"While the mediator has a duty to be impartial, the mediator also has a responsibility to assist participants in considering the best interests of children and other persons who are unable to give voluntary, informed consent. The mediator has a duty to assist participants to examine the separate and individual needs of their children, to consider those needs apart from their own desires for any particular formula for sharing their children, which might be motivated by factors involved in the relationship between the participants and not directly related to the best interest of the children. If the mediator believes that any proposed agreement between the parties puts the children at risk, the mediator has a duty to facilitate further discussion of the proposed agreement." (MCI Standard IV.C*)

*Source: Mediation Council of Illinois Professional Standards of Practice for Mediators

<<Back | Return to Questions | Continue>>