Enhancing Mediation Services to the Spanish-Speaking Community:Perceived Needs and Recommendations

The Hispanic/Latino population is growing at a faster rate than many other populations in the United States. Because much of this past and current population growth is due to immigration from Latin America, 1 conflict resolution providers are encountering, and are likely to continue to encounter, mediation participants who require Spanish-language mediation services. This Hispanic/Latino population growth is perhaps most pronounced in, though by no means unique to, Texas and the other states that border Mexico.

In order to study the impact of such growth on the conflict-resolution field, we conducted a survey of Texas Dispute Resolution Centers (DRCs)2 under the auspices of the Texas Association of Mediators. The complete results of the survey are recorded in a previous article. 3 In this article, we will discuss the DRCs' perceived needs and our own recommendations for serving their Spanish-Speaking residents.

As Texas DRCs grew in number during the 1980s and 1990s, 4 the Hispanic/Latino population of the state also grew. 5 While all Texas DRCs provide some Spanish-language services, over 85% of them recognize a need to enhance at least some of those services. In an ideal world, DRCs would be able to provide a broad spectrum of Spanish-language services at every step of the mediation process. In the real world, budgetary and other constraints limit what every DRC can provide.

Perceived Needs

Our survey asked Texas DRCs to list and rank their future needs for serving the Spanish-speaking community. When asked about personnel needs, 69% of the respondents expressed some or an urgent need for Spanish-speaking mediators, 44% identified some or an urgent need for Spanish-speaking intake specialists, 38% noted some or an urgent need for Spanish-speaking receptionists, and 25% responded that they had some or an urgent need for Spanish-speaking interpreters. Less than 25% of respondents noted some or an urgent need for other types of Spanish-speaking personnel (i.e., directors/co-directors, assistant/associate directors, and program coordinators). Although five DRCs expressed some or an urgent need for Spanish-language training for their staff, and three DRCs saw some need for Spanish-language training for their mediators, most respondents saw little or no need for Spanish-language training for their staff and mediators. When asked about material needs, 75% of the respondents declared some or an urgent need for Spanish-language brochures and written information, and 44% expressed some or an urgent need for Spanish-language audio-visual materials and advertising of programs, and 38% expressed some or an urgent need for Spanish-language websites.

Recommendations

Our personal experiences at the Harris County DRC in Houston and the responses that all the other DRCs sent to the survey, supplemented by personal visits to some of the DRCs and conversations with their staff, have generated recommendations about steps that DRCs can take to serve their Spanish-speaking participants effectively. In an ideal world of unlimited resources, DRCs would be able to implement all of the recommendations listed in this article. In the real world, each DRC must balance budgetary and other limitations against the size and needs of its Spanish-speaking community before implementing any of the recommendations.

In an ideal world, a DRC would take steps, at every stage of the mediation process, to accommodate the needs of the Spanish-speaking community:

• Beginning with outreach, a DRC would have Spanish-speaking employees and volunteers who would speak to groups within the Spanish-speaking community and disseminate brochures about the services provided by the DRC. At outreach activities, the mediation process would be demonstrated with live role plays conducted in Spanish, or with Spanish-language videos. The DRC would have a website that contained Spanish-language information about mediation and the DRC's services. In a large city, the DRC would have satellite locations, some located within Spanish-speaking communities, to disseminate mediation information and provide mediation services.
• At intake, Spanish-speaking receptionists and intake specialists would be able to welcome Spanish-speaking disputants, answer their questions, and record information about their disputes. The Spanish-language brochures and videos available for outreach would be available at all intake locations. In addition, information about referrals to other agencies would be available in Spanish.
• In preparing for mediation of Spanish-language disputes, the DRC would recruit Spanish-speaking mediators and interpreters and provide them with appropriate training and support. The DRC also would authorize modifications in its mediation model(s), or develop new ones, to accommodate any cultural differences or needs of Spanish-speaking participants. 6
• During mediation, Spanish-speaking participants would have access to the services of Spanish-speaking mediators and interpreters. Modified or specially developed mediation models would be used where appropriate. All documents used in mediation, whether rules or agreement forms, would be available in Spanish.
• Following mediation, the Spanish-speaking participants would complete Spanish-language surveys of their impressions of the mediation process, and they would be encouraged to suggest improvements. If the DRC referred participants to other agencies for help, information about the agencies and their services would be provided in Spanish.
• At every stage of the process, the DRC would keep statistics, not only about those who participated in mediation, but also about those who sought mediation information and those who declined to participate in mediation. By maintaining statistical data, the DRC would be able to demonstrate the need for Spanish-language services. Funding sources that had access to the statistical data would be more likely to provide support for the services would have information upon which it could base changes or improvements in its services.
• A practical step that DRCs could take would be to share their expertise with each other. If, for example, one DRC had a good program or set of Spanish-language forms, that DRC could share its program or forms with the other Texas DRCs. Through open communication and sharing, Spanish-language services statewide could be enhanced.

