Guiding Parents Through Separation:Family Matters - an innovative support service from Resolution

Resolution developed an innovative new service called Family Matters. It aimed to help separated parents collaborate more effectively in the best interests of their children and involved the services of a new type of practitioner – a ‘Family Matters Guide’. Family Matters Guides are highly trained professional lawyers or mediators who combine their legal know-how and conflict resolution skills. The Family Matters service operated in specific cities in three areas in England, with two Family Matters Guides in each area. Free to users, it was targeted at low income families. It was hosted by local law firms whose staff were active members of Resolution. The main aim of the study was to understand Guides’ experience of delivering this innovative service and consider the implications for future professional practice in the field of family dispute resolution.