For one father, conflict with his son’s mother had contributed to nearly three years without seeing his child.
Communication between the parents had broken down. The mother had moved, and disagreements between the adults had become another barrier between father and son.
When the parents came to Carmen Moore for mediation, her job wasn’t to decide who had been right or wrong. It was to help them determine what could happen next.
Through mediation, the parents agreed on boundaries for introducing new romantic partners and began using a co-parenting communication platform — an app that allows separated parents to keep messages, schedules and other child-related information in one place. Moore said those agreements helped create a way for the father to begin rebuilding his relationship with his son.
The family is one of approximately 20 Moore said she has served since launching Wichita-based 1+1=Four in November 2025. The for-profit LLC provides mediation, parenting education and family coaching for people navigating separation, divorce, co-parenting and blended-family relationships.
Why 1+1 Doesn’t Equal 2
The name 1+1=Four reflects Moore’s belief that once children are involved, relationships don’t follow simple math.
“It’s not 1+1=2,” Moore said. “It’s going to multiply … because the children are now involved.”
That idea is personal for Moore.
She grew up in a blended family after her parents divorced and remembers sometimes feeling like a visitor in her father’s home after he remarried.
Years later, Moore and her husband created their own blended household involving nine children. She said they were intentional about making sure her stepchildren felt that the home belonged to them, too.
“We just wanted all of our children to always feel like they weren’t in the middle,” Moore said.
Her interest in helping families navigate those relationships deepened through about seven years of child-advocacy work, including service with Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, a program where volunteers advocate for the best interests of children involved in the court system.
Moore later trained in blended-family ministry and dispute resolution. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Management and Leadership from Friends University and is listed by the Kansas Judicial Branch as an approved domestic mediator.
How the Process Works
Mediation differs from going before a judge or having an attorney advocate for one parent. A mediator doesn’t decide the outcome. Instead, the mediator helps parents identify disagreements, communicate and work toward decisions they can both accept.
Moore said she begins sessions by establishing ground rules. Each parent gets an opportunity to speak, interruptions are limited and communication must remain respectful. If emotions become too intense, she can temporarily separate the parents.
Sessions can last from about an hour to several hours. Moore sometimes begins with an issue parents may be more likely to resolve — such as a holiday schedule — before moving into more difficult disagreements involving residency or parenting time.
“If you guys cannot come together and make a decision, then the judge is going to do it,” Moore said. “Neither one of you may like what the judge is going to do.”
Not every family needs mediation. 1+1=Four also offers parenting education and coaching.
Its approach incorporates the Nurturing Parenting Program, which uses assessments to help identify attitudes and parenting practices that may be contributing to conflict, including expectations of children, discipline, empathy and parent-child roles.
Help Before a Conflict Reaches Court
Families don’t have to wait until a judge orders mediation to seek help.
Kansas allows domestic mediation to be voluntary or court-ordered, giving parents an opportunity to work through disagreements before a court makes decisions for them.
Moore said information about 1+1=Four is available through the Kansas Department for Children and Families as one of the resources families may be given when looking for services. She also provides mediation through M.A.R.C.H., or Mediation Achieving Results for Children.
M.A.R.C.H. offers up to four hours of free mediation to qualifying Kansas families with incomes at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines. The program is supported through an Office of Judicial Administration Access to Justice grant.
Families can also hire 1+1=Four directly.
Moore said her base mediation rate is $200 per hour, but services are offered on a sliding scale based on a family’s financial circumstances. For some lower-income families, she said three to four hours of mediation may cost about $50.
Parenting classes generally cost $30 to $35, and payment plans can be arranged for families receiving longer-term services.
1+1=Four serves families across Kansas through in-person, virtual and telephone appointments. Its Wichita office operates by appointment rather than as a walk-in location.
Keeping Children at the Center
For blended families, Moore encourages adults to work through difficult questions before problems develop.
Who disciplines the children? What authority does a stepparent have? How will adults communicate with former partners? What role will each parent continue to play?
Moore doesn’t expect every former couple to become friends. The goal is more practical: helping adults communicate well enough to make decisions without requiring their children to carry the conflict between them.
“They are not alone,” Moore said of families struggling through those transitions. “This is just a temporary situation.”
For Moore, the central question is simpler than many of the conflicts parents bring into mediation: What does the child need?
“We all love our children,” she said. “We all want what’s best for our children.”
Families can learn more or schedule an appointment at oneplusonefour.com.
