The Need For Collaborative Capacity (11/09/09)
John Folk-Williams
Increasingly, leaders and managers are looking to collaborative methods for dealing with contentious policy issues. When making a first attempt, they may well recognize that success takes a lot more than bringing people together to talk. They know they need guidance. 2009 11

Maryland Community Mediation Expanding to Prisoners and Students (10/06/09)
Keith Seat

Statewide initiatives by Community Mediation Maryland are providing assistance to both prisoners and students in various counties in Maryland using volunteer mediators. Inmates within six months of release are eligible for three mediation sessions with whomever they will be reconnecting on the outside, which is helping many. Monthly training in conflict resolution skills is also being offered by mediators to inmates. In the school system, mediators are assisting with Independent Individualized Education Programs by meeting with the IEP participants and then sitting in on IEP meetings to facilitate.

Carroll County Times (September 5, 2009) 0

Fortieth Texas County Begins Mediation Program (10/06/09)
Keith Seat

The Commissioners of Hays County, Texas, voted to begin a mediation program that would provide trained mediators to assist parties seeking out of court settlements. The program will be funded from fees paid by every litigant, whether or not they use mediation. To obtain mediation services, the county plans to enter into a contract with a non-profit mediation center which was formed when the county began contemplating a mediation program. Mediations will be offered at no or low cost to parties, and are limited to cases with amounts in dispute of no more than $50,000 and family cases where the spouses earn no more than $60,000.

Newstreamz.com (September 8, 2009) 0

Milwaukee Using Mediation to Resolve Police Complaints (10/06/09)
Keith Seat

A new system for complaints against police in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, resulted in litigation by the police union, which ended with agreement over use of mediation in the complaint process. Larger issues are being sent to an outside mediator, and both officers and complainants have been very satisfied. The police chief is encouraging officers to participate in mediation whenever possible.

Fresno Bee (September 21, 2009) (Subscription Required) 0

The NYPD & The Three C’s: Communication, Community & Cricket (8/23/09)
Jeff Thompson
Often when I speak about conflict and dispute resolution I mention three words that I consider to be my mantra in regards to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Communication, Understanding and Peace are what I strive to create in all my interactions, be it as a mediator, conflict coach, consultant, or as a police officer in the New York City Police Department. 2009 8

Texas Legislation Proposes Pretrial Victim-Offender Mediation Programs (4/29/09)
Keith Seat

The Texas House of Representatives passed, without any opposition, legislation that would authorize cities and counties to establish pretrial victim-offender mediation programs for misdemeanors and certain felonies. Under H.B. 2139, mediation would only occur with the consent of both victim and defendant, and would result in charges being dismissed against the defendant if an agreement was reached which included an apology along with restitution or community service by the defendant. The mediators need not be trained and the programs may charge defendants up to $500 in fees. The legislation was amended before passage to also include a juvenile victim-offender pilot program.

Texas H.B. 2139; Amendment for Juvenile Pilot (April 24, 2009) 0

Barking Dogs Need Mediators – Mediation Helps In Neighbor Disputes (4/27/09)
Steve Mehta
A city in Arizona is reintroducing a mediation program to help people resolve neighbor to neighbor disputes. In particular, the city of Scottsdale, Arizona is primarily introducing this program to assist neighbors resolve their barking dog problems. 2009 4

States Using Mediation to Provide Consumer Restitution (2/17/09)
Keith Seat

The Consumer Affairs Mediation Center of the Nebraska attorney general’s office handled over 4,100 complaints and recovered almost $1 million for consumers in 2008. With fifteen full-time staff members, the Nebraska Mediation Center also helps consumers avoid scams and sends consumers on to counsel in the attorney general’s office if the circumstances warrant litigation. Similarly, in Iowa, the Consumer Protection Division of the Iowa attorney general’s office obtained benefits of over $1.3 million for consumers in 2008.

