At most initial custody or divorce with children hearings in Minnesota, parents will be told about a process, Social Early Neutral Evaluation (SENE).  SENE is a hybrid alternative dispute resolution process which include components of mediation, evaluation, and an assessment by the providers of the likely outcome of the matter based on the facts of the case, law and assigned judge.  For parents anticipating litigation, the proposal by a judge of the SENE process can seem confusing or counter-intuitive.