Resolution Washington
Dispute Resolution Centers’
Impact on
Washington State Court Systems
Examples of DRC impact
 Family
case: Parties repeatedly returning to Superior Court to
haggle over changes to parenting plan, child support, moving, get other
party cited for contempt. If mediation successful, never see them again.
 Neighborhood
case: Parties disputing over property
line, fence, disrespectful communication. Multiple, repeated calls to
police/sheriff to come out to properties to control the other party. Calls to
code enforcement. Back and forth anti-harassment orders. Mediation may
help them talk and listen, resolve things, develop approach on how to
communicate in the future and not use county/court resources in future.
 Small
Claims case: Parties in conflicts over payment of
bill for car repair, driveway paving, personal loan, car accident, rental
deposit are able to work out agreements that preclude a trial and follow
through on agreement reduces likelihood of default on agreement collection
hearing.
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Examples of DRC impact
 Victim
Offender Mediation Case : Two high
school males played hooky one afternoon from school. They found
some cans of spray paint in one of their families’ garage and went
around the neighborhood spray painting fences and knocking over
trash cans. They were caught when a older woman saw them and
called police. She and others had been afraid because their
neighborhood suffered some gang violence recently and felt
threatened by all that was going on. The boys were diverted from
court but mandated to Victim Offender Mediation. They met with
three victims of their vandalism and learned of the impact of their
crime and how vulnerable it made the victims feel. They agreed to
come out to paint over their graffiti and committed to attending
school regularly and not committing any more acts of vandalism.
The victims felt better knowing they personally hadn’t been targeted
and felt that they had made a positive impact on the young men.
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What are Dispute Resolution
Centers?
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Created by local legislative authority (County
commissioners, city councils)
18 DRCs around Washington State (17 actively
providing services).
15 Non-Profit Organizations, 2 City departments,
1 County program.
Authorized under RCW 7.75 originally in 1984
as part of Court Improvement Act, with District
Court filing fee funding added in 1990.
Offer services to clients regardless of ability to
pay.
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Reach of DRCs
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DRCs are authorized in 20 of
Washington’s 39 counties.
91% of state’s residents
have access to a DRC in
their home county.
Residents of counties close
to DRC’s can access
services there, e.g., Mason,
Grant, Klickitat, Stevens,
Whitman Counties.
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Services commonly offered by
Resolution WA Member DRCs
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Mediation, confidential, voluntary, convenient
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Face-to-face mediation/telephone mediation
Telephone Conciliation
Case Intake and Development
Referral to other resources
Training
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Mediation training, Advanced mediation training .e.g.
family law mediation, multiparty, Victim Offender,
Organizational conflict, Parent/Youth
Conflict Resolution and Communication skills
workshops, for businesses, organizations, groups
Peer Mediation training in schools
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Types of mediations
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In 2002, Resolution Washington member DRCs assisted
in 16,974 cases, mediating over half these cases.
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Small Claims Court contested cases
Parenting Plan & modification cases
Landlord/Tenant cases
Neighborhood cases
Victim Offender cases
Divorce Property Division Cases
Consumer/Merchant, Commercial
School/Education
Parent-Teen Conflict
Other: employment, workplace, property,
anti-harassment, real estate, multiparty,
cross cultural
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26%
23%
19%
10%
5%
5%
4%
3%
2%
3%
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Impact on District Court
 Filing
fee funding from all civil cases (Users
can ask to have fee waived due to financial hardship.) $15 Maximum for
small claims filings, $10 for all others.
 Small
Claims Cases: 12 of 18 centers
provide Small Claims mediation services
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Pre-trial mediation hearing on separate day at courthouse, return for
court if unresolved. Court may mandate effort or just encourage it.
Mediation takes place on same day as trial after judge encourages use
via script read from the bench.
Regularly scheduled mediation.
 Anti-harassment:
Currently seldom used/referred to mediation.
Mediation most appropriate for non-Domestic Violence cases between
neighbors, family members, co-workers.
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Impact on Superior Court
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No filing fee mechanism currently exists to
support the DRCs’ positive impact on Superior
Court. 37% of all non-SCC cases are Family related cases
that reduce caseload of contested cases in Superior Court.
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Family Law:
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Marriage Dissolution Property & Asset Liability Division,
Parenting Plan, Parenting Plan Modification.
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Models differ:
Some counties require mediation of
parenting plan if no agreed order (expect for DV cases), some
courts or family court facilitators refer parties to mediation.
Some counties enforce Dispute Resolution provision of PP, party
refusing pays court/attorney cost, other counties don’t.
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DRC Superior Court Impact
 Other
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(Continued)
Civil Filings: One DRC, Pierce County,
provides settlement conferences. Mostly attorneys refer
to private attorney-mediators for resolution of personal
injury or commercial disputes.
Generally the style of mediation practiced in these
settings is quite different from the DRC mediation
process. Evaluative mediation approach. Shuttle
mediation, keep parties separate after opening intro.
Share with each side the strengths and weaknesses of
their case. (Akin to Settlement conferencing.)
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DRC Mediation approach
 DRCs
generally provide mediation from a
Facilitative approach.
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Parties retain control of the outcome.
Focus is on parties finding interest-based solution that
works for both/all sides.
Mediators serve as process guides, not content
experts. Facilitating the parties’ mediation process.
Mediators don’t offer input on solutions or
strengths/weaknesses of “case”.
Voluntary throughout, including settlement
agreement.
