Things are not looking good for Oregon’s foreclosure mediation program.  After coming under fire for lack of participation, the program has been extensively looked over in legislative sessions, as lawmakers continue to call for reworking due to a lack of efficiency and participation.  Now, Collins Center for Public Policy, a Miami-based Florida think tank, has ended its participation in the program and has announced that it is completely dissolving and will no longer be able to operate as a non-profit.  This announcement has left the Oregon Department of Justice tasked with finding a new administrator for the struggling foreclosure mediation program it put into place to help struggling Oregon homeowners find resolution to their financial crises. 

While the Oregon foreclosure mediation program is relatively new, the Oregon legislature doubts its worth due to the fact that few lenders have participated in it.  In total, there have only been approximately 10 foreclosure mediation sessions held since the program’s beginning in early 2012.  Since the mediation fees for this service were to be collected from the lenders and borrowers participating, and since so few have actually participated, Oregon has found itself paying a $80,000 price tag to the Collins Center per month.

Collins Center has not left Oregon up the proverbial creek without a paddle, however.  According to Jeff Manning, a Department of Justice spokesperson, Mediation Case Manager will manage Oregon’s foreclosure mediation program in the interim until the state can find a new administrator to run it. "Clearly it's not where we're thought we were going to be," he said. "But the broad outlines are there. It's just a matter of convincing the banks to participate."

Jonathan Conant, a former contractor for the Collins Center had this to add: "Our intent is still 100 percent.  We're currently implementing more changes, more enhancements.  And the cases are just now starting to trickle in."  He added that there are possibilities that the foreclosure mediation program will show more efficiency than ever now that the Collins Center is no longer involved, since there were multiple channels in which the Collins Center had to go through to approve important decisions that were made in its day-to-day operations. 

Meanwhile, the Oregon legislature will be looking for ways to make the program better and stronger, and to attract more participants.  There have already been multiple legislative bills that have reached the Senate that would broaden the scope of the mediation program.