This study looks specifically at the effect of a mandatory divorce mediation program in Cobb County, Georgia, on time to disposition and the number of cases returned for contempt charges or modification. The study compares cases in Cobb County to those in Gwinnett County, a comparable county with no mediation program, on these time and cost variables. Both counties were studied for six months prior to implementation of the program in Cobb County as well as for a year following commencement of the program. The study found that while the days to disposition remained constant in Gwinnett County, Cobb County disposition times showed a significant decrease after implementation of the mediation program. There were no significant differences in the number of cases returned for contempt charges or modification in either county.
Description of Study: Compared disposition times and court activity for cases in Cobb County, Georgia, which had a mediation program, and Gwinnett County, Georgia, which did not.
Method: Looked at a random sampling of half of all cases filed in Cobb and Gwinnett Counties during the six months prior to the Cobb County program and the year after commencement of the program.
Comparative: Yes
Comparison Groups: Cases mediated in counties with programs and cases from counties without programs
Sample Size: Immediately after mediation: 310 parties and 273 attorneys. Three years after case closed: 293 parents. Data from court records of 880 cases (approximately 12% of the total).
Variables Examined: Trial rate, time to disposition, satisfaction with the outcome, attorney attitudes regarding client costs and time spent
Program Variables: Mandatory for contested custody and visitation disputes in pre-decree cases, by referral in post-decree cases. Individual jurisdictions differed as to whether court or attorney had control over when cases went to mediation. In court-controlled jurisdictions, cases were ordered to mediation between 45 and 60 days after filing. In attorney-controlled jurisdictions, attorneys had more input as to when mediation would occur. Program had been in place 9 years at the time of study. The mediation style was reported to be facilitative.
Findings: While there was no significant change in time to disposition in Gwinnett County, there was a significant drop in the number of days to disposition in Cobb County during the first 6 months of the program (57 day drop). The long-term effect, however, was not significant (0.6 month drop in second 6 months). There was no significant effect on the number of post-decree filings, but the author believed it was probably too soon to tell what the effect would be.