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Formulating a Child Safety Plan in Foster Care Mediation

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Many children are placed in foster care after Child Protective Services or a similar agency removes them from their natural home because of concerns about the child’s safety or wellbeing.  This can often launch a daunting legal proceeding in which parents must prove they have remedied the situation so that the children can be returned to a safe environment.  Mediation can be used as an alternative to this formal and stressful litigated process.

The mediation process is a voluntary process that involves the parties working together with a neutral third party who is skilled at conflict resolution.  The parties work together to form a safety plan that is in the best interests of the child.  This process can help the parties avoid adversarial court battles while being an inherent part of the solution.

Mediation allows the parties to work together to create a child safety plan that is tailored to the unique needs of the family.  Rather than pitting biological parents and foster parents against each other, the process brings them together to work together toward mutual goals.  The parties can have objective focus on what is best for the children and use this focus to guide the process.  Because the parties are part of the solution, they can all feel that they have accomplished meaningful goals by working together rather than making parents feel that they are deficient or are being judged.  Additionally, because the parties help come up with the plan, they are more likely to make strides towards accomplishing the objectives in the plan and to comply with it since they had a hand in drafting it.

Having a child-centered focus that is based on collaboration between the parties can serve as an effective alternative to litigation that addresses child protection cases to the benefit of all parties concerned.

Using Mediation in Foster Care Cases

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Mediation is an effective tool when dealing with family law issues.  In the last few years, the use of mediation in foster care, adoption and dependency and neglect cases has risen exponentially.   More communities recognize the efficacy of this tool, spurring them to adopt new mediation programs to address these issues.  The traditional adversarial process involved in foster care and child protection cases often has inherent shortcomings that do not serve the best interests of the child or the parties involved.  As such, mediation provides an effective alternative.

In mediation, the parties can freely discuss the issues that are important to them.  The process is confidential, so they do not have to worry about saying things that can be used against them in court.   Biological parents and foster parents may have grievances to air and concerns they wish to address, such as drug problems, discipline issues or a lack of contact.  They can also communicate about difficult emotions in a safe environment.  Meanwhile, attorneys involved can work together to solve the unique problems facing the family in an honest and candid manner without being concerned about how these issues will reflect on their clients in a court setting.

Foster care mediation involves specially trained objective professionals who help facilitate communication between the parties.  Other people concerned about the child’s welfare may also be brought into the conversation, such as social workers or extended family members.  During the mediation process, the mediator helps identify issues that need to be resolved.  He or she then helps the parties solve these problems.  Solutions may involve creating a safety plan, establishing a visitation schedule, considering how to address financial needs and other creative solutions.  If the parties are able to reach an agreement, this agreement is memorialized in writing.

The Mediation of Libel or Defamation Claims

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Libel or defamation cases may arise when someone says something negative about another person such as a business owner that has an adverse effect on his or her reputation. This statement may even be in written form, such as a publication made to the media or a negative review of services. Businesses are particularly concerned about their public image because a negative interaction can cost them business from others down the line. When parties confront these legal challenges, they may decide to litigate the case, or they may decide to mediate it.

There are important differences between mediation and litigation. In litigation, the issues become very public. This can be a significant drawback in defamation cases that arise because of negative publicity. Having the case litigated in court may make the matter even more public and bring more exposure to the case. Mediation is confidential and private. What is discussed is not shared with the outside world. This helps preserve the privacy of the parties.

Litigation has limited remedies available to the parties. It can order a defendant to stop saying negative things about the plaintiff, but if the defendant fails to do so, the parties usually wind back up in court. The court can order the defendant to pay damages to make the plaintiff whole after taking a hit to his or her professional credibility, but then the plaintiff has to try to enforce the judgment, which is often a long and difficult process. Mediation can help the parties resolve a problem much faster than traditional litigation. Additionally, the solutions are often much faster, such as the parties agreeing not to say negative things about each other in public. Mediation can also save the defendant from the potential risk of being ordered to pay sizable damages.

What Creative Solutions can be Used for Mediation of Contract Disputes?

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Mediation is particularly helpful in certain contexts when the parties have an established relationship that they want to preserve, such as in family disputes or disputes involving business people. Mediators use conflict resolution skills to help the parties understand the other side better and to communicate in a respectful way with the eventual hope of settling the case. Part of this process involves brainstorming creative solutions that can resolve the dispute. The parties are able to come up with nearly any solution that works for them and are not limited to typical judicial remedies. Some possible solutions include:

Revising the Contract

There may be issues that have arisen that were not originally contemplated at the beginning of the contract. The parties may decide to revise the contract to account for these changes. They may decide on a new level of compensation, scope of work or other details involved in the case. A mediator can walk through the issues that have arisen and help the parties consider different options to resolve their dispute so that they both leave with a mutually satisfactory agreement.

