Court Conciliation & Evaluation Service was formed in 1985. Since parental access and other divorce related issues are usually surrounded by a high degree of emotionality, CCES combines a conciliation and evaluation approach. Incorporated within the CCES model are elements of parenting education and co-parenting counseling, conciliation efforts, and evaluation methods. The combination of these elements in one procedure has both time-saving and cost-saving benefits.

Most parents sincerely believe they know what is in their child's "best interests." What they may not realize is that the "best interests of the child" constitutes a legal standard that only a judge will decide. To assist the court in the adjudication process, CCES provides either an Agreed-Upon Parenting Plan or a Recommended Parenting Plan as well as a full clinical report.

By asking parents to meet together to outline their issues and concerns and by promoting the importance of co-parenting skills in sustaining the final arrangement, CCES seeks to define parents not as "adversaries," but as parenting partners who will continue to have an important relationship with each other long after a divorce decree ends the marriage.

One cannot underestimate the benefit to children when parents can agree on a custody arrangement rather than engaging in protracted legal proceedings. For that reason, we believe that the CCES process is helpful to parents and children and encourages the emotional healing necessary when families are forced to restructure.