CMC :: The Neutral Zone

	the neutral zone vol.5 issue 6 8.05

	Content News and Updates News from the Front Strategic Planning Teams TVMA Programs 9/30-10/1 Legal Language Mediation Styles: an ongoing dialogue Mediation Toolbox
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi Indian Political and Spiritual Leader
Quid Novi? News and Updates: CMC Meetings: Executive Committee meeting, August 17, 11:30am at the Gay St office conference room; Board meeting, September 29, 12-1pm, Lunchbox Cafe, Gay St. Community Shares kicks off its Annual Giving Campaign this fall. CMC is now an associate member of Community Shares, and can participate in the campaign by having individuals at participating workplaces (UT, TVA, Knox County, DOE, to name a few) write in our name to receive a donation. Next year, we'll be able to share in the "check off" donations to Community Shares. We will be meeting some of those employers on August 30, 4-6:30pm, at Laurel Theater on the corner of 16th St & Laurel Avenue in the Ft. Sanders neighborhood---any CMC volunteer is welcome to come and help us introduce CMC to our community. Wine and cheese will be served! TVMA Dates: SEE BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS! Save the dates! On Friday, September 30, 12:30-6pm and Saturday, October 1, 9am-12 noon, Grayfred Gray will be speaking to our large, active Knoxville area mediation community. The topics will concern mediation, professionalism and ethics. CLE and CME credits will be offered with a great discount for TVMA members. Knoxville Bar Association dates: ADR Section Ethics of ADR Date: Monday, September 12, 2005 Time: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Speaker: Howard H. Vogel, O'Neil, Parker & Williamson Location: Anderson, Reeves & Herbert, P.A. - 2607 Kingston Pike, Suite 130 (Tyson Place) The program has been approved for one hour of Ethics CLE credit. (We'll check on whether it will count as one hour of CME as well.) Upcoming conferences & celebrations: VOMA National conference in Philadelphia, Oct. 24-28 ACR's National conference in Minneapolis, Sept. 28-Oct. 1 October 20, 2005 is Conflict Resolution Day. We need your help to spread the word! The more events and activities planned on this day, the better our chances are of raising public awareness about the benefits of our field. Mediation Book Recommendations: Peace Skills: Manual for http://Peace Skills: Manual for Community Mediators by Ronald S. Kraybill, et al (Paperback - February 20, 2001) On sale at Amazon.com Mediation Links: VOMA, Victim Offender Mediation Mediation Association, FAQ at http://voma.org/rjfaq.shtml; Connections newsletter (in pdf format): http://voma.org/connect.shtml Mediation articles of interest: Domestic Violence and Restorative Justice: Advancing the Dialogue, Edwards & Haslett, (pdf format) http://voma.org/docs/DVandRJPaper2003.pdf
news from the front (office): Quite a lot of progress is being made by our staff and volunteers who are involved in the strategic team process. We are making headway on separate "threads" that will soon interlock to form a interwoven "blanket" plan for our organization. (Can you tell that I consider weaving, knitting, and crocheting to be a great pastime?). For instance, the program development team is analyzing existing programs as well as possible new programs; they soon will be joining the organizational effectiveness team to see what new efficient procedures and policies, new staff needs, etc. are necessary to implement the programs; in turn, the training team will describe what new training modules and classes may be required for our volunteers and for our support community of court personnel and attorneys. The marketing team will be focused on how to get the word out to our community. And the budget and resource team will figure out how to pay for all of it! A huge special thanks and hug goes to our board member, Jim Johnson, for sheparding this process, facilitating ALL the team meetings, sending out reminders, agendas and minutes from previous meetings, and being our Champion! Thanks as well to all of our volunteers who continue to be a part of this process. The results will be reported in upcoming Neutral Zones. Our volunteer mediators can tell that our offices are running smoothly now, thanks to Sharon Upshaw and Jen Comiskey, both responsible (among other things) for the intake and scheduling of our court-referred cases. We are still working on procedures to handle the evening mediations at the Juvenile Annex. For years, CMC came to rely on having VISTA volunteers to handle the small (and large) crises, scheduling snafus, and logistical tasks that inevitably happen with evening mediations. We've already gotten some ideas for improvement: having a posted security procedure; key procedures; having a volunteer not mediating that evening assigned to be the "on call" mediator to take calls from volunteers. If you have any ideas to contribute, please call and email me, Sharon, or Jen. Another exciting development for CMC: We have a wonderful opportunity to do pre-court intervention truancy mediation referred to us from the DA's office. The program is something brand new; to design the program, CMC has worked cooperatively with the DA's office, Juvenile Court and the Knox County Schools. The mediation will be offered after 10 unexcused absences. CMC will provide co-mediator teams for daytime mediations in Juvenile Court 2-3 days each month, from 1pm-4pm. Present will be the truant middle school or high school child (11-17), one or more parents or guardians, a representative from the school (most likely the school social worker who will have done previous work with the family), and a case worker from the DA's office. The mediators will use the CMC model of mediation. Truancy is the kind of behavior that often masks more serious problems at home. If not handled well, continued truancy can lead to academic failure, suspension, and a status offense charge. The parents can be charged criminally. We've already gotten 12 volunteers who've expressed interest in this new project. If anyone would like to sign up, please contact us soon. The DA's office says that they can give us as many as we are able to mediate! We are planning several short (1-3 hr) trainings for our CMC mediators over the fall. We've decided not to have a Fall training for new volunteers, but will have one in the early Spring after a "re-working" and updating of our volunteer training manual and curriculum. One of our Teams is the Training Team---please consider joining if you have any ideas on what kind of training we need to provide. I'll be sending out a special email on training opportunities soon! Thanks again for all you do! Jackie Kittrell, Interim Executive Director
