WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) - Sedgwick County's Family Law Self-Help Center is a place where people dealing with issues like child custody can get help from a lawyer. Judges say it's needed to move cases through the courts smoothly. Back in the spring, every judge who handles family law cases in the county joined in asking for funding to pay for a lawyer to assist at the Family Self-Help Center. They say the role is essential for ensuring that people representing themselves in family law cases are properly prepared to avoid rescheduling or delays. For now, the county has a volunteer replacement. The departure of the former attorney and worries about finding a replacement prompted all the family law judges in the county to ask for funding for the position. They say the position is essential for helping people navigate the legal system, preventing delays caused by improperly filled paperwork. "The motions were filed with the correct and complete supporting documentation. The first time it comes into court, we're able to address the issues and make a ruling," said Jeff Dewey, the presiding judge at the Sedgwick County Family Law Self-Help Center. He says this fixes the problem they used to have years ago when people would come into court for family law cases with paperwork filled out wrong, forcing the judge to adjourn and reschedule. Luke Nath goes to the county self-help center every Monday and Friday to give people legal aid. "It proved invaluable for the court that the pro se clients would come in prepared because they're representing themselves. They would come in prepared for the court. They would know what they're doing," he said. City Council spends hours discussing paid parking downtown, pushes decision to Dec. 10 He spent a year learning from his predecessor, who recently retired, helping fill out child support worksheets. "I helped with that, of course, helping them make their presentation. These are people who have never before maybe spoken in public," said Charles Harris, a former attorney with the Sedgwick County Family Law Self-Help Center. While seemingly fast sessions are less than an hour, they're typically expensive and inaccessible to many. "The more complex the issue and issues involved, its thousands and thousands of dollars that they would be needing to spend to afford an attorney," said Nath. The service helps people prepare for court, which helps judges. If the paperwork isn't filled out correctly, a case can take twice as long to finish. "We would go back to the days when the self-represented litigants would go into court without the necessary paperwork, and we would be back in the situation where we had to instruct them to get it and reschedule court and have them come back a second time," said Dewey. Nath says other counties have funding for this kind of service. Sedgwick County's financial support will help recruit more lawyers so more cases can proceed. Nath will keep busy as a volunteer. The Sedgwick County Family Law Department files about 8,500 cases each year.