Family Mediation Pilot Gets Mixed Results
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From Jeff Thompson's Enjoy Mediation Blog January 2010 |
Stats, Standards & Surveys!
This article I think is worth reading for many reasons- and beyond just for family mediators. Issues such as saving, accrediting mediators and determining success is not limited to court mediations surrounding family issues.
I'll start with the last sentence as I know it raises the most emotions in ADR folk:
a survey carried out by the Civil Mediation Council showed widespread support for its moves towards accredited training for mediators, the establishment of a register of mediators and clear quality standards.
Also, I must admit I do not often read the comments by readers, but for this article I was glad I did because there is heaps of information there as well:
So it cost over £3 million more to administer the scheme than it saved! How many people could have been helped using this huge sum of money. Also I would question the effectiveness of a partial settlement using mediation.
Feedback from another reader:
It’s a very short article and there are issues that need to be made clearer:• the mediators are not trained to a high enough level to be really effective, and certainly they are unable to either detect or deal with the "loonies" (the implacably hostile) who inflict so much harm upon the children as they fight it out over many years.• the ongoing involvement of the family lawyers is usually unhelpful – mediation is robbing them of their revenue stream after all. There are no sanctions for refusing to mediate.
• a 28% settlement rate in hostile courtroom surroundings is not be sniffed at.
• how much money did the 28% save the court service - where did this £3m figure come from quoted by Jacqueline Emmerson??
In short, I think given all of the above, the results are actually positive given the zero development that has been attempted in terms of exploiting the potential of mediation and raising the quality of mediatiors.
Read the full article [here].
Biography
Jeff Thompson is a certified international mediator. He is also a law enforcement detective in New York. His law enforcement role include a being a communication and conflict specialist, interfaith dialogue, developing and implementing community engagement programs, and designing training workshops.
Jeff is currently a PhD candidate researching nonverbal communication and mediation at Griffith University Law School. He also received his MS in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution from the Creighton University School of Law. Jeff has presented and trained on the topic of conflict, mediation, communication and nonverbal communication internationally and has been published and featured with numerous international media organizations. He currently writes also at PsychologyToday.com.
(All posts by Jeff Thompson represent his personal reflections and opinions as a mediator and not that of any organization.)
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