Lincoln Journal Star(January 4, 2009) (Subscription Required); Omaha World-Herald (January 23, 2009) (Subscription Required) 0

Peer Mediation Useful to Reduce School Bullying and Even Liability (2/17/09)
Keith Seat

Peer mediation of schoolyard disputes by trained student mediators is a helpful solution to reduce or prevent acts of bullying and other forms of conflict and lack of respect among students. Society increasingly is finding schoolyard bullying and violence unacceptable, and schools increasingly are being held legally liable. Peer mediation helps address minor disputes before they escalate and boasts success rates of 65 to 75 percent. Further, peer mediation programs help reduce potential liability by showing that school districts are doing what they can to prevent problems among students.

New Jersey Law Journal (January 5, 2008) (Subscription Only) 0

'Street' Mediation Works to Curb Homicides (1/07/09)
Keith Seat

CeaseFire, an anti-violence program in Chicago, has been successfully using mediation to reduce homicides since 2000. When shootings occur, trained mediators reach out to try to break the cycle of violence and prevent retaliation. Many of the paid mediators were former gang members who have access to and credibility with current gang members. The CeaseFire program has expanded to 15 Chicago neighborhoods and five other Illinois cities, and has been replicated in Baltimore, Cincinnati and Newark, New Jersey. Kansas City, Missouri has been working to develop a similar anti-violence program with a mediation component to address increasing homicide rates, but daunting organizational and funding challenges have thus far hampered the pilot project.

Pitch Weekly (November 20, 2008); CeaseFire Website 0

Small Lessons for Lawyers and Business People in Building Community (12/01/08)
Victoria Pynchon
Restorative justice is the criminal version of civil mediation. It stresses accountability, admission of guilt, forgiveness and reconciliation. It is the basis for Truth & Reconciliation Commissions that address harm done by one group of people to another that is rarely redressable by a criminal justice remedy. 2008 12

Constructive Ambiguity In Neighbour – Neighbour Mediation (10/06/08)
Brendan Donaghy
The term ‘constructive ambiguity’ is often attributed to Henry Kissinger and is a negotiating tactic used to cover up areas of disagreement or to save face of those taking part in negotiations. It is a technique most often seen in the context of international affairs, but can the same tactic be used in the less exalted surrounds of a neighbour – neighbour dispute? And if it can, is its use an example of good practice or superficiality in mediation? 2008 10

Mediators on a Mission (9/09/08)
Anne Parys
Two Pittsburgh attorneys use their skills as mediators to help Liberian refugees and former child soldiers. 2008 9

Rompiendo paradigmas del sistema juridico guatamalteco (9/07/08)
Waldemar Zetina Castellanos
La disyuntiva existente en el ámbito jurídico guatemalteco consiste en asumir, si todo conflicto donde exista litis deba con exclusividad ser tratado en un proceso judicial o si por el contrario se permita la posibilidad de utilizar el procedimiento de la mediación como alternativa para la resolución de conflictos, instancia que permite economía de tiempo, voluntad manifiesta de las partes, entendimiento y uso del diálogo para llegar a acuerdos... 2008 9

La construcción de la paz com proyecto pedagógico (8/06/08)
Alba Aiello de Almeida
Un ejemplo vivo de la aplicación de esta propuesta es el trabajo pedagógico que se desarrolla en el Colegio San Luis Gonzaga de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, en el cual se trabaja con estas pautas, obteniéndose resultados muy positivos. 0

Virginia County’s Mediation Swap Receives Achievement Award (7/30/08)
Keith Seat

In order to efficiently satisfy new requirements by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for a firewall between mediation and charge investigations, the Human Rights Commissions in a Virginia county and city began offering mediation services to the other Commission, avoiding overlap without the cost of establishing stand-alone mediation programs in each group. The achievement award for the innovative program was given by the National Association of Counties.

