Yo, you talkin to me?

Apparently not in New York.  Newsday.com's Michael Rothfeld and Melanie Lefkowitz report that family law mediation in New York lags behind other states.  The article quotes Hofstra University law professor Andrew Schepard as noting that the New York system places importance on "digging up dirt" on the soon-to-be ex-spouse instead of putting the child's needs first.  

Surprisingly (to me), New York judges do not have the power to order couples into mediation.

Despite these difficulties, the article goes on to explain that pilot programs exist in several counties.  The early findings are that cases are being resolved in a few months instead of several years, children are not used as "weapons in negotiations", and divorces are less acrimonious.