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DRCs Impact on Juvenile Courts
Victim Offender Mediation Programs:
7 centers offer Victim
Offender meeting programs that bring together juvenile offenders (most
often youths who have gone through diversion process) with the victims of
their crimes, shoplift, malicious mischief, theft, simple assault to talk about
the impact of their activity and to have them make amends. Funding comes
mainly from Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee but is time
limited. 2nd major source is Juvenile Courts then County General Funds. In
2001, 390 cases were mediated statewide. Hope is that victims feel greater
sense of resolution, youth connects with having hurt people, reduce
recidivism.
Parent/Youth Mediation:
5 or more centers help parents and their
children address internal family conflict. This has a positive impact on
Children in Need of Services and Youth at Risk Petition caseloads.
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Impact on Municipal Courts
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Very few DRCs have found methods to assist with
Municipal Court caseloads.
The two City based programs, Community Mediation
Service in Vancouver/Clark County and Bellevue
Community Mediation have developed strong referral
relationships with city programs to refer neighborhood
and community conflicts for mediation and telephone
conciliation. Over 900 situations handled in 2001.
Other centers struggle to maintain strong referral
relationships with law enforcement, code enforcement
and animal control offices to have referrals result in
mediations.
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DRCs impact on public services
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State Agencies and consumers
DRC Mediators in Inter-Agency mediator pool
address workplace disputes
Law Enforcement
Code Enforcement
Animal Control
Mediation Training skills in hands of state, city
and county employees.
School Districts (workplace & peer mediation)
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DRC Sources of Funding
 2001
figures
 District Court Filing Fee $ 1,094,983
$ 494,758
 Fees for service
(mediation and training fees)
 Non-Public
Funding
(Donations, United Way, Foundations etc.)
 Other
Public Funding
Governor’s Juvenile Justice Ad. Comm.,
County General Funds, Juvenile Court,
School Districts, City grants, Federal
Funds
$
285,371
$ 1,047,128
$ 2,922,240
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How is quality of service
maintained?
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Resolution Washington has minimum standards
for mediator certification:
36-40 hour basic mediation training which covers: Conflict
Theory and Styles, Communication Skills, Cultural Differences,
Collaborative Negotiations & other Types of ADR and negotiations, the
mediator’s role, ethical and legal issues, mediation models & styles, intake
and assessment, demonstrations and 12 hours of role playing. Written
Exam, mock mediation practice.
Internship: Observe experienced mediators, write analysis of mediations
and debrief with mediators. Co-mediate with certified mediators a minimum
of 24 hours in at least 3 cases who file written critiques. Center determines
intern’s eligibility to become certified mediator. 18 competencies.
Standards of Practice: Mediators must adhere to Standards of
Practice of the Washington Mediation Association.
Continuing Ed: 20 hrs every 2 years: in-services, conferences, reading
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Service Quality (continued)
 Co-Mediation
Model: Most centers utilize a co-
mediation service model. This allows less experienced
or uncertified mediators to work with a more experienced
co-mediator. Also allows centers to mirror disputant
diversity (gender, age, language, culture) and have
internal oversight within mediator pool.
 Client
Evaluations: At end of mediation session
clients are asked to complete evaluation of the process.
Some centers also do 3-6 month follow up
interview/surveys. DRC staff address any problems that
arise.
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DRC Client Satisfaction
 2002
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Client exit surveys:
90% of parties completing surveys graded the
Mediation process excellent or good.
90% of parties completing surveys indicated they
would refer others to the mediation process or use it
again themselves.
Clear majority of cases that come to a DRC are
resolved successfully with some centers reporting
settlement rates as high as 93%. (Center rates vary
depending mainly on what percent of cases are
mandated referrals such as small claims court.)
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Quotes from mediating parties
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“I was thrilled that my teen was comfortable, because
there was a teen mediator there. I’ve always felt like I
have to drag my teen to programs, and she doesn’t want
to go back. She felt much better having another teen
there, and wanted to go back. It really worked.”
“I wish we had known about this service before. We
could have saved a lot of pain and suffering.”
“I never would have believed that we could come to an
agreement.”
“Thank you both for your help in finding a solution to our
problem. It turned out better than I ever thought
possible.”
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Comments Continued
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“The DRC is an extremely valuable tool for communities
to have. Thank you so much.”
“The mediators really helped us learn how to open up to
communicate with each other again. I believe our son
will benefit with less friction.”
“This has been a wonderful process.”
“Mediation relieved me of the burdens and gave me a
chance to give my apology to the other person.”
“It is my hope that I can carry through with the spirit of
cooperation and civility the mediators got me to see as
essential.”
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Resolution Washington
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The Association of Washington State Dispute Resolution
Centers recently changed its name to Resolution
Washington.
Marketing grant from National Association for
Community Mediation. Marketing Training, new
outreach materials.
Hope to market mediation services for statewide
availability.
“Resolution Washington promotes community-based
mediation throughout the state as well as the mutual
support of its member centers in order to assure the
health and vitality of community mediation in Washington
State.”
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Potential Growth areas
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Resolution Washington expands awareness of services
so higher number of referrals for existing services.
 Encouragement/Coercion to use mediation by courts
(e.g. enforce Parenting Plan dispute resolution
provisions: refusing party pays court and attorney costs.)
 DRCs & Courts work on non-DV anti-harassment cases.
 Public Disputes/land use.
 Explore ways to increase impact on Municipal Courts.
 Explore funding options for Superior Court impact work.
 Enhance referral relationships with city/county services
to reduce impact of conflicts on those services.
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Thank you
 Thank you for permitting Resolution
Washington to provide information about our
services.
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Resolution Washington
c/o DRC of Snohomish & Island Counties
PO Box 839
Everett, WA 98206-0839
1 (800) 280-4770
www.resolutionwa.org
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