Rhonda Lunsford choked back tears as she tried to describe her experiences with the state's Family Courts.

As a mother and grandmother watching her son and grandchild work through the system, Lunsford talked about the frustration of feeling like she has no rights.

Lunsford, an Anderson resident, said changes to Family Courts are desperately needed.

She was one of almost 50 people who gathered in Wren High School's auditorium Wednesday night to share their concerns and struggles with a system some say is breaking down.

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The hearing was part of a statewide effort by senators on a subcommittee to gather information and then recommend changes to that system.

Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, chairman of the Family Court study subcommittee, said he wants to make the Family Court system more responsive, less expensive and more efficient.

Ritchie said there is a tremendous strain on the system, which touches thousands of lives across the state and has exclusive jurisdiction over domestic and family relationship matters.

Phil Lenski, staff attorney with the state Senate Judiciary Committee, said there are 52 Family Court judges in South Carolina.

There were more than 3,600 cases pending in the 13th Circuit, which is comprised of Greenville and Pickens counties, on June 30, 2005, according to statistics from the South Carolina Court Administration's summary of pending Family Court cases.

Lenski said judges have testified that about 20 percent of their docket is taken up with child-support enforcement actions and another large percentage is for juvenile proceedings.

One recommendation the subcommittee is considering to ease that load would be to send cases of abuse and neglect, Department of Social Services cases and child-support collection to hearing officers instead of Family Court judges, Ritchie said.

Peggy Baxter, president of the Black Women's Issues Forum, urged the two members of the subcommittee at the meeting to consider preventive measures as a part of their recommendations, looking at making social services available.

Others described the hardship on children when cases are delayed and the children are left in limbo, away from family and friends and wondering when they will get to go home and just where it will be.

Amy C. Sutherland, a former Family Court judge who served the 13th Circuit for 10 years, said putting money into programs outside of the court system to help families and to give more juvenile support on the front end would be a good investment.

With the state's growth, she said more Family Court judges are needed and mediation for cases like divorce and custody could allow families to settle disputes together, ease increasing caseloads and decrease delays and lengthy waits.

To help improve the system, the subcommittee that Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, appointed, has been hearing from residents, attorneys, judges and others who come in contact with family courts.

The group is looking at options like revising child support and alimony laws and providing incentives to encourage premarital counseling to try to reduce the divorce rate in the state, Ritchie said.

Other considerations are whether Family Courts have enough support and research resources, whether there are enough Family Court judges and whether clerks of court are sufficiently staffed and trained to effectively manage caseloads.

The senators on the subcommittee will decide on the proposed recommendations and then draft legislation to be submitted to the General Assembly when it returns in January.