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Statewide Juvenile Dependency Mediation Program

The purpose of the Statewide Juvenile Dependency Mediation Program (JDMP) is to improve system processing of dependency cases; to better engage families; thereby decreasing time to permanency and termination of parental rights (TPR). In so doing, it helps stabilize children's lives by getting them into safe, stable, and permanent homes in a timely manner consistent with the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997.

Mediation has been used to enhance the quality of the dependency process by providing the parties an opportunity to enter into a discussion in which the parties voluntarily resolve the issues that brought the family into the dependency system and produce a written agreement in lieu of a contested hearing. Contested hearings tend to be especially painful for children, as they may be required to testify against their parents. Mediations allow children to avoid this trauma, as mediations tend to focus on the family's strengths.

Benefits of mediation in child dependency cases include improved outcomes for children from decreased time to permanency to improved well-being and enhanced parental engagement to safely reunify with the child, time and cost savings, and system efficiency. Dependency mediation has been identified by child welfare, the judiciary and the Community Improvement Councils (CIC) throughout the State as an intervention to ameliorate timeliness issues.

Following extensive research to verify that mediation was an appropriate service, the Division of Child and Family Services and CIP agreed that this was indeed a viable, evidence-based best practice to help the children move into a permanent home situation in a more timely manner. It finds solutions that offer better outcomes for children and a quicker path to permanency for the child outside the litigious and often traumatizing environment of the courtroom.

Contact Information:

Jeanette "Jae" Barrick, Esq.
Juvenile Dependency Mediation Program Administrator
Office: (702)-892-3500
JDMPNevada@gmail.com

JDMP in Nevada

Founded in 2017, the Juvenile Dependency Mediation Program (JDMP) provides parties to child protection cases in Nevada with an alternative to the traditional courtroom setting. JDMP brings participants together to share information, explore options, and identify areas of common ground. Child protection mediation helps focus the conversation on the children, while also encouraging a collaborative and family-focused approach to helping families.

JDMP Mediators

JDMP mediators are a diverse group of experienced, dependency-informed individuals trained to facilitate difficult conversations. Mediators help participants identify common goals and reach creative solutions. Mediators do not make decisions on the case or give legal advice, as they are not acting as judges or attorneys. Rather, JDMP mediators facilitate conversations between participants to help them reach an agreement about how to move forward.

Elements of a JDMP Mediation

  • Scheduled for three hours
  • Collaborative/non-adversarial setting
  • Confidential communications
  • Extensive pre-mediation preparation
  • Separate parent orientations
  • Joint session preferred
  • Conversational/information sharing
  • Ongoing reporting/evaluations

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The JDMP Process

  1. Pre-Mediation:
    1. Mediators review the case and reach out to participants with a confidential email or phone call to gain a better understanding of the nature of the case; possible areas for conversation and/or concerns; the presence of domestic violence and its impact on the mediation; and any accessibility issues.
    2. In termination of parental rights cases, mediators also reach out to prospective adoptive parents to orient them to the mediation process.
  2. Mediation:
    1. Mediators conduct a pre-mediation orientation with parents and their attorneys for the first 15-20 minutes of the mediation.
    2. After orientation, mediation generally starts in joint session unless otherwise indicated by the mediator, with all of the participants together in the same room (either virtual or in-person).
    3. The goal of mediation is to encourage open communication and to shift the tone of the case to one of collaboration, rather than adversity.
    4. Mediators help participants explore ways they can work together towards the best interests of the child(ren).
    5. There are opportunities for breaks and separate conversations between participants and their legal counsel.
  3. Post-Mediation:
    1. Following each mediation, participants are provided links to surveys to share their experience and comments, allowing JDMP to improve its services.
    2. Surveys are anonymous and go to the JDMP program staff.
    3. JDMP tracks mediation statistics, including agreement rates and party demographics.

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