Mediation allows parties to make own decisions

By Judith B. Chandler-Huse, Ed.D.
GUEST COLUMNIST

Mediation is a modern practice with an ancient heritage. The great value of mediation is that parties are empowered to make decisions about their own futures, rather than, as one Family Court judge says, “having a stranger in a black robe” tell them what to do.

Through mediation, parties in a dispute work with a trained professional to resolve conflicts that divide them. The issues may involve a neighborhood dispute, a probate case, a pending divorce or a problem between a homeowner and Realtor or builder.

The Upstate Community Mediation Center, founded in the late ’90s under the leadership of Andy Reynolds, moved this summer to a new location at 27 Cleveland St., directly across from the Chamber of Commerce and just three blocks from Family Court and County Square.

Mediation is mandated in Family Court issues in Greenville, Anderson and Pickens counties, along with nine other counties in the state. The center, the only sliding scale provider of mediation services in the Upstate (there is also a center in Columbia), is supported by the South Carolina Bar Foundation, grants and private contributions. It is staffed primarily by trained volunteer lay and attorney mediators.

In over half of the cases we see at the center, at least one party is below poverty level, and we see each case referred by Legal Aid. Private mediation services also are available in the community. Mediation agreements reached are not legal and binding until the judge signs them at a final hearing date.

The large majority of cases scheduled at the center are Family Court cases and confront such pressing issues as divorce, custody and visitation, child and spousal support and division of marital property. Some of our clients are not represented by attorneys and often are not familiar with court procedures. Some don’t speak English.

Unfortunately, with the recent downturn in the economy, we are seeing a distressing number of individuals and families in financial crisis, including credit-card debt, bankruptcy proceedings and foreclosures. The cost of mandated mediation is an additional burden for these families.

On a given day at the center we might help a couple, one of whom works second shift, work out a visitation schedule that accommodates their needs as parents. We might assist a couple who have been married many years divide their marital property — or divide up their debts. We might meet with a guardian ad litem and the parents in a custody case. We might assist a couple who have been divorced for years but are unable to resolve educational or medical issues related to their children.

A current initiative, under the leadership of Probate Judge Debora Faulkner, is the Pilot Probate Mediation Project. Efforts are ongoing to increase additional services to under-served populations.

Mediation as a powerful technique of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is working effectively in Greenville County and throughout the Upstate. We are excited about these steps toward peace-making in our community and welcome this opportunity to tell the story of the benefits for all concerned.

For more information about the center, contributing to the cause of peace, volunteering your time or attending the Party for Peace fundraiser on Nov. 13, contact the center at 370-9771.