Essential Elements of Child Protection

This study investigated the effectiveness of the process of mediation in child protection (CP) and the essential aspects which may contribute to developing more effective working relationships with child welfare families. The study focused on neutrality, one of the primary aspects of CP mediation. Interviews were conducted with 17 adult family members, mediators, and child protection workers who had been directly involved in five mediation cases. Six pre-mediation interviews and six additional interviews were also conducted with family members and child protection workers (CPW) from three non-mediation comparison cases. Participants were asked to describe their experience with CP interventions, including investigations, social casework, case conferencing, solution focused therapy, and child protection court. Participants identified ten distinct essential elements: alliance, bringing parties together, facilitating communication, keeping peace, developing options, enhancing understanding, focusing the parties, contracting, neutrality, and fairness. Comparison with non-mediation cases suggested that many elements, although essential to mediation, were not necessarily unique. CPWs involved in case conferencing and solution-focused interventions utilized techniques similar to those used by mediators. However, mediator neutrality was found to be unique to CP mediation. (Contains 20 references.) (CR) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the ori inal document. The 9th Annual Research Conference Proceedings, A System of Care for Children's Mental Health: Expanding the Research Base (February 26 28, 1996). Ak4.32,it.A. -4441.4,4,raitraaisdliiIMUNQUIMPOIRIMIOIOAINSUAlftleWA46 Essential Elements of Child Protection Mediation U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office EClucationat Research and Improvement ECOU ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization Originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction Quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy Introduction The rapid growth of mediation in fields as diverse as divorce mediation and commercial dispute resolution has raised the interest of a growing number of child welfare service providers and scholars interested in finding a more constructive process for developing collaborative service plans with families and youth (Mayer, 1987). Several jurisdictions have already introduced mediators at various levels of the child protection system (Barsky, 1995a; Thoennes, 1994; Savoury, Beals, & Parks, 1995). Mediation is proposed by some advocates as a more effective method for engaging families in treatment (Bernstein, Campbell, & Sookraj, 1993). Others argue that it could produce major time and cost savings by avoiding protracted court hearings (Morden, 1989). Yet others maintain that mediation provides a basis for empowering families and ensuring that child protection services proceed in a manner that is least intrusive to families and children (Regehr, 1994; Wildgoose, 1987). Most writings to date have focused either on developing a rationale for using mediation in child protection (Eddy, 1992; Palmer, 1989) or on evaluation of various programs (Campbell & Rodenburgh, 1994; Centre for Policy Research, 1992; Wildgoose & Maresca, 1994). However, there has been insufficient work describing the process of child protection (CP) mediation, and analyzing ways in which mediation can be integrated into child protection services. Accordingly, this study was designed to provide an in depth understanding of the process of mediation in child protection, and to identify the essential aspects which may contribute to developing more effective working relationships with child welfare families. This study focuses on neutrality, one of the primary aspects of CP mediation identified by the research participants. This study is distinct from prior studies because it entails the use of extensive interviews with family members, as well as with professionals involved in mediation and other CP processes. BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 An analysis of their experiences contributes to the child welfare and mediation literature: (a) by beginning to determine the critical experiences of parties involved in the different processes, (b) by developing a framework delineating the essential aspects of the mediation process that are unique to mediation, and (c) by identifying mediative skills and strategies that can be employed in other areas of child protection services.