NCJ Number
208361
Date Published
September 2004
Length
107 pages
Annotation
This report presents the work of the Community Dispute Resolution Centers Program (CDRCP) during fiscal year 2003-04 (April 1, 2003, through March 31, 2004).
Abstract
The CDRCP is a unit within the New York State Unified Court System’s (UCS) Office of Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) Programs; its purpose is to provide community forums for dispute resolution in lieu of criminal, civil, or family court litigation. The program is a joint local and State strategy that was established in 1981. During fiscal year 2003-04, the centers under the CDRCP assisted in 51,025 dispute resolution cases involving 120,365 individuals. Twenty-four percent of the overall caseload involved disputes among family members and domestic partners. Mediations, conciliations, and arbitrations made up 29,292 of these cases and parties reached voluntary agreements in 83 percent of the cases that were mediated or conciliated. A total of $7,053,883 was paid by disputants to one another through mediated agreements or arbitration awards; the average payment per case was $2,096. During fiscal year 2003-04, referrals from family courts increased to 23 percent, up from 9 percent during fiscal year 1997-98. Word of mouth referrals doubled from 600 to almost 1,200 during the same time period, although city court referrals dropped from 31 percent in 1997-98 to 24 percent in 2003-04. The report offers summaries of the collaborative partnerships among courts, government, and non-governmental agencies for the CDRCP program. Statistics are offered on the number of active and certified New York State community mediators and information is provided about training and apprenticeship requirements for community mediators. Finally, fiscal and administrative management is described. Total funding for CDRCP programs reached $11,311,826 in fiscal year 2003-04. Tables, appendixes