A court-connected mediation program is designed to serve divorce cases where agreement on custody and visitation or resolution of postjudgment disputes can be reached without further litigation. A court-connected mediation service aims to preserve family life and marriage, if possible; resolve conflicts in custody cases; and assist those who choose to dissolve their husband/wife relationship in preserving their parental relationship. A counselor meets with both parties for three to five 1-hour sessions to explore the possibility of reconciliation of the marriage or to move on to the next objective -- assisting the parties in ending the relationship of husband and wife amicably and in preserving the ability to communicate and perform the role of parents. In starting a court-connected mediation program, it is essential that the initial efforts be a partnership including mental health professionals, the legal profession, and court administrators. Furthermore, the program must be free to participants, but must be staffed by highly competent and trained staff members. Such programs must be court-connected because of the State's interest in preserving family life and the parens patriae doctrine, to protect children in dissolution proceedings. All jurisdictions should establish such procedures because they save local court systems money and time and either help save sick marriages or end them with dignity while preserving parental roles until children are adults.