1. Idealized Models in Family Court Spaces: Making ‘New Families’ through Mandatory Family Court Mediation
Policy:
WI 767:
Actions Affecting the Family
Child Support Enforcement
Discussion: Kinship Instrumentality
“We make new families”
structured by court order & placement schedules
Ideals:
“The Good Divorce”
Co-parenting
Mandatory Child Custody Mediation
Legal Reform
Velvet Revolution
Access to Justice
Gender Equality
Father’s Rights
Conclusion: Back to the Nuclear, in fragmented form
Research Setting:
Milwaukee Family Court< Milwaukee WI
Research Design: Ethnographic, extended case study design
Data Collection:
41 cases, 60 mediation sessions, 10 mediator interviews, 34 parent interviews, courthouse observation, mediation trainings, mediator debriefings, case file review
Presented by Alexandra Crampton, Marquette University
Funding provided by The Center for Peacemaking & Office of Sponsored Research, Marquette University