Custody disposition survey.

Existing law provides for various proceedings under the Family Code, including, among others, dissolution of marriage, legal separation of the parties, paternity, and custody or support of a child. Existing law authorizes the Judicial Council to provide by rule for the practice and procedure of those proceedings. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to, among other things, assist courts in implementing mediation and conciliation proceedings under those provisions and establish and implement a uniform statistical reporting system relating to proceedings brought for dissolution of marriage, for nullity of marriage, or for legal separation of the parties, including a custody disposition survey. This bill would require the Judicial Council to include in the uniform statistical reporting system proceedings brought for parentage establishment. The bill would also require the Judicial Council to develop the above-mentioned custody disposition survey on or before January 1, 2024. The bill would require the custody disposition survey to collect data by county on custody disposition outcomes from mediators, child custody recommending counselors, and court files, as specified. The bill would require the survey to collect information on, among other topics, whether the parents entered into a custody agreement as a result of court mediation, divided by whether they used a mediator or a recommending counselor. The bill would require the Judicial Council to provide an annual report on that information to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Assembly Judiciary Committee, and the Assembly Select Committee on Domestic Violence.