Our Impact
More than 4,000 Co-parenting Families Served
From a couple cases to get our feet wet and figure out what the heck we were supposed to be trying to do in 2014, to more than 600 families served some years, we have come a long way and served more than 4,000 co-parenting families.
The Highest Family Success Rate 90% - Setting a Higher Bar
Unheard of, "...first-of-its-kind...", nine out of ten parents agree. This is no accident.
With a typical family mediation program barely breaking 50%, we knew we had to do something different from the start.
To be honest, it was our ignorance that turned out to be our greatest advantage. We naively believed that every co-parent should come away with an agreement, a road map, a plan for how to co-parent more peacefully (or at least in an organized fashion). And we looked at every time co-parents didn't create their own custom-detailed plan as our failure.
That's how "Radical responsibility for the Mediation Process" was born. It didn't matter why ("pit bull" attorney, "impossible" parent, technical challenges, difficult interpreter), irrelevant. While it may not be our fault, it was always our responsibility, and it still is to this day.
Most Challenging Cases
Adoption Related Conflict (ARC) Mediations are typically the most challenging. These are set aside for Supervising Mediators with additional education and experience. It is common for an ARC Mediation to go for multiple days. Twice we've had ARC Mediations go for five full days.
Q) What is our Definition of Success?
Another reason for our success is that we don't put "Well they came and they got to talk and hear each other talk, and so now they feel better about things" in the Win Column like many mediation programs do. Look, our parents and kids NEED these agreements. Without a written plan, they're more likely to fail and return. It's a multigenerational catastrophe.
A) Level 1 Success: Successfully help co-parenting families create their own detailed, customized, written Agreement that is helpful for the Court, attorneys, and parents & families.
A) Level 2 Success: Written Agreement + Healing has occurred + Co-parents come away with new conflict communication tools, reduced animosity, and a better perspective/understanding of their conflict-based relationship.
A) Level 3 Success: Written Agreement + Healing/Perspective/Understanding + Their conflict relationship is completely transformed so they will be able to co-parent more peacefully and less harmfully.
Q) ONLINE and IN-PERSON
A) We co-mediated most of our cases online using Zoom.
A) Since the pandemic, we have returned to co-mediating cases in-person at the courthouses.
Q) How much preparation is there for each mediation?
A) Co-mediators will: 1. Review the appointment notes provided. 2. Send a simple email to all four attorneys (cc your co-mediator) identifying the case and asking if there’s anything additional the attorneys would like us to know (especially the Minor’s Counsel, CLC). 3. Send the reminder information email (template) to each co-parent (separate emails for each co-parent). 4. Review the case files provided.
Q) What does a typical online mediation day look like?
A) All co-mediators for the day will meet in SCFM Zoom-1 at 7:45AM. We will spend up to 50 minutes discussing that day’s mediations. Co-parents should be in the waiting rooms by 8:45AM. Co-mediators begin by meeting with each parent separately. Co-mediators will “shuttle” (together) between the co-parents, and may or may not decide to bring them together for joint session (never by surprise and always only with the parents’ consent). Mediations can go to as late as 3:30PM.
Details) After achieving and writing the agreement, every Mediated Agreement is reviewed together with a Supervising Mediator. Only then is the final Mediated Agreement reviewed and finalized with the parents.
Note: Most co-mediations finish by mid-day, but we can never be sure in advance.
Note: Children do not typically participate directly in the mediations, however their counsel, CLC, may.
Your investment in Peace helps us serve families to save children.
