Cassopolis,
Michigan
Hon. Carol Montavon Bealor is elected as Cass County’s Probate Court Judge and has been appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court as Chief Judge of the three Cass County, Michigan Courts. In addition to handling probate, abuse/neglect, juvenile, and personal protection order matters, Judge Bealor presides over the family division with prior experience supporting her work including serving as an attorney referee/FOC Director, attorney GAL and attorney for parents in abuse neglect cases, family law practitioner/mediator/collaborative practitioner, assistant prosecuting attorney assigned primarily to child support/paternity/abuse neglect cases as well as criminal prosecutions of assaultive crimes, and Legal Aid attorney assigned primarily to family/domestic violence/public benefit cases. Judge Bealor presides over Cass County’s Family Treatment Court which offers parents diagnosed with drug and/or alcohol use disorders a court-supervised intervention focused on strengthening the entire family system through the coordinated efforts of a multi-disciplinary team comprised of service providers, attorneys, and persons with lived experience. She also presides over the Alternative Contempt Track Program which is designed to help parents address challenges and barriers that impact their ability to financially support their children and to be actively involved in their children’s lives. Through frequent court hearings and oversight/support from the FOC Program Services Coordinator, parents are connected to service providers to address their specific challenges. Judge Bealor sits on Michigan’s Tribal State Federal Judicial Forum where she regularly engages with tribal, state, and federal judges to learn from each other, find the common ground, and leverage resources to address challenges common to each of their constituents. The Cass County community has benefited from this collaboration as it has strengthened local opportunities for the Cass Courts and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Tribal Court to better serve our shared citizens. Judge Bealor is passionate about trauma-informed, human-centered, evidence-based interventions, including use of motivational interviewing techniques and trauma-informed language, to facilitate due process of law and better outcomes through active engagement that meets people where they are.
Featured ICLE Contributions:
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