Slightly more than one mediation client in three is from an ethnic minority. Approximately six parents in ten are represented by attorneys. Fifty percent of the families in the study have just one child. The median age of children in mediation families is seven. Prior to mediation, the division of parental time with children varies dramatically across families.
Most children spend some time with each parent.
Nearly half of the mediation clients report that the level of tension and disagreements between parents is moderate or low. Forty-eight percent of mediation clients characterize their interparental conflict as high. Of the 45 percent who had not reached agreement, over a quarter of them were scheduled for further mediation. Chart A shows the legal terms designated in mediated custody agreements that were completed by the end of the study period. The most common mediated agreement matched the type of agreement most prevalent in the general population.