Family Mediation in Parent-Child Disputes - A Legal Justification (From Alternative Means of Family Dispute Resolution, P 483-492, 1982, Howard Davidson et al, ed. - See NCJ-92365)

• NCJ Number: 92174
• Author(s): H A Davidson
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: American Bar Assoc
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article reviews the historical dilemmas of status offenders, whose ungovernable attitudes and poor relationships with their parents result in their being subjected to juvenile justice processing and correctional detention without having been guilty of criminal acts.

Abstract

It notes that approximately 600,000 status offense cases are handled by the juvenile justice system annually, representing 10 to 60 percent of juvenile court caseloads and an estimated 40 percent of all juvenile court dispositions. The discussion argues for seeking some alternative to judicial action to be made readily available in these 'stubborn child cases' where crucial issues are ones of family dysfunction rather than criminality. One such alternative may be parent-child conflict resolution programs involving professional counselors and/or community mediators. This mechanism of involving lay citizen volunteers in developing legal system responses to the children's misbehavior, unlike traditional juvenile court proceedings, involves the family in a significant way and avoids isolating the child. Legislative reforms should be made to enable implementation of such programs. A total of 14 references are provided.