California Family Court Services For Child Custody

Public policy concerning child custody and visitation has far-reaching consequences for current and future generations. Recent census projections are that half of America’s children will not grow up in a two-parent household. This dramatic demographic trend alone compels a careful examination of family law practices and their outcomes. The experiences of families that use California’s family court system are the focus of an ongoing series of statistical reports issued by the Statewide Office of Family Court Services. This report describes a longitudinal study of formal and informal child custody provisions and the factors that influence them up to two years after court-based child custody mediation.

Most parents work out a custody and visitation parenting plan1 without court intervention. For those who cannot, mandatory mediation, established in 1981, is prerequisite to judicial determination. Over the years, mounting numbers of families have used this service so that California now has the largest court-based child custody mediation program in the nation, serving 73,250 families in 1993 alone.

For many couples, court-based mediation produces a parenting plan. When mediation is not successful in resolving all issues, the next step for the family varies by local court rule. It could involve a child custody recommendation, evaluation, settlement conference, or formal hearing. Research is just beginning to contrast results of mediation and other custody determination procedures.