Information on child and juvenile development covers the importance of an early relationship with an adult, the biological family as the 'lifeline,' and the educational needs of neglected and delinquent children. This knowledge is to be used by the judge to frame dispositional decisions in a three-step approach: identifying the child's and family's needs, matching services to those needs, and monitoring service provision. Mental health consultation should be used to help the judge understand child and family needs and select services to meet those needs. Some issues in refining the judge's special role in family court are the appropriateness of the judge's dictating services for a child or family, the specificity of the judge's guidance for the service plan, and whether judges in a rotational system should maintain the monitoring of their cases after leaving the assignment. Other issues are whether the judge is intruding into the activities of other agencies and whether the judge is adequately managing the stress associated with the judicial role.