The idea for M.A.R.C.H. grew out of a conversation at a judicial conference in September 1996, which included Judge Ralph Haslag, Terri Dichiser and Donna Devine. Subsequent conversations occurred with representatives from the four judicial circuits most active in utilizing grant funds from the Missouri Office of State Courts Administrator for mediation. Those conversations led to the formation of the M.A.R.C.H. Committee, w​hich met for the first time in November 1996. The Committee was headed from the beginning by Judge Haslag. The name of M.A.R.C.H., Mediation Achieving Results for Children, was suggested by Judge Daniel Chadwick. 
 
In the spring of 1997, an application was approved by the M.A.R.C.H. Committee and sent to the Missouri Division of Child Support Enforcement (now Division of Family Support) to conduct a pilot project in the 7th, 16th, 23rd, and 25th Judicial Circuits, which include a mix of urban and rural populations. The goal was to measure the potential benefits of using mediation to help divorced and never-married, separated parents resolve visitation, custody, child support and other disputes cooperatively and in the best interest of their children. 

A grant in the amount of $220,000, consisting of $170,000 in federal funds and $50,000 in state funds, was received by M.A.R.C.H. to fund the program's first year, which began on October 1, 1997. At the request of Judge John Grimm and State Representative Mary Kasten, the 32nd Judicial Circuit was added to the original circuits. During its first year, M.A.R.C.H. served parents in the judicial circuits which included Clay County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Phelps, Pulaski and Maries Counties, and Cape Girardeau, Perry, and Bollinger Counties.