engleski

Resources and challenges of family mediation in Croatia

Family mediation is defined as a short term process based on problem solving and negotiation between family members. It is a voluntary process, where a third party is helping in communication process, identifying needs and finding solution that is acceptable to both parties (Sladović Franz, 2005). In Croatia, the rise of family mediation is connected with new Family Law (2015) and according it first information mediation session with family mediator is mandatory in divorce cases and cases including children. According to the same resource, family mediation became judicial precondition in divorce and other child related proceedings, while in cases of family violence FM is not obligatory. In Croatia family mediation is mainly organized and implemented in social welfare system as psychosocial intervention and partially within civil or legal organizations and it is initiated on a users’ request which is given in written to licensed family mediator. Aims of the presentation are: (1) to give an overview of conceptualization and introduction of family mediation in Croatia ; (2) to present results of research project on competences of family mediators and judges' perspective in family mediation, submitted by researchers and teachers from Department of social work, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb and (3) to contribute to the integration of theoretical and empirical resources with direct practice of family mediation in Croatia. The results suggested there is generally positive perception of family mediation, while the practice of family mediation is not consistent and models of implementation should be evaluated and discussed in the future.

family mediation, social welfare system, psychosocial intervention

Informiranost i sentibiliziranost stručnjaka socijalne skrbi i sudaca o obiteljskoj medijaciji, (2016.-2017.) Branka Sladović Franz.