The pilots in inner London, Brighton and Sunderland aim to divert families from lengthy court cases by helping them agree practical solutions.
But a spokesman for Families Need Fathers said: "At the moment, judges won't enforce contact orders so people don't take mediation seriously.
"We feel we're being fobbed off, but the Government can rescue this by announcing more enforcement measures."
The proposals represent a watering down of earlier plans to pilot a US-style early intervention scheme, under which separating parents are presented with a variety of parenting plans. That scheme is compulsory and mothers cannot use the system to frustrate their ex-partners' attempts to see their children. But the family resolution pilots rely on the goodwill of mothers and fathers.
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