Court-Annexed Alternatives

A divorcing couple with three children, a boy age 11, and two girls ages 7 and 4, cannot agree on which parent should have primary custody or on a visitation schedule for the noncustodial parent. In this hypothetical situation, which court-annexed alternative dispute method (mediation, settlement conference, ENE, nonbinding arbitration, mini-trial, or summary jury trial) do you think  is most appropriate and why? If the parties cannot agree, do you think the court system should intervene? How long do you think attempts at conflict resolution between the parties should be allowed? Share your opinions on the discussion board.