Across the United States, millions of parents are being denied access to their children — not because they are unfit, but because family courts have abandoned enforcement, fairness, and due process of law. What most Americans don’t know is that family courts no longer function as judicial courts of law. They now operate as private Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) forums, where judges, commissioners, and magistrates act as mediators and case managers rather than impartial adjudicators.

In these systems, parents are forced into mandatory ADR — including mediation, custody evaluations, parenting coordinators, and “reunification therapy” — even in cases involving abuse, trauma, or disability. There are no real jury trials. Hearings are rare or heavily limited. Evidence is replaced by “recommendations” from unaccountable professionals. As a result, parents can lose custody, visitation, or legal rights without any trial, due process of law, or judicial ruling based on facts.

Parents who self-represent, live with disabilities, or question these ADR practices are often punished, silenced, and stripped of parenting time — while their children are deprived of a loving, fit parent. “Judges” refuse to enforce valid custody orders, while contempt motions are ignored or redirected into more mediation. It’s not justice — it’s arbitration without consent.

If this continues, parental rights will be permanently weakened, and generations of children will grow up under state-sanctioned family separation. Motions are denied without explanation. Court “performance” is now measured by docket closure rates, not truth or fairness.

Due process of law protections are being replaced by administrative systems designed for financial gain — not justice.

Family courts now operate as privatized ADR tribunals, where judges, commissioners, and magistrates act as mediators — not neutral decision-makers. These systems keep cases open, prolong conflict, and funnel families into endless evaluations, mediation, and therapy — all for profit. The longer a case drags on, the more money flows to court-connected professionals.

But if we act now, we can demand a return to constitutional courts. We are calling on the U.S. Congress, the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to investigate these due process violations and create a federal oversight mechanism to end the unlawful ADR takeover of our family courts.

Families need protection. Parents need their rights. Children need both loving parents — and a justice system that serves truth, not a financial machine.

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Connect with me at REBUILT.substack.com or FatherandCo.substack.com to share your family court stories and ideas for how we can change the system and protect our children.

– Michael Phillips
Founder, REBUILT, Father & Co.