Frances “Francie” Hill is a candidate for Monroe Circuit Court Judge, Seat 3. This seat is currently held by Judge Douglas “Randy” Bridges who is retiring at the end of the calendar year.

Home and Family.Francie is a native of northern Indiana, growing up in Columbia City 20 miles from Ft. Wayne. She graduated from Columbia City Joint High School in 1970. Hermother, Dottie, and brother, Dick, still live in that area. Francie’s other brother, Tom, lives in West Lafayette, and his two daughters both attend IU in Bloomington. Francie came to Bloomington in 1976 to attend the IU School of Law. In 1980 shemarried Philip Hill and has been a full-time resident of Monroe County ever since. Their daughter, Sallie, is the light of their lives. Sallie graduated from Bloomington South High School in 2002 and is now a senior at the University of Colorado studying Fine Arts.

Purdue and IU Law Degrees. Francie graduated from Purdue University in 1974 majoring in Sociology and Secondary Education. After college she worked for Van Camp Hardware and Iron in Indianapolis for a year, and then returned to Columbia City to work for the Whitley County Welfare Department serving senior citizens and neglected children. Francie’s experience as a caseworker and her growing desire to improve the child protection system moved her to enroll in law school at Indiana University in Bloomington. While in law school she served as a law clerk for Judge Douglas “Randy” Bridges and Judge John G. Baker in the Monroe Circuit Court. “Law school gave me a new appreciation of the law and its ability to make positive changes in our community and the lives of people, particularly young people,” Francie notes. Francie was admitted to the Indiana Bar in 1980 and started clerking that year as a lawyer for the Honorable V. Sue Shields in the Indiana Court of Appeals. The confidence, commitment, and work ethic of Judge Shields left a lasting impression on Francie and gave her a clear picture of what a woman lawyer could and should be.

Monroe County Juvenile Court Referee. In 1981, Francie was appointed Juvenile Court Referee by Judge James M. Dixon to preside over all cases of child abuse and neglect, delinquency, paternity, custody, mental health commitments, and guardianships in Monroe County. The role of the Juvenile Referee is to sit as the presiding judicial officer in all juvenile trials and hearings and issue findings of fact and recommended orders for approval of the judge. Francie gained a wealth of experience from working with Judges Dixon, Todd, Baker, Bridges and Kellams. Regarding her experience in juvenile court, Francie says “Judge Dixon was an outstanding judge and an excellent model for judicial demeanor. In my six years in the Juvenile Court I developed a passion for serving children and families in the court system, and I learned the critical role of the Judge in mobilizing the community to meet the needs of our children.”

Starting the Monroe County CASA. When Francie was serving as the Juvenile Court Referee, she obtained a grant from the American Bar Association to initiate the Monroe County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program. CASA is a diverse group of volunteers who receive intensive training on juvenile law and child development and learn how to investigate and report on the best interest of children who have been abused and neglected. The voice of these trained volunteers in the courtroom cuts through legal and political technicalities to clearly state the needs of a neglected or abused child and to advocate for the child’s best interest. Francie wrote the legal training materials for all of the volunteers and trained the beginning classes. She continues to support the program by training local attorneys to assist CASA volunteers in the courtroom.

Associate Clinical Professor IU Law School. Francie taught juvenile law courses as an adjunct professor at Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington from 1984 through 1996. In 1996 she accepted a position as Associate Clinical Professor and Director of the Child Advocacy Clinic at the law school. As the Director of the Child Advocacy Clinic she trained law students to represent the best interest of children in custody disputes in the Monroe Circuit Court. “Teaching law students was one of the most rewarding experiences of my legal career,” Francie notes. “Law students were using their newly developed legal skills to make a significant difference in the lives of children, and it felt great for them and for me!”

Legal Publications and Training. Over the past 25 years, Francie has published articles on litigating child abuse and neglect and has served as a legal trainer in juvenile law for the Indiana Judicial Center, the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, and the Family and Social Services Administration. She co-authored the CHINS Deskbook for litigating child abuse and neglect in Indiana and is currently updating the book on a grant from the Lilly Foundation. She also published an article in the Indiana Law Journal on the ethics and practicalities of child advocacy by law students.

Consultant to the Indiana Supreme Court. In 1999, Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard of the Indiana Supreme Court hired Francie as a consultant to create the Indiana Family Court Project. The Family Court Project promotes a “problem solving” attitude in the court system and seeks to avoid uninformed, inconsistent, or delayed rulings for families with multiple legal cases. She began her work with the Supreme Court by drafting the first Supreme Court Family Court Trial Rules and facilitating the selection of the original three pilot counties. The Indiana Family Court project has grown to 22 counties and continues to focus on multiple case families and accountability for parties without legal counsel. In 2005 Francie created a five day domestic relations mediation training model for 32 pro bono attorneys who committed to providing free mediation services for indigent families in divorce and paternity cases. Francie continues to work for the Supreme Court and regularly travels throughout the state working with new family court judges.

Consulting with Monroe County Judges. As a consultant to the Indiana Supreme Court, Francie worked with Monroe County Judges Viola Taliaferro and Marc Kellams in 1999 to help them apply for the first family court grant. Judge Taliaferro piloted the innovative “one judge-one family” court program that was later adopted by other counties. Francie noted, “Working with Judge Taliaferro was always rewarding because she had such genuine concern for each child in the courtroom and such a clear vision of the need to look at the ‘whole family’ situation not just the individual problem of the child.” Francie continues to work with Monroe County Judges Hoff, Galvin, Welch, Diekhoff and Chalfant as they set their priorities for Monroe County’s family court of the future. In 2004, Francie consulted independently with the Monroe County Juvenile Probation Department under the direction of Judges Welch and Hoff to aid in the transition from retiring Juvenile Court Judge Taliaferro.

Commitment to Monroe County. For the past 20 years Francie has taught Sunday School music and Vacation Bible School at the First United Methodist Church. She also serves as church Trustee. Her faith is also reflected in her 10 year commitment to Bible Study Fellowship, the Hoosier Hills Emmaus Walk, and YFC Campus Life. Francie has served on the boards of the Monroe County Girls Club, Inc., Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Family Services Association, and the Villages, Inc. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Asset Building Coalition (ABC) to address substance abuse through adult mentoring and meaningful youth activities, and the Monroe County Wrap Around program that utilizes local services to avoid out-of-home placement for delinquent or neglected children. She is a member of the Bloomington Rotary Club and a past member of Bloomington Psi Iota Xi philanthropic organization.

Paid for by The Committee to Elect Francie Hill - Lorna Estes, Treasurer