End Notes

1 Steven A. Camarota, "Immigration from Mexico: Assessing the Impact on the United States," Center for Immigration Studies, at http://www.cis.org/articles/2001/mexico/toc.html (last visited July 18, 2002) (finding that in 2000, Mexican-born immigrants represented 28% of the foreign-born population in the United States, that 73.6 percent of Mexican immigrants living in the United States had arrived in the country in the last 20 years, and that Texas accounted for 18.5 % (1.5 million) of all Mexican immigrants living in the United States); William H. Frey, "The United States Population: Where the New Immigrants Are," 4 ELECTRONIC J. U.S. INFO. AGENCY 1 (June 1999), at http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0699/ijse/frey.htm (stating that most immigrants to the United States during the 1990s were from Latin America and Asia); Steve H. Murdock, "Texas Population Growth Leads Nation," Texas State Data Center, at http:// txsdc.tamu.edu/rbsp971.php (last modified Oct. 1, 2001) (attributing 23% of Texas's population growth between 1990 and 1996 to international immigration); "Census Figures Show Dramatic Growth in Asian, Hispanic Populations," at http://fyi.cnn.com/2000/US/ 08/30/minority.population (Aug. 30, 2000) (observing that in 1999, 51% of U.S. immigration came from Latin America).

2 The terms "Dispute Resolution Center" and "DRC" refer to the publicly funded dispute-resolution centers in Texas. Some Texas DRCs include the words "Dispute Resolution Center" in their names, others do not. Nine DRCs are nonprofit corporations, three are organized under Councils of Governments, two are integrated into county governments, and two are located within universities.

3 Clara I. Gómez et al., Spanish-Speaking Participants in Mediation: Past, Present and Future at Texas DRCs, TEX. MEDIATOR, Fall 2002, at 16.

4 At present, there are sixteen DRCs in Texas: Bexar County Justice Center (serving San Antonio), DRC of Central Brazos Valley (serving seven counties between Houston and Dallas), Dispute Mediation Services, Inc. (Dallas), Center for Dispute Resolution of Denton County (Denton), El Paso County DRC (El Paso), Fort Bend County DRC (Sugar Land, Richmond, and Rosenberg), DRC of Harris County (Houston), DRC of Jefferson County (Beaumont), DRC of Lamar County (Paris), South Plains DRC (seven counties in West Texas), McLennan County DRC (Waco), DRC of Montgomery County (Conroe), Nueces County DRC (Corpus Christi), DRC of Potter and Randall Counties (Amarillo and Canyon), Dispute Resolution Services of Tarrant County (Fort Worth), and DRC of Travis County (Austin).

5 See ECONOMICS & STATISTICS ADMIN., U.S. DEPT. OF COMMERCE, 1990 CENSUS OF POPULATION: GENERAL SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS-TEXAS at Table 1 (1993); BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, U.S. DEPT. OF COMMERCE, 1980 CENSUS OF POPULATION: GENERAL POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS-TEXAS at Table 14 (1982); BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, U.S. DEPT. OF COMMERCE, 1980 CENSUS OF POPULATION: GENERAL SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS-TEXAS at Table 59 (1982). The 2000 U. S. census has not yet appeared in print. To obtain our data for the 2000 census, we went to the "Census 2000 Gateway," which is maintained by the U. S. Census Bureau and located on the Internet at http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html . In 2000, 4,160,640 of the 6,669,666 Hispanic/Latino residents of Texas lived in the areas now served by the sixteen Texas DRCs.

6 For a discussion of the cultural assumptions contained in United States mediation models and the need to adjust existing models or devise new ones when people of different cultures are involved in a dispute, see John Paul Lederach, PREPARING FOR PEACE: CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION ACROSS CULTURES (1995).

