Helping Parents in Dispute

"When marriages break down, most parents experience difficulty in agreeing on contact or residence arrangements for their children. Family Courts Services provide mediation as a way of resolving differences and many parents accept this offer of assistance. This book offers an important contribution to the debate over the effectiveness of family mediation services. Key issues of domestic violence and fatherhood are also examined in this context. The author has undertaken extensive empirical research, including a large-scale survey of parents who had reached agreement during mediation. The traditional assumption that court-based interventions are less likely to be successful is robustly challenged. The Family Act of 1996 has placed a great deal of emphasis on mediation within the divorce process and the significance of the research is made all the greater by the arrival of the unified agency that incorporates the family courts service, the official solicitor's office and the Guardian Ad Litem service."--BOOK JACKET.