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From July 1, 2025 Family Court Services not to interview minors during mediation appointments - children not to be brought to mediation; the required forms (the Mediation Informed Consent and Questionnaire, and its Spanish version) submitted by email to FCS@kern.courts.ca.gov with the case number in the subject line to expedite the appointment; parties appearing remotely to call at least one business day in advance to (661) 610-6700, parties attending in person not needing to confirm; both parents to complete the Children First Online Program before attending their mediation session, a failure possibly delaying the mediation process; mediation mandatory when there is a child custody dispute and confidential, the mediator informing the court only when a parent does not appear, the parents cannot reach an agreement, or the mediator recommends that Minors Counsel be appointed or a child custody investigation; separate mediation on allegations of domestic violence or a restraining order, an alleged victim allowed a support person; an agreement drafted by the mediator sent to the judicial officer to become a court order, no recommendation on custody and visitation when no agreement is reached; and minor interviews the Court orders at Family Court Services, 1215 Truxtun Ave., Room 301 - arrival 10-15 minutes before the session, a 15 minute grace period after which the session is canceled and the Court notified, each child interviewed individually.
California > Fifth Appellate District > Kern County > Superior Court of California, County of Kern
Family Court Services provides the residents of Kern County with an array of assistance for individuals involved in Family Court and Probate Court. The department delivers the following court ordered services: confidential child custody mediations, juvenile court dependency mediations, family court investigations (termination of parental rights and stepparent adoption investigations), child custody evaluations, and probate court investigations (conservatorship and relative guardianship investigations). Mediation Appointments As of July 1, 2025, Family Court Services will NOT interview minors during mediation appointments. Please do NOT bring your children to the mediation appointments. It is important for parties to arrive to their mediation appointment on time. You may expedite your appointment by completing and submitting the required forms via email to FCS@kern.courts.ca.gov Please add your case number on the subject line of the message. It is the responsibility of the parties to contact Family Court Services if they plan to appear remotely for their mediation appointment. Please call at least one business day in advance to (661) 610-6700. Email and/or voice messages are accepted. Parties that plan to attend in person, do not need to call in advance to confirm their appointment. Mediation Informed Consent and Questionnaire Mediation Informed Consent and Questionnaire -Spanish Child Custody Mediation Family Court mediation is a confidential session which involves the discussion between the parents and a neutral mental health professional for the development of an effective co-parenting plan for their children. Mediation gives parents the opportunity to reach an agreement for child custody and visitation that is in the best interest of their children. Mediation is most effective when the parents complete the Children First Online Program. This program allows parents to acknowledge the importance of focusing on sharing their parental responsibilities in a way that is most beneficial for their children. It is required that both parents complete this program prior to attending their mediation session. Failure to complete the program may delay the mediation process. Children First Online Program Orientation to Family Law Mediation Information Sheet Kern County https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJOcjP5RikQ The court believes the information provided in this program will help you make better decisions regarding your children and will help you understand the family law process. Parent Manual Parent Manual - Spanish Family Law Mediation Videos Domestic Violence If your case involves domestic violence or active restraining orders, it is important for you to read and understand this information prior to your court hearing. 3044sheetEN 3044sheet_spanish Minor Interviews The Court may order Family Court Services to interview your minor child(ren). The interview will take place at: Family Court Services 1215 Truxtun Ave., 3rd Floor, Room 301 Bakersfield, CA 93301 Please read these instructions carefully: Be sure to arrive at least 10-15 minutes prior to your session. The session will likely take about one to two hours. If you do not arrive within 15 minutes of your scheduled appointment (grace period), your session will be canceled and the Court will be notified of your failure to appear for the session. Your child(ren) will be interviewed individually. Parents/caregivers are to wait for the child in Family Court Services waiting area until the session is complete. DO NOT COME TO THE COURTHOUSE IF YOU OR YOUR CHILDREN ARE EXHIBITING SYMPTOMS OF A CONTAGIOUS ILLNESS OR WERE RECENTLY EXPOSED. PLEASE CONTACT FAMILY COURT SERVICES IF THIS IS YOUR SITUATION. If your contact information changes prior to your appointment, please contact Family Court Services with your updated information. Failure to provide accurate information may result in cancelation of your appointment and cause delays with your case. Contact Family Court Services if you have any questions at 661-610-6700. To better understand the Court order to interview your minor child(ren), you may refer to this chart. Mediation FAQs Is Mediation Mandatory? Mediation is mandatory. When there is a child custody dispute, the parents must attend mediation. The Family Code requires that parents attempt to resolve any issues through mediation prior to any court