Definition:

Community Dispute Resolution (CDR) Programs are centers, available in most major American cities, to help resolve conflicts that arise in neighborhoods-- everything from barking dogs to criminal assaults. They are known by various names: i.e. Community Mediation Programs, Community Conflict Resolution Programs, Neighborhood Justice Centers. All of them apply informal processes, usually mediation, to help the parties to solve their problem out of court.

Users:

Citizens of communities that have these centers who need help dealing with interpersonal or community disputes.

Description:

The National Association for Community Mediation identifies the following characteristics and values of CDR programs (No single program will express all these values):

1. They use community volunteers as the primary provider of mediation services. Mediators are trained but not required to have academic credentials.
2. They are private non-profit organizations or related to a public agency with a governing/advisory board.
3. Mediators, staff, and board represent the diversity of the community.
4. Provide direct access to mediation through self referral and seek to reduce barriers to receiving services;
5. Provide services to clients regardless of ability to pay;
6. Seek positive systemic change through involvement in the community, modeling effective consensual problem solving;
7. Engage in public awareness activities to acquaint the public about mediation and its values;
8. Provide a forum for disputes at the early stages of the conflict;
9. Provide an alternative to the judicial system at any stage of the conflict.

CDR programs enable the parties to uncover and resolve the underlying problem that drives the conflict, making a solid resolution possible. CDR programs may be structured differently. They may hold their mediation sessions in a neighborhood facility, like a church or recreation center, or in their own offices, in a courthouse, or on the streets.

Many CDR programs have active training components. Frequently these trainings are open to the public. They are an excellent source of inexpensive, high quality mediation training.

Example:

A trained mediator, living in public housing, heard a ruckus outside. Two women were arguing - one accusing the children of her neighbor of repeatedly strewing the yard with trash. The mediator initiated an informal process by inviting the two women in for a cup of tea and a chance to talk about their conflict. In this dialogue it turned out the real problem was the housing authority did not provide enough trash bins nor collect them frequently enough. With their misunderstandings clarified, the two women went together to the housing manager and negotiated improved trash collection.

Application:

CDR programs are a benefit both to their clients and to the cities that house them. They provide a free (to the client) or low-cost way of resolving disputes so that they do not escalate and cause more serious problems, or go to court, thereby clogging often-overloaded court systems. They also often provide high-quality mediation training for people who are interested. Because their benefits are so high and their costs so low, CDR programs are becoming increasingly common. According to the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM), as of 2001, there were:

• 550 community mediation programs in the United States,
• 19,500 active volunteer community mediators,
• 76,000 citizens trained by community mediation programs
• 97,500 disputes (cases) referred on an annual basis, and
• 45,500 disputes (cases) mediated on an annual basis in the United States.

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