient layout and effective office space use which improves employee productivity. Thus, more work can get done in less time. And the ‘waiting room’ for children who are part of the court process is now a large playroom, fully packed with games and activities to help them in what must be difficult circumstances.

Despite rumors to the contrary, Lycoming County government is very cost conscious. Commissioner Chairman Jack McKernan noted in his comments at the dedication that it was the County’s Maintenance Department, and not an outside contracted firm, that made all the renovations and modifications for the new offices. In addition, the move of the Lycoming County Domestic Relations Section was supported through funding earned from state and federal resources. Both the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Federal Government monitor the performance of the Domestic Relations Section. Each month, the Lycoming County office ranks first among all fifth class counties in Pennsylvania based on its performance. This performance is directly tied to incentive payments received by Lycoming County, which in turn helped support the move.

Through Judge McCoy’s hard work as well as the rest of the support staff and departments associated with Family Court, a very necessary but thankless court process has become one of the best in the Commonwealth. Family Court is still not a happy place to go to, as it represents broken homes and broken lives. But at least at the Lycoming County Courthouse, it is the best it can be.