Making a Trade

The parties may be able to make an important trade off. Mediators can help uncover the underlying interests of the parties. By exchanging one thing of value for another can often help the parties both walk away satisfied with the result.

Alternative Forms of Compensation

Many business disputes reach a stalemate because neither business person wants to pay more money. However, during a brainstorming session, one possible solution is to provide alternative forms of compensation. This may include offering stock options, profit sharing, a new contract, a recommendation, services in line with the typical offerings of the business or something else that may not be a direct payment of cash from one business to the other.

Negotiating Community Property Settlements

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When a couple is going through the divorce process, they may not agree about issues related to community property. Mediation and arbitration are two alternatives to litigation that allow the parties to reach a resolution to these issues. While the process for them are different, mediation and arbitration are often much cheaper than trying to sort out the issues through litigation. They are also cheaper than litigating the case. Some issues related to community property may be:

The Identification of Community Property

The spouses may not agree as which property is community property. The spouses may not agree about when property was acquired, with one believing that it was acquired before the marriage and the other thinking it was a joint purchase. One spouse may argue that the property was purchased with separate funds and not subject to community property principles. A mediator can help the parties determine which property should really be at the heart of the dispute. An arbitrator may be more interested in evaluating proof regarding the purchase date to determine a fair solution.

Morphing Community Property

Community property may change in time when the couples move from a community property state to an equitable distribution state or vice versa. A mediator can explain how the state has resolved similar issues in previous cases to give the parties a better idea about the strengths of their claims. An arbitrator can apply the law to determine how to classify the property.

Division of Community Property

The parties may be at odds about how to divide the community property, especially when dealing with assets of more value. One party may want to sell the property while the other wants to retain it. Mediators and arbitrators can help flesh out these issues and help the parties find a resolution.

What to Expect from Commodities Mediation

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Although mediation has been around for several decades, it continues to expand into new and exciting areas. Commodities matters may involve issues related to futures such as making investments based on ideas related to the future market prices of the investments. Mediation may be used to resolve issues related to future investments, claims against introducing brokers, merchant commission, allegations regarding misrepresentations or omissions of material facts, providing unsuitable investment advice, conflicts of interest and other matters involved with commodities.

In mediation, the parties agree to meet with the help of an unbiased mediator who may have special training in the topics. In addition to this special knowledge, the mediator also has a special background in conflict resolution and communication training. He or she can often communicate in a way that the parties have not encountered so that he or she can understand the source of the conflict, realize what the parties are after and assess what possible solutions the parties may agree to.

The parties benefit from the mediation process because they get to see their case from a neutral perspective and can realize the possible alternatives if they do not reach a settlement on their own terms through mediation. They also have access to the other party and the ability to negotiate a settlement directly rather than waiting for a remedy furnished by a judge or jury who are not familiar with the parties.

Because many people working in commodities rely on ongoing relationships, mediation can help the parties approach the problem in a more cordial manner that is more likely to preserve relationships. While parties involved in litigation or arbitration will likely terminate their relationship, those involved in mediation may be more likely to maintain this relationship and maybe even strengthen it so that it can lead to new business dealings in the future.

Utilizing the Mediation Process in Collection Cases

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Mediation can be used in a number of cases as an effective and affordable way to resolve conflict. This method can be used in collection cases as a way to help debtors and creditors find middle ground and come up with a solution that benefits both of them. At the end of successful mediation, the parties can have a new agreement in place that is enforceable as a separate contract.

Litigation is expensive and time-consuming. Both parties often hire attorneys and must then pay the legal expenses associated with prosecuting or defending claims. Litigation is also public, often leading to embarrassment to one or both parties. Even if one of the parties wins at court, it must then pursue separate enforcement action in order to secure funds to pay off the debt. Debtors may be entitled to certain exemptions that represents property that creditors cannot attach to a judgment.

Mediation is a way to resolve issues outside of court. The parties work together instead of as adversaries, attempting to reach a mutually-satisfactory solution. The parties may communicate directly or with a mediator going back and forth to take different ideas and possible settlement solutions to the parties.

Mediation allows the parties to exercise more creativity as the parties are generally free to reach any legal resolution to their claim. The mediator may encourage the parties to brainstorm possible ideas. The parties may come up with a number of different solutions, such as paying off a fraction of the total debt, allowing a forbearance on debt payments until a certain amount of time passes or making smaller payments for an extended period of time. Mediation helps the parties save time and avoid the expenses related to litigation.