Child custody mediation. - book reviews

Over the last several years, the use of alternatives to the courts for resolving disputes has received greater recognition in the legal field. In Chief Justice Burger's 1982 Annual Report on the State of the Judiciary, he urged the increased use and study of alternative methods such as mediation in family disputes.

California has been in the forefront of this movement. In January 1981 it became the first state to mandate mediation in all contested custody and visitation disputes. Following California's lead, more states have developed family copciliation courts and some are contemplating the mandatory route. Most recently, Arizona has enacted a law which permits a court to mandate family mediation, an option followed in Phoenix and Tulsa. In Michigan, the law now permits a party to use the "Friend of the Court" for mediation purposes. Instruction on the mediation process is, therefore, increasingly important.

Florence Bienenfeld, after many years of experience in California, provides instruction on one form of mediation--the single mediator. She admits that this is only one of several forms; the others typically involve more than one mediator, sometimes an attorney and therapist team. She further acknowledges that these alternatives are viable, but she wishes to share her experiences. The strength of Dr. Bienenfeld's work is that it concentrates on practical aspects of mediation; it is a "how to" book. After arguing the now-familiar merits of mediation--speed, efficiency, reduced hostility--she takes the reader through the entire process, from first session with the parents to second and subsequent meetings. She also provides five case studies to demonstrate her approach.

An interesting chapter in this work addresses 14 "special situations," such as a child who refuses to see a parent or a parent who is living with another man or woman. Dr. Bienenfeld provides brief advice on handling these situations, usually including what she tells parents in these cases. The work also contains several useful appendices, including a national directory of conciliation courts and mediation services usually affiliated with a court; a sample information sheet for mediation intake; and a bibliography of other readings.

Perhaps this book's greatest contribution to the growing body of literature on family dispute resolution is its overriding concern for the child. Unlike most mediation works that look at the broader range of divorce issues, Dr. Bienenfeld's focus is solely on child custody: in her own words, "Mediation helps parents to focus on their children's needs." Thus, even before describing her mediation process, she devotes a chapter to "How Children Experience Custody Disputes." Later, she also devotes five pages to her handling of child interviews, a considerable passage since most of her subsections are one to three pages in length.

Indeed, the greatest criticism of this work is that she often devotes too little time to a particular subject or omits important information. For example, she fails to discuss when a child should be interviewed by the mediator, leaving it to the reader to guess whether age, maturity, parental wishes or some other factors are decisive.

In general, this book's precise and orderly presentation of one mediation process, generously sprinkled with sample agreements, insight on troublesome cases and practical "how to" advice, should greatly enhance the new mediator's ability to work with his or her clients. It may be one of several building blocks a practitioner can rely upon in creating a mediation service.

COPYRIGHT 1984 U.S. Government Printing Office
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group