(a) When an application is referred to the Family Court by the Supreme Court pursuant to part 6 of article 4 of the Family Court Act, the parties may first be referred to the probation service, which shall inform them at the first conference concerning the function and limitations of and the alternatives to the adjustment process in accordance with section 205.30(c) of this Part.

(b) The probation service, at the request of either party to the proceeding, shall be available to meet with the parties and other interested persons no later than the next regularly scheduled court day concerning the willingness of the parties to resolve those issues by voluntary agreement. The probation service shall permit any participant who is represented by a lawyer to be accompanied at any preliminary conference by the lawyer, who shall be identified by the probation officer to the other party, and shall not discourage any person from seeking to file a petition.