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Family Court Services mediation free of charge, generally before the court appearance; scheduling mediation - the online orientation completed and a proof of service filed for any recent document, all adult parties completing the orientation before an appointment is offered; parties seen together, with separate appointments where a domestic violence restraining order is in place or domestic violence is alleged; a support person who may not participate and must keep the session confidential; a missed appointment that may not be rescheduled before the hearing, the mediator still reporting to the court if the other party attends; children interviewed only when the mediator deems it necessary after the parents attend; confidentiality and the mediator's reports of suspected abuse or threats; the report emailed to all parties and attorneys; no contact with the mediator before or after the appointment; only child custody and visitation addressed; the mediator not appearing at the hearing; a subpoena of a CCRC mediator for trial - the mediator's availability confirmed with Family Court Services, the subpoena submitted to the Executive Office on the 3rd floor of the courthouse, a deposit of $275 for each day (Government Code 68096.1) with the Legal Process Unit at the filing windows, then billing for service time not covered or a refund of the excess.
California > Third Appellate District > Yolo County > Superior Court of California, County of Yolo
FAQ's What is child custody recommending counseling (CCRC)? Child Custody Recommending Counseling is a mediation process of negotiation between people with the help of a professional mediator. The mediator will assist them in reaching an agreement regarding custody and parenting issues. Family Court Services Mediation is provided free of charge to the parties and generally occurs before the court appearance. What is the purpose of child custody recommending counseling? 1. To help reduce the hostility that may exist between the parties. 2. To develop an agreement that assures the child(ren) 's best interest. 3. To achieve a resolution of the issues of custody and visitation rights. Is child custody recommending counseling the same as mediation? Yes, the term mediation is often used interchangeably with child custody recommending counseling. How do I schedule mediation? 1. Complete the online orientation. 2. File a proof of service for any recent document filed with the court. (Note: All adult parties must complete the online orientation before an appointment can be offered.) Who facilitates mediation? Child custody mediation is conducted by Court mediators who are skilled professionals with extensive clinical experience in the fields of psychology, marriage, family, and/or child counseling. What if we can't reach an agreement during mediation? In the instance parties are unable to agree, the mediator will prepare a report based on the information obtained during the meeting. Within the report, the mediator will include recommendations as to the child custody and parenting time that is in the best interest of your child(ren). Are both parties seen together? Yes. Mediators see both parties together. The exception to this is if there is a Domestic Violence Restraining Order in place or one party has alleged that there has been domestic violence with the other party. If this is the case, the parties may be given separate appointments. I have a Domestic Violence Restraining Order. Can I bring a support person with me during my mediation appointment? Yes, a support person may accompany you to the appointment. However, the support person cannot participate in, and is required to maintain confidentiality of, the session. A mediator may exclude a support person from a session if: 1. The support person attempts to participate in the session. 2. The support person acts as an advocate for the victim in a session. 3. The support person's presence or action disrupts the session. What if I miss my mediation appointment? Due to the short time frame between the mediation appointment and the court hearing, another appointment may not be scheduled. If the other party attends as scheduled, the mediator will still prepare a report for court. If you are unable to reschedule a mediation appointment, the judge may refer you back to mediation at the time of your court hearing. Do children attend mediation? Initially, children are not permitted to attend mediation. After the parents/adult parties attend mediation, if the mediator deems it necessary, the child(ren) will then be scheduled for an interview. Is mediation confidential? Yes. All mediation appointments are confidential. However, if the mediator suspects child abuse or neglect, a report to Child Protection Services or a law enforcement agency will be made. If the mediator learns of an imminent danger or threat of harm against a person in mediation, mediator may contact law enforcement and warn the person about the threat. Will I receive a copy of the Child Custody Recommending Counseling report? Yes. A copy of the report will be shared with all parties and their attorneys via email. Can I contact the mediator prior to or after my appointment? You are NOT allowed to contact the mediator before or after the CCRC appointment. What can be addressed in mediation? Mediation is only allowed to address the matters of child custody and visitation. Issues of child support, spousal support, property division, etc., cannot be addressed. If my child is interviewed, are children required to participate? Children are encouraged to participate fully. Interviews with children are not counseling/mediating sessions. If your child(ren) is interviewed by a mediator, your child(ren) is NOT asked to choose between one parent or the other. Will the mediator be present at my court hearing? No, the mediator will not appear at your court hearing. The mediators report will be provided to the judge, the parties, and or their attorneys. How do I subpoena a CCRC mediator for trial? Party issuing subpoena confirms mediator's availability with the Family Court Services. We ask that you narrow down the date of testimony, so we do not have to block off all available appointments. Complete subpoena and submit to the Executive Office on the 3rd floor of the courthouse. Deposit fee of $275 for each day the employee is expected to remain in attendance pursuant to the subpoena (Government Code 68096.1) with the Legal Process Unit at the filing windows. After trial is complete, party issuing subpoena will be billed for service time not covered by the deposit OR be refunded excess.
FAQ's What is child custody recommending counseling (CCRC)? Child Custody Recommending Counseling is a mediation process of negotiation between people with the help of a professional mediator. The mediator will assist them in reaching an agreement regarding custody and parenting issues. Family Court Services Mediation is provided free of charge to the parties and generally occurs before the court
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-10 (California T4 Yolo build 2026-10-10) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-yolo/pages/self-help__child-custody-recommending-counseling__ccrc-frequently-asked-questions.html (the page as fetched 2026-10-10; 1220211 bytes, sha256 2969f88433854363357d55da07cdff04040231e69541625b272bc1fe6a9975db) 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; proof (the multiset of non-space characters equals the containers' text less chrome and scripts) passes. Review note: Local Rule 18.1(a) sets the payment of a subpoenaed counselor (a review task on the Child Custody Recommending Counseling card).
1 verbatim mandatory provision from 13-16-s.
2 verbatim mandatory provisions from 15-41-s.
43 verbatim mandatory provisions from 07-33-s.