Divorce, Policy, and Law: Returns to Mediation: Who Returns, Referral Sources, Reasons for Returning & Outcomes

Abstract

The majority of courts have instituted a non-adversarial process, mediation, to enable divorcing couples to settle regarding parenting time and custody agreements. To date, there are plenty of studies analyzing the effectiveness of parenting time and custody mediation and the effect on the children involved. The studies, however, do not focus on couples who return to mediation a second, third, and fourth time even after the initial mediation has been settled. The study analyzed 965 couples mandated to attend custody and parenting time mediation in one jurisdiction within a four year follow up period after the initial mediation occurred. Of those couples, 160 (17%) returned to mediation. Of those 160, 24 (2.5%) couples returned a second time and later one couple (.1%) returned to mediation a third time. The outcomes of these returns should be considered when couples voluntarily return versus when they are court mandated to return and differences varying upon fathers and mothers reasons for returning. Data suggests the greater the amount of returns, the greater the inconsistency on why mothers and fathers decide to return to mediation. The study intends to fill in the gaps of mediation research in an attempt to better parenting time and custody mediation.