LIFELONG LEARNING
Conflict can be difficult to resolve, and oftentimes, can’t be solved without a neutral, third-party participant. Mediation can be an effective tool for solving conflict that one is unable to solve for themselves. Lifelong Learning SMTX recently held a lecture on mediation by Martha Joyce, Central Texas Dispute Center director, in which she explained how the whole process works and its benefits.
“Mediation is a process where an impartial person facilitates communication between parties to promote representation or understanding without imposing their own judgment of the issues,” Joyce said. “This is the reason why mediation is so successful if people will give it a chance.”
Joyce has been working in mediation since the 1990s. She said a lot of conflict comes down to differing points of view.
“It has to do with your background, your ability to communicate, what you’ve experienced in life or how you see things,” Joyce said. “This is the reason why we have conflict.”
Joyce gave a fictitious example to represent an agreement found through mediation. In this scenario, there were only 5 million oranges, and a doctor needed that amount to find a cure for cancer while a scientist needed the same amount to find a cure for Alzheimer’s. She said through mediation they could possibly realize that each of them only needed part of the orange, and they were different parts, allowing both parties to get what they needed.
Just about anything can be mediated: family cases, divorce, child custody, child custody modifications, child support, grandparents rights, terminations, Child Protective Services cases, guardianship cases, disputes with neighbors or HOA groups, university matters, landlord issues, family arguments, employment conflicts, loss of property, evictions, probates, contract disputes, settlement agreements and personal injury cases, to name a few. Joyce said that mediation is a way to prevent litigation, and it’s also affordable, particularly at the DRC since it is a nonprofit. Mediation is also confidential, by law.
Joyce said the mediator has to take control of the process because people are often reactive in these situations. They can insist someone calms down or adjusts their language. They can also call a caucus, which is where they pull one of the parties out of the room and discuss what is happening and why it is a problem.
“Is this something that we can continue in the same room, or do we have to do this in a separate room?” Joyce said. “If we do this in a separate room, then the mediator goes back and forth, and the only thing the mediator can tell the other party is what the party from the first room gave them permission to say.”
If an agreement is reached, it will be signed by both parties.
“We call this a mediated settlement agreement, and this document is a formal agreement. It is a contract, or it is considered a contract,” Joyce said, adding that people can go to mediation in lieu of the courtroom. “The courts in the area would love to see more people that would try to settle their conflicts by just coming to the DRC … [instead of ] going to court.
The Central Texas Dispute Center is a nonprofit that’s funded through Hays County, Comal County, Caldwell County and Guadalupe County with a $15 charge that goes toward each court case for alternative dispute resolution.
“It helps us to pay the bills, but it’s not going to keep us in business,” Joyce said. “What we also do is we charge for our mediation, but we do not charge the going rate in the community. The going rate in the community would be anywhere from $200 to $300 an hour and up. What we charge for a family case is $400 per party for six hours of mediation, $100 per party for JP cases and $400 for district and county court cases that are in court.”
There are requirements as far as an income ceiling and the amount of money being mediated. Learn more about what can and cannot be disputed at the CTDC at this link centexdrc.org/ faq. The Central Texas Dispute Center is located at 101 Uhland Rd Suite 105. The phone number is 512-878-0382.