Strategic Planning Teams Scheduled to Meet--- Please Consider Joining a CMC Team as a part of your volunteer work! We still need team members, so sign up with the team leaders, or send in your ideas. If you would like meeting reports for any particular Team Meeting, send an email to Jackie Kittrell, jkittrell@2mediate.org Board Development: Team Leader, Sam Fowler, 524-0692 sffowlerjr@earthlink.net Program Development: Team Leader, Lisa Carroll, lcarroll@icx.net ; Next meeting, Juvenile Annex, 8/23, 3:30-5:30pm Marketing & PR Team: Team Leader, Jim Johnson, jim@advantageenterprises.com Organizational Effectiveness: Team Leader, Sharon Upshaw, supshaw@2mediate.org Budget & Resources: Team Leaders, Stephanie Day, sday@sba.communitysouth.com Bud Muly, emuly@prodigy.net Training Team: Team leader: Jim Johnson, jim@advantageenterprises.com, Next meeting, Juvenile Annex, 8/24, 5:30-7:30pm
TVMA Fall Mediation Educational Event September 30 & October 1, 2005 Featuring Grayfred Gray, Esq. Mediation Skills, Professionalism, and Ethics 6 hours of CLE / CME Times and Locations: 12:30-6:00 PM Friday September 30 9:00 AM-12:00 Saturday October 1 Both days' workshops to be held at the Tennessee Unitarian Universalist Church Sanctuary (directions available online at http://www.tvuuc.org/) Early Registration Fee: TVMA members: $50 TVMA student member: $25 Nonmembers: $80 CLE / CME fee: TVMA members: $5/hr Nonmembers: $25/hr Early Registration ends on September 15^th, after that date the registration fee will be $75 for TVMA members and $105 for nonmembers (Registration fee does not include CLE). Membership to TVMA. $30 Individual $15 Student YOU DO THE MATH! IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE TO JOIN TVMA, GET A GREAT PRICE ON THIS AND FUTURE CLE/CME CLASSES, MEET NEW COLLEAGUES & SUPPORT A GREAT MEDIATION ORGANIZATION!
Our staff email addresses: Jackie Kittrell: jkittrell@2mediate.org Sharon Upshaw: supshaw@2mediate.org Jen Comiskey: jcomiskey@2mediate.org
Legal Language By Don K. Ferguson (CMC volunteer mediator in Knox County General Sessions Court and author of the "Grammar Gremlins" column that appears in The Knoxville News-Sentinel every Sunday.) mechanic's lien A statutory lien that secures payment for labor or materials supplied in improving, repairing, or maintaining property.-- Black's Law Dictionary
MEDIATION STYLES: AN ONGOING DIALOGUE Please read this and give us your reactions--the report is based on interviews with judges and Rule 31 mediators, attorneys and nonattorneys in 10 counties across the state. The following paragraphs deal with some issues of mediation style. From: Evaluation of Supreme Court Rule 31: A Qualitative Assessment of Mediation in Twelve Counties , Final Report approved by the Tennessee ADR Commission, 1/31/05, pp.14-15 ..."Mediation Style & Approach "Several stakeholders commented that there is a restriction of tools or approaches used by many mediators. That is that most often, mediators tended to rely on one approach to mediation and to underutilize others. Although the vast mediators commented that the style and approach is best determined on a case-by-case basis, the bulk of mediation that is occurring is evaluative and directive. One person commented that it was " . . . best to put people in different rooms . . . tell clients the real legal issues presented." One attorney commented that he looked for a mediator who is more of a messenger and was able to be frank with the parties. Many attorneys said they preferred and mediators stated they most often used the shuttle method in which parties are separated. "Some of those interviewed suggested that the tendency to "over rely" on this or any one method was a result of attorney pressure as well as inadequate training and/or restricted experience of mediators. "Mediators stated that they received the vast majority of their referrals from attorneys. Many said that attorneys "demand" a directive and evaluative approach because it is quicker and offers more opportunity for discovery and case building. The statement of one domestic attorney who was interviewed was illustrative of these perceptions. The attorney commented that a lot of mediators waste too much time – "I don’t have time for garbage." The whole report can be found as a PDF file online at: http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/geninfo/programs/ADR/docs/FinalRule31rpt.pdf
Mediation Toolkit National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Resource Materials on Working with LGBTQ Youth in State Custody Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems are at a disproportionately high risk of experience violence, harassment, and discrimination in state care because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. To address this problem NCLR recently released a tool kit with resources designed to educate people about working with these youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. At the link above you can download the following tool kit resources: A guide for attorneys representing LGBT youth in delinquency proceedings. Information about California’s law prohibiting harassment and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identify in the foster care system. A “Know Your Rights” brochure for LGBTQ youth in foster care. Fact sheets on LGBTQ youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Mental illness begins in adolescence and often goes unrecognized and untreated. One-half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 often followed by long delays between the onset of symptoms and seeking treatment. Delays, which can span decades, lead to more severe and difficult-to-treat illnesses and co-occurring disorders. Disorders that emerge in childhood are associated with the longest delays in treatment , even though childhood disorders are often more serious than those that strike later in life. Read this NMHA report on the results of a new Mental Health study led by Harvard University. This reference is online at www.ncjfcj.org Tools for Permanency: Family Group Decision Making, pdf file from the National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning, from Hunter College School of Social Work, City University, NYC.
"Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." Martin Luther King, Jr. American Civil Rights Leader