Judicial Council of California

Dramatic transformations in family demographics pose unprecedented challenges for family law and policy. Demographers predict that just half of all U.S. children born in the 1980s will grow up residing with both parents (Bumpass & Sweet, 1989). For other girls and boys in this generation, legal custody standards and parental responsibilities are the focus of active policy deliberation. What family environments will best promote the welfare of American children? The last decade witnessed a revolution in child custody standards. Over 40 states have now enacted legislation that permits joint custody or shared parenting (Folberg, 1991). In the wake of this change, custody standards are the subject of rancorous debate among legal theorists and policymakers (Bartlett & Stack, 1991). Some argue that joint custody has not fulfilled its promise and has resulted in unintended consequences for family members.

This article reports the first descriptive findings from the Snapshot Study of California Family Court Services. The study compiled data about all sessions with clients in 75 branch courts in 51 counties during a fixed period in June 1991. This report is confined to sessions in which mediation was provided. On socioeconomic variables, families involved in mediation ranked lower than the general California population. The results revealed widespread concerns about serious family problems, such as violence and substance abuse. In spite of the grave circumstances facing many families who use court‐connected mediation, a range of independent indicators confirmed that mediation is an effective dispute resolution tool. A high proportion of clients described their agreements as satisfactory and good for their children. The mediation process itself was rated favorably by most clients. The majority of sessions were deemed productive by mediators.