Family Court Services
Family Court Services provides mediation regarding parenting plan for parties in Family Law cases in which custody and visitation of their children are being disputed.
Mediation is conducted by Family Court Services Staff. Family Court Services also provides an online child custody and mediation orientation to prepare parties to participate in mediation successfully.
You can access the Child Custody Mediation online orientation video here.
Puede ver el video de orientación de Mediación de Custodia de Hijos Menores aquí.
Video: Child Custody and Parenting Plan Mediation Process
Parenting Plan Mediations
Mediation is required, per Family Code Section 3170, whenever issues of child custody and visitation are in dispute. The goal of mediation is to help parties develop an agreement on a Parenting plan in their children’s best interest.
Placer Superior Court offers two types of parenting plan mediations.
Confidential Mediation
All parties are required to attempt mediation and may do so prior to seeing a judge. Mediation is confidential to the parties. Full or partial agreements are helpful in a quicker resolution of your case.
Mandated Mediation
Family Code section 3170 requires mediation whenever issues of custody or visitation are in dispute. This applies whenever a "party to the cause" wants to obtain or change a custody or visitation order and the other party does not agree to the change. Learn more in Confidential Mediation FAQs below.
Confidential Mediation FAQs
Mediation is a process of negotiation between people with the help of a professional mediator who will assist them in reaching an agreement regarding custody and parenting issues.
Family Court Services Mediation is provided free of charge to the parties and generally occurs before the first court appearance. Judicial officers have discretion to impose sanctions regarding the payment of mediation fees under certain circumstances.
- To help reduce the hostility that may exist between the parties;
- To develop an agreement that assures the child(ren) frequent and continuing contact with both parents and that assures the health, safety and welfare of the child(ren).
- To achieve a resolution of the issues of custody and rights to parenting time that is in the best interest of the child(ren).
Mediation may include, but is not limited to, meeting with the parents, child(ren), other parties who may be legally joined to the case, and other individuals who may have information about the situation.
Generally, mediation occurs approximately one to two weeks before the scheduled court hearing on disputed custody and visitation issues.
Child custody mediation is conducted by Court Mediators who are skilled professionals with at least a Master's Degree and extensive clinical experience in the fields of psychology, marriage, family and child counseling. Training requirements include: domestic violence and its effects on children; substance abuse; child sexual abuse; family dynamics; the effects of divorce and separation on children; and the developmental needs of children.
In most cases, parties can successfully resolve and agree on custody and parenting time issues. Mediator may assist the parents to prepare a written custody and parenting agreement. However, if the parties are unable to reach a full or partial agreement, mediator will not prepare any report and will not communicate with the court about what happened during mediation.
The parties will proceed to the hearing for the judicial officer (judge or commissioner) to make the decision and issue an order on the disputed issues.
Yes. Mediators see both parties together. The exception to this is if there is a Domestic Violence Restraining Order in place or one party alleges in writing that there has been domestic violence with the other parent. If this is the case, the parties will be given separate appointments. You must notify the mediator if you are requesting separate sessions due to domestic violence.
A support person may accompany you to the mediation appointment. However, the support person cannot participate in, and is required to maintain confidentiality of, the session.
A mediator may exclude a support person from a session if:
- The support person attempts to participate in the session;
- The support person acts as an advocate for the victim in a session;
- The support person's presence or actions disrupt the session.
Because of the short time frame between the mediation appointment and the court hearing, another appointment may not be scheduled. If the other party attends as scheduled, the mediator may attempt to reach you by telephone.
If both parties fail to attend their scheduled session, it will be dropped and the court notified of your failure to attend. If this occurs, it is important that you still appear at the court hearing on the date scheduled.
Mediator may request that you bring the child/children for an interview. This takes place on an individual basis. Ask your mediator if they would like to interview your child.
At the conclusion of your mediation session, the mediator will identify in writing those issues on which you reached an agreement and prepare a written custody or parenting plan agreement. Both parties will be asked to review it, and if acceptable, sign the agreement. This may be referred to as Stipulation.
If you have an attorney, a copy of the agreement will be sent to your attorney. The agreement may be submitted to the judicial officer (judge or commissioner) to be reviewed and signed to be made an order of the court.
As previously mentioned, the mediator will not disclose what took place during mediation and will not provide recommendation or testimony to the court.
If custody and visitation are the only issues in dispute, then both parties may request the court hearing be dropped by notifying the court of your agreement. However if there are other issues that the court has been asked to act on, you must still appear on your scheduled court date.
Yes. Mediation is confidential. Mediator will not submit a recommendation or communicate about what happened in mediation. However, if the mediator suspects child abuse or neglect, a report to Child Protective Services or a law enforcement agency will be made. If the mediator learns of an imminent danger or threat of harm against a person in mediation, mediator may contact a law enforcement agency and warn the person about the threat. Additionally, if the mediator thinks a restraining order is required to stop a serious risk to someone's safety, they can also let the court know.
Mediation with Information Gathering
Non-Confidential Mediation with Information and Report
Non-confidential mediation is a mediation process that provides the Court with information regarding specific areas deemed significant by the Judicial Officer. A summary report will be provided to the Court and parties which may include, but not be limited to, a description of contacts with Child Protective Services (CPS), law enforcement agencies, interviews with the child(ren), etc. The mediator will only interview and/or provide additional information regarding the specific areas or persons identified by the Judicial Officer. Summary report from non-confidential mediation will not include any recommendations (with limited exceptions that may apply in certain situations).
Will I receive a copy of the report?
Yes. If the attorneys represent both parties, the mediator will send a copy of the report to your attorney. If you are not represented by an attorney, then the mediator will send a copy directly to you.
Family Court Services (FCS) Complaint Procedure
FCS Client Complaint Procedure
How do I subpoena a Mediator?
If you want to subpoena or take the deposition of a mediator who conducted non-confidential mediation and filed a summary report, you must provide notice at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance. A deposit of $275 is required at the time subpoena is served. You may not subpoena or depose any mediator that conducted confidential mediation.