Biography

Josefina Rendon
Josefina Muñiz Rendón is a 1976 graduate of the University of Houston Law Center and has been a third party neutral for 28 years as judge, arbitrator or mediator. She was the Judge of Houston's Municipal Court #5 and Vice-chair of the city's Civil Service Commission. Judge Rendón is a frequent writer and speaker on dispute resolution and diversity. She also is the former editor of The Texas Mediator (publication of the Texas Association of Mediators). She is presently an Associate Municipal Judge and a mediator in private practice.  Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Josefina has lived in Houston, Texas for almost 40 years.


Clara I. Gómez is a microbiologist turned attorney turned mediator. She is heavily involved in community and bilingual mediation issues. She is a trainer with the Harris County DRC and serves as an instructor on negotiation and conflict resolution in a variety of forums.

Walter A. Wright is a mediator based in Texas, USA.

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Walter A. Wright es un Profesor de Derecho y Métodos Alternos de Resolución de Conflictos en Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, EE. UU. Estudia, investiga, y escribe sobre la utilización de la mediación en los EE. UU. y América Latina. Un abogado, mediador, y árbitro, el Dr. Wright es presidente de Levey & Wright, P.C., un estudio jurídico en Austin, Texas. Ha sido el presidente de la Asociación de Mediadores de Texas y de la Asociación de Abogados-Mediadores, una organización de categoría nacional en los EE. UU. Actualmente integra la junta directiva de la Asociación de Mediadores de Texas y es el editor de Alternative Resolutions¸ la revista cuatrimestral de la Sección de Resolución Alterna de Conflictos del Colegio de Abogados de Texas.

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Carlos Espinoza,   Davis Ca	07/30/08
Federico Cohan
After reading Mr. Gomez's comments about Mr. Cohan I was very dissapointed. I was actually referred to Mr. Cohan one year ago and it was a blessing to have met him. I referred a couple from Colombia to Mr. Cohan to have their divorce resolved. This couple spoke very little English and they both were very intimidated by the court procedures. On many occasions they were turned away by many mediators due to the fact thay they were not capable to of paying their fees. They went to the courts to find a lawyer and they ran into the same situation. Federico Cohan stated to me that he was only doing mediation part time now and that he would only take the case if the couple were low-income. At first I did not realize what he meant, however I had my thoughts answered when the couple told me what he did. Mr. Cohan did not only resolve their case he did not charge them anything. It is a greta honor for me to have met this young man and I wish him the best always. Add New Comment

Paul  ,   Sacramento CA	paulg@hotmail.com      01/25/06
Cohen & Associates
I based my comments on facts. I've also noticed that Cohen & Associates mediation service is not listed as a recommended mediation program on the DCA website. Although your "family" origin is impressive you failed to mention any previous "Family Law experience." I'm also failing to see any of your so-called "happy clients" coming to your defense. Your angry reply and self glorification is disheartening to hear coming from a mediator who supposedly works to settle disputes requiring people to put a hold on their anger in order to come to joint resolutions. It is important to point out to readers that the court employs experienced Family Law Counselors who have Master’s Degrees and specialized training in areas pertaining to children and families. Dios Bendice!!! Add New Comment

test ,   test ts	08/31/05
test
test http://www.test.com Add New Comment

Federico  Cohen,   Sacramento Ca	06/20/05
Paul Gomez
In the mediation field mediators can't always make our clients happy. In reality in any field that we are in their is always going to be that one customer or few customers who are not going to appreciate your service. After reading Paul Gomez's slandering remarks I found him to be very unprofessional and childish. I was actually told about his slander by many people who appreciate my work as a mediator. Mr. Gomez stated that I did not speak spanish which is a false statement. My family is from Guadalajara Mexico and I was raised speaking spanish and I work with the Hispanic community tremendously. I have helped many people in the Hispanic community resolve their issues and they truly appreciate someone that is willing to give out a helping hand! The most beautiful part of my job is helping people that were turned away by many others because they could not afford an attorney or other mediators. It is a blessing to see people thank you when you give out a helping hand and want nothing in return. In response to Mr. Gomez again we can't make everybody happy we all try our best. If you are a mediator you did not learn to much in your studies, always speak to both parties when trying to come to a resolution. I wish you the best and sorry if I did not make your friend happy. GRACIAS!!!!!!!! Add New Comment

Paul Gomez,   Sacramento CA	paulg@hotmail.com      01/04/05
Cohen & Assoc. Mediation Firm
I recommended this so called mediation firm for assistance for a friend and found that they could not speak Spanish as well as they led on and were not a reputable establishment. Be wary of these so called "mediators" without any previous Family Law experience. Add New Comment

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