Mediator Assessment,Documentation, and Disposition of Child Custody Cases Involving Intimate Partner Abuse: A Naturalistic Evaluation of One County’s Practices

The contentious and costly nature of the adversarial process for resolving child custody disputes has prompted scholars, practitioners, and policy makers to advocate for the development and implementation of less divisive forms of dispute resolution, notably, mediation. Mediation has been championed for its potential to resolve disputes with less acrimony among disputants, reduced economic costs, increased satisfaction with outcomes, and fewer adverse consequences for family members. Despite the increasing popularity, arguments have cautioned against the use of mandated mediation when intimate partner abuse (IPA) is alleged. This research documents a mediation screening process and models mediators’ decision-making process as instantiated, naturally, in one jurisdiction.     

Landschaftszerschneidung und Wiedervernetzung Instrumente und Konzepte zum Schutz der Biodiversit?t vor zerschneidungsbedingten Beeintr?chtigungen durch Bundesverkehrswege

Die Zerschneidung und Verinselung der Landschaft durch Infrastrukturanlagen wie Stra?en und Bahnlinien ist neben der direkten Zerst?rung und mechanischen Sch?digung des Lebensraumes eine der Hauptursachen für den Arten- und Lebensraumschwund. Die Bundesregierung hat sich deshalb in ihrer Biodiversit?tsstrategie zum Ziel gesetzt, bis zum Jahr 2020 die ?kologische Durchl?ssigkeit von zerschnittenen R?umen und bestehender Infrastruktur zu erreichen. Sie erarbeitet dafür derzeit ein Bundesprogramm zur Wiedervernetzung. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die M?glichkeiten zur Berücksichtigung der Landschaftszerschneidung in der Bundesverkehrswegeplanung sowie die Konzipierung von Wiedervernetzungsma?nahmen aus rechtlicher und planerischer Sicht.     

ANALYSIS OF MEDIATION AGREEMENTS OF FAMILIES REPORTING SPECIFIC TYPES OF INTIMATE PARTNER ABUSE

The purpose of this study was to carefully measure Intimate Partner Abuse (IPA) behaviors among a large ( n  = 864 couples) sample of pairs of husbands and wives who were mandated to attend divorce mediation and then to: categorize the behaviors into theoretically-driven types of IPA, determine the number of cases screened out of mediation for any reason, and investigate whether measured outcomes of mediation (primary physical and legal custody) were related to IPA. Results indicated that rarely was IPA not reported—the most frequently reported IPA behavior was psychological abuse (98% of wives; 97% of husbands), followed by physical abuse (58% of wives; 54% of husbands), escalated physical abuse (62% of wives; 50% of husbands), and sexual intimidation, coercion and rape (56% of wives; 29% of husbands). Rarely were couples reporting IPA screened out of mediation (5%), and rarely were supervised parenting time or restrictions on contact between parents included in mediated agreements made by couples reporting IPA (6.5%). The overall level of IPA was unrelated to the specific terms of mediated agreements; however, by far the most frequent type of mediated agreement the couples' negotiated in mediation was for primary physical custody to go to the wife and for the husband and wife to have joint legal custody (59% of cases). Analysis of the implications of these findings and policy recommendations are included.     

Revalidating the salient factor score: A research note

In conjunction with a system of explicit decision-guidelines, the United States Parole Commission uses an actuarial instrument as an aid in assessing risk of recidivism. Known as a “salient factor score,” the instrument currently employed by the Parole Commission was constructed on a sample of federal prisoners released in 1970, and initially validated on two samples of federal prisoners released in 1971 and 1972. Since the power of any predictive instrument may change over time, periodic revalidation is essential. In this note, revalidation of the salient factor score, using a sample of federal prisoners released in 1976 (N = 1260), is described.     

A Manifesto for Social Europe

The European Union is still far from having social legitimacy. The issue is indicative of a huge uncertainty about Social Europe. What is it? What are the principles of social justice behind it? In our view, a new social constitution of the European Union is needed. Political democratisation must be accompanied by the foundation of a social Europe. We argue that were the IGC to combine the Charter of The Fundamental Social Rights of Workers with the Maastricht Protocol on Social Policy, inserting both into the TEU, it would lay the legal foundations for a dynamic European social constitution; a Social Europe dedicated to the combating of social exclusion and the maintenance of solidarity.