What
is the Dispute Resolution Program?
The
City Attorney's Dispute Resolution
Program (DRP) is a free mediation
service that offers a forum for handling
civil disputes outside the congested
judicial system through a variety
of dispute resolution services
including mediation, conciliation
and facilitation
Why was this program developed?
The
Dispute Resolution Program was developed
to alleviate congestion in the crowded
courtrooms and make available an
alternative to law suits as well
as to prevent violence.
Benefits
of mediation include decreased expense
to taxpayers, less congestion in
courts, and faster resolution and
cost savings for parties involved
in disputes. The program handles hundreds
of face-to-face mediations per year,
saving the Los Angeles County tax
payers a tremendous amount in
courtroom costs. We handle thousands of
more disputes over the phone.
Who can take advantage of the program?
Anyone
who lives in Los Angeles County or
does business here can take advantage
of the City of LA's free mediation
services.
What is mediation?
Mediation
is a confidential, voluntary process
in which a neutral third party facilitates
communication between people to
resolve their disputes. Residents,
businesses and organizations can
benefit from using the service.
How does mediation work?
A
volunteer mediator from the Dispute
Resolution Program arranges a meeting
with willing parties from both sides
of a dispute at a neutral location.
Both parties must agree to participate
and are encouraged to suggest possible
solutions during the confidential
process. Successful mediation results
in a mutually acceptable resolution.
Who
actually mediates the disputes?
More
than 1,200 trained volunteer mediators,
arbitrators and facilitators representing
every ethnic and geographic element
of Los Angeles County are available
to help resolve disputes. Volunteer mediators are trained
with a focus on cultural diversity
and violence prevention. They are
required to complete 40 hours of
classroom training and 160 hours
of supervised case handling prior
to the issuance of a Certififcate
of Completion. New volunteer mediators
are recruited and trained approximately
two times a year. The program
provides additional services including
information, referrals, problem
assessment, conciliation, facilitation,
and consultation.
Does mediation really work?
More
than 80% of people who seek mediation
as a means to resolve their disputes
achieve a satisfactory result.
What
kind of conflicts does the program
resolve?
The
Dispute Resolution Programs handles a broad variety of civil
disputes. The main concentration
of disputes involves businesses,
neighbors, landlords and tenants.
Common issues of dispute focus on
the environment, neighborhodd matters, consumer rights,
family, employment, schools, racial,
gender and sexual orientation issues,
and discrimination against persons
with disabilities, as well as those
who are HIV positive or have AIDS.
Can
you give us an example of what goes
on when a person calls in?
The
person with the dispute calls in
to our office at 213-485-8324. A
volunteer mediator returns the call
and asks for information about the
dispute. The mediator then contacts
the other party or parties involved in the
dispute and tries to work out a
resolution over the phone. Most often the dispute can be worked
out over the phone. If that is
not possible, the mediator sets
up a meeting between the parties
at a neutral location to conduct
the mediation. A resolution is usually
reached fairly quickly after the
process begins, if the parties are willing to each an agreement.
How do you get in touch with
a mediator?
Our
office address is:
Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney
Dispute Resolution Program
222 S. Hill Street, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Our telephone number is:
(213) 485-8324
Our fax number is:
(213) 485-8565
(213) 485-8916
Our e-mail
address is:
mediate@lacity.org. |
