Family Hubs can support families in the process of separating or who have separated. They can be used as contact centres for parents who require supervised interaction with their children and facilitate the delivery of mediation services for couples in conflict.
Separated partners often struggle to come to amicable arrangements for the care of children and the division of assets, with insufficient support to navigate the legal maze. A fragmented system, with uncoordinated services, can lead to considerable additional stress and cost to the state. Conflict resolution is unnecessarily overly reliant on the court service and the legal profession and new approaches are needed to implement alternative dispute resolution services, such as conciliation and mediation.