Latest Conciliation Research

Making Contact Happen Or Making Contact Work?

The Process and Outcomes of In-court Conciliation

DCA Report
March 2006
Full Report 
Executive Summary
Recommendations
In-court conciliation does have much to offer as a dispute-
esolution process in contact cases. However, in-court conciliation
is not suitable for all cases nor is it likely to be sufficient by
itself in many cases. Our findings suggest that that a low
judicial control or mixed form of conciliation should be available
in all courts but within the context of a differentiated case
management system offering a appropriate range of services. This
would involve triage including rigorous risk assessment, followed
by conciliation (or referral to mediation), together with a
coparenting programme, child programme and post-order support
where necessary.