The centers are funded through the Community Dispute Resolution Program which was created in 1988 to afford Michigan citizens an alternative to the adversarial court environment for the resolution of many types of disputes. The centers provide training approved by the Michigan Supreme Court's State Court Admin-istrative Office, which also administers the Community Dispute Resolution Program. In addition to the special training the mediators receive on the ADA, there may be times when more technical information is necessary. The impartial expert could be someone who does not act as an advocate during the mediation, but acts to provide information about the ADA to either party. The impartial expert may be called upon to help the parties explore technologies associated with a particular reasonable accommodation, or an aspect of readily achievable barrier removal, for example.
Mediation is flexible - mediation can be used to discuss creative and individualized solutions.
In court, only issues pertaining to legal matters are part of the discussion. Participants control the outcome - in the mediation process, the people involved in the situation are the ones who create an agreement that works for them. In arbitration or in court, an agreement is imposed by an arbitrator or judge. In court or in arbitration, the focus is on the past - who is at fault for the current situation. Mediation can preserve relationships - when disputants will be interacting with one another in the future, mediation can help to build a framework for future interaction based upon mutual interests and needs rather than adversarial positions.