The Symposium which
developed the Standards included representatives from Academy of Family
Mediators (AFM), Association of Family Courts and Community Professionals (AFCC),
American Bar Association (ABA) Family Section, and other national, state and
regional organizations. The Standards represented a consensus of the best
suggestions made over a period of two years in which the Symposium met to
develop them. The Standards had previously been adopted by the ABA Family
Section and by AFCC, as well as several state mediation organizations. The
adoption of these standards by ACR rounds out the trio of major national
organizations whose members are family and divorce mediators.
The General
Standards
STANDARD I:
A family mediator shall recognize that mediation is based on the principle of
self-determination by the participants.
STANDARD II:
A family mediator shall be qualified by education and training to undertake the
mediation.
STANDARD III:
A family mediator shall facilitate the participants' understanding of what
mediation is and assess their capacity to mediate before the participants reach
an agreement to mediate.
STANDARD IV:
A family mediator shall conduct the mediation process in an impartial manner. A
family mediator shall disclose all actual and potential grounds of bias and
conflicts of interest reasonably known to the mediator. The participants shall
be free to retain the mediator by an informed, written waiver of the conflict of
interest. However, if a bias or conflict of interest clearly impairs a
mediator's impartiality, the mediator shall withdraw
regardless of the express agreement of the participants.
STANDARD V:
A family mediator shall fully disclose and explain the basis of any
compensation, fees and charges to the participants.
STANDARD VI:
A family mediator shall structure the mediation process so that the participants
make decisions based on sufficient information and knowledge.
STANDARD VII:
A family mediator shall maintain the confidentiality of all information acquired
in the mediation process, unless the mediator is permitted or required to reveal
the information by law or agreement of the participants.
STANDARD VIII:
A family mediator shall assist participants in determining how to promote the
best interests of children.
STANDARD IX:
A family mediator shall recognize a family situation involving child abuse or
neglect and take appropriate steps to shape the mediation process accordingly.
STANDARD X:
A family mediator shall recognize a family situation involving domestic abuse
and take appropriate steps to shape the mediation process accordingly.
STANDARD XI:
A family mediator shall suspend or terminate the mediation process when the
mediator reasonably believes that a participant is unable to effectively
participate or for other compelling reason.
STANDARD XII:
A family mediator shall be truthful in the advertisement and solicitation for
mediation.
STANDARD XIII:
A family mediator shall acquire and maintain professional competence in
mediation.
Overview and
Definitions
Family and divorce mediation ("family mediation" or "mediation") is a process in
which a mediator, an impartial third party, facilitates the resolution of family
disputes by promoting the participants' voluntary agreement. The family mediator
assists communication, encourages understanding and focuses the participants on
their individual and common interests. The family mediator works with the
participants to explore options,
make decisions and reach their own agreements.
Family mediation is not a substitute for the need for family members to obtain
independent legal advice or counseling or therapy. Nor is it appropriate for all
families. However, experience has established that family mediation is a
valuable option for many families because it can increase the self-determination
of participants and their ability to communicate, promote the best interests of
children, and reduce the economic and emotional costs associated with the
resolution of family disputes.
Effective mediation requires that the family mediator be qualified by training,
experience and temperament; that the mediator be impartial; that the
participants reach their decisions voluntarily; that their decisions be based on
sufficient factual data; that the mediator be aware of the impact of culture and
diversity; and that the best interests of children be taken into account.
Further, the mediator should also be prepared to identify families whose history
includes domestic abuse or child abuse.
These Model Standards of Practice for Family and Divorce Mediation ("Model
Standards") aim to perform three major functions:
1. to serve as a guide for
the conduct of family mediators;
2. to inform the mediating participants of what they can expect; and
3. to promote public confidence in mediation as a process for resolving family
disputes.
The Model Standards are
aspirational in character. They describe good practices for family mediators.
They are not intended to create legal rules or standards of liability. The Model
Standards include different levels of guidance: Use of the term "may" in a
Standard is the lowest strength of guidance and indicates a practice that the
family mediator should consider adopting but which can be deviated from in the
exercise of good professional judgment. Most of the Standards employ the term
"should" which indicates that the practice described in the Standard is highly
desirable and should be departed from only with very strong reason. The rarer
use of the term "shall" in a Standard is a higher level of guidance to the
family mediator, indicating that the mediator should not have discretion to
depart from the practice described.
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