Inside NoVA (June 22, 2008) 0

Promoción de Derechos Sociales, Resolución Pacífica de Conflictos y el proceso de Resiliencia en Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes. Experiencias para compartir (7/02/08)
Franco Conforti
Es de relevancia dirigir, a la hora de poner en marcha un programa preventivo, todos los esfuerzos para que el mismo sea hecho con la comunidad y no para la comunidad; vale decir, es vital (al éxito que buscamos) que se comprendan los códigos y mecanismos que actúan a niveles individuales y comunitarios. 0

Consideraciones para hacer mediación comunitaria con latinos en los EE.UU (6/25/08)
Sandy Bacharach
En este ensayo, escribo sobre mis experiencias trabajando con mi agencia en el desarrollo y aumento de un programa de mediación y resolución de conflictos exitoso para latinos en los EE.UU. 2008 6

Winners of the Make Talk Work International Video Competition (6/17/08)
Geoff Sharp
View the winning videos (funded by JAMS) on the City University of New York Dispute Resolution Consortium website here (they seem slow to load) 0

Guanajuato a la vanguardia en medios alternativos de resolución de conflictos (6/08/08)
Juan Carlos González Garcia
San Miguel de Allende, uno de los destinos turísticos más visitado en México, cuenta ya con un centro de mediación, adscrito a Poder Judicial de Guanajuato 2008 6

Negotiating Justice in Community Mediation (5/19/08)
Victoria Pynchon
Nearly every condominium complex harbors an outlaw -- the man, woman, couple or family who refuse to follow the rules. Offended and outraged, other homeowners make demands on their volunteer board who contact the (often unresponsive) management company. Many of these disputes ultimately make their way to the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Dispute Resolution Center in West Hollywood. And some of them make their way to me. Welcome to community mediation -- the non-zero sum, value-based, rights-seeking, joint session transformative dispute resolution process. We're well-trained and we're free. But can we deliver justice? 2008 5

Mediación: un aporte a la transformación de las relaciones sociales (5/08/08)
Alejandro M. Nató, María Gabriela Rodríguez Querejazu
Esta nota enuncia algunas de las ideas desarrolladas en el libro: Mediación Comunitaria. Conflictos en el escenario social urbano (México, Universidad de Sonora-Centro Internacional de Estudios Sobre Democracia y Paz Social, 2005); Alejandro Nató, María Gabriela Rodríguez Querejazu y Liliana Carbajal. 0

Eye of the Storm Leadership - Chapter One (4/01/08)
Peter Adler
Peter Adler is pleased to here provide Chapter One of his new book "Eye of the Storm Leadership." This chapter is entitled: Guerilla Bridge Building and includes free access to the accompanying video. 2008 4

La mediación para una comunidad participativa (3/31/08)
Juan Carlos Vezzulla
Los años dedicados a la práctica de la mediación en diversos contextos y, fundamentalmente, las exigencias enfrentadas en la formación de mediadores en diferentes países (nada mejor que enseñar para aprender) me llevaron a reconocer la necesidad de construir un marco teórico referencial que sustentase la mediación, su filosofía y práctica, y que marcase principios básicos que permitiesen diferenciarla de la conciliación y de todo un abanico de prácticas extendidas por el mundo bajo el nombre de mediación sin respeto a su base científica, filosófica, ética y profesional.  2008 3

Mediación entre víctima y ofensor (2/11/08)
Josefina Rendon
La mediación entre víctima y ofensor es el proceso por el cual la víctima de un crimen enfrenta al causante de éste en la presencia de un tercero quien ayuda a las partes a dialogar sobre los hechos y sus consecuencias. En dicho enfrentamiento, la víctima tiene la oportunidad de expresarle al ofensor su coraje o su temor, de echarle en cara el impacto de su conducta criminal, de preguntarle las razones de esta conducta, o simplemente, de satisfacer su propia curiosidad sobre que tipo de persona es el acusado. Por su lado, el ofensor tiene la oportunidad de explicar los hechos, explicar la razón de su conducta, comprender el punto de vista de la víctima, y hasta pedirle perdón. 0