With more than half of America's children living in single-parent households and half of marriages ending in divorce, child custody disputes are becoming more frequent. According to President Judge Stephen Baratta, they're taking too long. Cases that should take four to six months often last a year or more. Lawyers, who are trained to be adversarial, can sometimes make a bad situation worse.

So Baratta has proposed a reorganization of custody court to make it more efficient and more likely to result in the correct result. His plan will also save taxpayers money. His solution, which was endorsed by County Executive John Brown, was unanimously approved by county council at its Sept. 18 meeting.

Back in the early '80s, the court appointed a custody master, the late Harry C.J. Blair, to handle these controversies. A master is a lawyer who hears custody disputes and then makes a recommendation to the court. Though people waited three hours or more to get in front of him, Blair resolved 95 percent of the cases he heard. But that was in "a different day and age," said Baratta.

Over the years, changes in custody law have made proceedings much more adversarial. Instead of one part-time custody master, there are now three. In addition, two former judges also listen to these cases.

In 2010, a new state law requires each parent is a contested custody dispute to submit a parenting plan.

As a result, only about 45 percent of custody disputes settle at the master's level. Baratta told council's Personnel Committee that the process has become an attorney-driven instead of a court-driven exercise.

"These matters are languishing far too long," complained the judge. His solution is to get the court more actively involved in the process. He is proposing the elimination of all part-time custody masters. They will be replaced by one full-time custody master who will ensure that the process is once again driven toward mediation and resolution, as opposed to an adversarial process. In addition, Baratta and Senior Judge Leonard Zito will ride herd, with the goal being a resolution in four to six months.

This will also save taxpayers $45,000 per year, court administrator Jill Cicero told council.