Description of Study: Examination of impact of mediation on cases in which the child had been removed in Surrey Provincial Court, British Columbia.
Method: Examined data from court records and program files. Interviewed participants in mediation, including parents, social workers, parents’ lawyers, judges, and mediators; observed mediations.
Comparative: Yes
Comparison Groups: Matched sample of cases that were and were not mediated
Sample Size: 30 mediated cases and 47 non-mediated cases whose case characteristics matched those of the mediated cases
Variables Examined: Settlement rate, proportion of cases proceeding to protection hearing, time from removal to significant events, participant satisfaction
Program Variables: Voluntary program with goal of reducing time to permanency and the proportion of cases that proceed to contested hearing. Referral could be made as early as possible in the court process by a social worker, court work supervisor, parent, lawyer for the parent(s), counsel for the province, or judge. An orientation session was held individually with social workers and parents. Mediation included the parent(s), social worker, and court work supervisor, and could include the parents’ lawyer, children’s lawyer, counsel for the province and other relevant parties. The court work supervisor reviewed all eligible cases for referral. Average session length was 5.3 hours. Attorneys for the parents participated in 80% of mediations.
Case types: Child Protection and Dependency, Juvenile
Findings: 92% of all issues (348/378) were resolved, with those involving services for the parents having the highest resolution rate, and parenting the lowest. The entire case was resolved 83% of the time, while it was partially resolved in 12% of the cases. All non-mediated matched cases proceeded to the protection hearing, while 14% of the mediated cases did. In mediated case, there was an overall reduction in case duration – initial stages took longer, but time to final disposition was shorter. There was a high rate of satisfaction for both process and outcome on the part of the participants.