BUILDING A UNIFORM STATISTICAL REPORTING SYSTEM

• Date: 01 April 1992
• Author: Charlene E. Depner,Karen V. Cannata,Marlene B. Simon
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.174-1617.1992.tb01045.x
• Published date: 01 April 1992

BUILDING

A

UNIFORM STATISTICAL

REPORTING SYSTEM

A Snapshot

of California Family

Court

Services

Charlene

E.

Depner

Karen

V.

Cannata

Marlene

B.

Simon

This article reports the first descriptive @lings 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 @ed 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 circwn-

stances 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 majoriq

of

sessions were deemed

productive

by

mediators.

Skyrocketing rates of divorce and births to unmarried parents have pro-

duced unprecedented numbers

of

mothers and fathers who face the challenge

of parenting apart. Legal responses

to

this upheaval in family demographics

have included new options

for

custody and parenting plans as well

as

innovative forums for resolving disputes about them. In the aftermath of rapid

and pervasive family changes, research is only beginning

to

offer a glimpse

of

the consequences. This article reports statewide statistics about a method

Authors’

Note:

The research described

in

this article was designed and executed in collaboration

with the California judiciary and court

personnel

across the state, the FCS Directors Advisory

Committee

on

Uniform Statistical Reporting, the Administrative Office of the Courts and

colleagues at the Statewide Ofice of Family Court Services. The authors express their gratiiude

to

the parents and FCScounselors whoprovided the information described herein. We also

thank

our colleagues at the Statewide Ofice of Family Court Services, particularly Isolina Ricci and

Alan Carlson, for their helpful comments

on

drafts of this article. The opinions, findings, and

conclusions in the report are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Administrative

Ofice of the Courts

or

the Judicial Council of Califonria. This article was wrinen for and

is

adapted with permission of the Administrative Office of the Courts,

Judicial

Council of California.

FAMILY

AND

CONCILIATION COURTS

REVIEW,

%I.

30

NO.

2.

April

1992

185-2Q6

0

1991

Administrative

Office

of

the

Courts,

Judicial Council

of

California

185

186

FAMILY

AND

CONCILIATION

COURTS

REVIEW

used by many parents in California to devise parenting plans for their

children

-

mandatory court-connected mediation.

Although mandatory mediation

of

custody and visitation disputes is now

entering its second decade in California, there is a dearth of rigorous answers

to questions commonly asked by policymakers, the court system, service

delivery professionals, researchers,

special

interest groups, and families who

use the family court system. Until recently, expert opinion and anecdotal

reports have been the predominant sources of information about the court

mediation process. The California Statewide Office of Family Court Services

is mandated to provide reliable statistics about family court services-

profiles of clients, their disputes, allegations, the case outcomes, and clients'

satisfaction with the service they received. This report presents the first

descriptive findings of a

1991

study designed to provide such information.

METHOD

The snapshot study offers what are, to date, the most representative and

comprehensive data about Family Court Services

(FCS)

in California.' This

statewide research compiled information

from

75

branch courts

in

51

coun-

ties during a fixed period in June

1991.

It covered

91%

of all sessions

conducted in the

51

participating counties. Factoring in sessions conducted

in the seven counties not participating, the study covers

83%

of

all sessions

conducted in the state as a whole. Information was gathered on

1,699

separate

sessions conducted by

FCS

counselors during that period.

Most

courts

participated in the study for

2

weeks. Ten superior courts had case volumes

sufficiently high to yield sound statistics within a l-week period. Data for

the l-week courts were weighted to permit extrapolation to the full 2-week

study period. The number of sessions, appropriately weighted, was

2,669.

These weighted data are the basis for all statistics reported herein.

Over

400

data elements were gathered from multiple sources at different

stages of each FCS session. Prior to the session, parents provided demo-

graphic backgrounds and recounted disputed issues on the Family Profile

survey. Following each session, the counselor completed the Counselor

Form,

which provided information about session content and outcome. Also,

at the conclusion of the session, mediation clients used the Parent Viewpoint

questionnaire to report impressions of their mediators, the mediation process,

and its outcome. All forms were available in Spanish as well as English.

Different proportions of eligible parties completed each form. The Family

Profile was completed by

92%

of all eligible parents. The completion rate