Challenges When Family Conflicts Meet the Law—A Proactive Approach

The final contributing chapter assumes that the effectiveness of addressing a social problem depends, in part, on the quality and appropriateness of the procedures used to address that problem. For the author, attributes of domestic relations problems—especially child custody issues—do not fit well with the capabilities of traditional legal procedures. However, this lack of fit between problem and procedure can be overcome and procedures improved. Using a proactive approach, the author identifies a need of acknowledging and incorporating different ways of speaking about domestic relations problems. He concludes that the legal system should supplement its traditional problem-solving methods with others, for example, the welfare system and psychology.