hearing. Is Mediation Confidential? Mediation in Kern County is confidential. When the parents and the mediator discuss any child custody concerns or the development of a co-parenting plan, mediators do not report to anyone including the court or judges except under certain circumstances. Mediators do inform the court if: A parent does not appear for mediation Parents cannot reach an agreement Recommend that Minors Counsel be appointed Recommend a Child Custody Investigation The request to appoint Minors Counsel or a child custody investigation are only recommendations. Judges may or may not grant these requests made by the mediator. Mediators are mental health professionals, which means they are mandated to report any suspected child abuse to the Department of Human Services Child Protective Services. Mediators are also required to report if there is a danger to self or others. After mediation sessions are complete, mediators do not make any other recommendations to the court regarding custody and visitation other than the ones previously mentioned. What Happens In Mediation? Purpose of Mediation: The purpose of mediation is to offer a neutral place for parents to plan their children’s care and shared parental responsibilities. The parents are given the opportunity to resolve any disputes pertaining to Legal and Physical Custody before the court makes any order. Mediation sessions may last minutes or hours. Developing a Child Custody Plan: The mediator will assist the parents in the development of a written co-parenting plan, which includes specific information on how the parents will make decisions about time share, exchanges of the child, communication between the parents about the child, health, education, extracurricular activities, etc. These co-parenting plans are also known as agreements. An agreement is a detailed description of how the children will spend their time with each parent and how the parents will make important decisions about the children’s health, safety, and welfare.The mediator will draft an agreement that is acceptable to both parents.Mediators can decline to draft an agreement when they believe it is not in the best interest of the children. Once an agreement between the parents is established, the agreement is sent to the judicial officer to become a court order. Interviews with Children: As of July 1, 2025, children will not be interviewed during mediation. Please do not bring your children to mediation. Violence Between Parents: The law allows for separate mediation when there are allegations of domestic violence or a restraining order in place. Alleged victims are allowed to have a support person with them during mediation. At the time of the mediation, the alleged victim will complete a questionnaire regarding their request for separate mediation. Mediators may initiate separate sessions between the parents, if there is an appearance of intimidation whether there are allegations of domestic violence or not. If No Agreement is Reached: Although the law requires that parents participate in the mediation process, there is no requirement that they reach an agreement. The mediator will notify the court that the parents participated in mediation but they were not able to establish an agreement. The mediator will not make any recommendations to the court regarding custody and visitation when the parents do not reach an agreement. The judicial officer will meet with the parents for a court hearing. Who Are The Mediators? Family Court Services mediators are court employees. Mediators are required to have a Master’s Degree in a behavioral health field: Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapist, Professional Counseling, or Psychology with at least two years paid post-masters experience. Many mediators hold a license and others are associates in clinical social work or marriage, family, and child counseling, professional counseling, or psychology. Several of the mediators speak Spanish. Mediators are required to have specialized training in order to mediate and investigate matters related to child custody. They do not provide any legal advice, and they remain neutral throughout the mediation session.Information about standards for mediators can be located at California Rules of Court.
Family Court Services provides the residents of Kern County with an array of assistance for individuals involved in Family Court and Probate Court. The department delivers the following court ordered services: confidential child custody mediations, juvenile court dependency mediations, family court investigations (termination of parental rights and stepparent adoption investigations), child custod
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-14 (California T4 Kern build 2026-10-14) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-kern/pages/divisions__family-court-services__family-court-mediation.html (the page as fetched 2026-10-14; 644369 bytes, sha256 d70ab6dbbf40978798437b3f3552c7181d0291404f34cb44da6732cc08b9f544) with the Orange HTML composer (compose-site.py, the Judicial Council theme's area): the article's content sections (section.jcc-section), news bodies (div.jcc-news-full) and title banners (div.jcc-hero; the first banner's heading, the page title, is chrome) - the site header, menus, breadcrumb and footer lie outside them; each block starts a line and each table cell is set on its own line; chrome removed: 1 item (the page title, “Family Court Mediation”); proof (the multiset of non-space characters equals the containers' text less chrome and scripts) passes. Review note: The older combined Family Court Services page (/family-court-services, held) still asks children 8 years of age or older to be present during mediation; this page has Family Court Services not interview minors during mediation appointments from July 1, 2025.
1 verbatim mandatory provision from 13-16-s.
2 verbatim mandatory provisions from 15-41-s.
43 verbatim mandatory provisions from 07-33-s.