[1] This report focussed on community-based programs provided by family service agencies. The mental health sector, however, also appears to be a major program provider, especially of programs providing therapy.

[2] However, agreements reached as a result of custody assessments seem less durable than agreements reached through mediation. One two-year follow-up study found families who had had custody evaluations re-litigated at two and a half times the rate of those who had settled by themselves (19 percent compared to 7 percent) (Ash and Guyer 1986, cited in Johnston 1994). Another eight-year follow-up study found similar results: 71 percent of those with custody evaluations re-litigated compared to 41 percent of the divorcing population in general (Hauser and Straus, cited in Johnston 1994).