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This study compares the experience of small claims litigants who use alternative dispute resolution ( ADR) to those who proceed to trial without ADR. ADR had significant immediate and long-term benefits, including improved party attitudes toward and relationship with each other, greater sense of empowerment and voice, increases in parties taking responsibility for the dispute, and increases in party satisfaction with the judiciary. Cases that settled in ADR also were less likely to return to court for an enforcement action within the next year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic violence is a common driver of family dissolution. Cases involving domestic violence are core business in the Australian family law jurisdiction. Family mediation is growing as an alternative to litigation for separated families in dispute over parenting arrangements. The specialized intervention of child-inclusive mediation is increasingly used to resolve family disputes in the best interests of the child. However, this child-empowering practice is often avoided by mediators where domestic violence is an issue. This article identifies some complex factors that need to be addressed and researched for appropriate development and use of child-inclusive mediation to enhance social justice for child subjects of parenting disputes from violent families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]