When trouble brews, dispute center offers calm answers

Residents of Delaware County have a choice when it comes to resolving a dispute. They can wait for the case to go through criminal, civil or family court, or they could take their problem to the Dispute Resolution Center, a program of Catholic Charities of Delaware and Otsego Counties.

Cases handled by the Center include custody issues, family problems, landlord/tenant fights, small claims actions, victim/offender situations, separation and divorce proceedings, co-worker arguments and animal complaints.

The agency, a unit of the New York State Unified Court System, is one of 62 centers in the state to offer mediation services. Serving Delaware and Chenango counties, it is one of four dispute resolution centers run by Catholic Charities. (Others are located in Montgomery County, Herkimer County, and Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties.)

Mediation

As an example of the type of work the Center does, Donna Kankiewicz, director, told of a young couple who had had a fight that escalated to the husband throwing household items. The police were called.

Rather than the case going through the court system, the problem was referred to the Center, where it was worked out quickly and to the satisfaction of both spouses through mediation, said Ms. Kankiewicz.

"It was a great mediation," she said. "There was resolution. We kept them out of court. We mediated for three hours, and in less than two weeks they were served."

The Center was also able to provide the couple with information on communication skills, parenting and financial planning.

Quick work

That case was just one of the 250 mediated in Delaware and Chenango counties by the Catholic Charities agency. On average, cases are resolved within two weeks and at no charge to the parties involved.

According to Joseph Walker, director of Catholic Charities of Delaware and Otsego Counties, the work of the Dispute Resolution Center fits in with the mission of Catholic Charities.

"This is preferential treatment of the poor," he said. "The poor are more than those who are economically poor; they are also those who are poor in spirit. We help them get over a conflict and provide direct intervention to overcome conflict in the future. This fits well in the mission" of Catholic Charities.

Serving the needy

The poor of the community are among the chief population served by the Center. Of the eight cases that Mr. Walker has mediated during the past year, six involved lower-middle class to poor families. Unfortunately, class issues sometimes prevent a case from being mediated.

"There was a land dispute between a classic Appalachian poor family and an aspiring middle-class family," he said. "There were differences mediation couldn't surmount. The class separation was very difficult. It was a situation you can't mediate."

Most of the time, however, the interventions are successful, Ms. Kankiewicz said, estimating that "over 90 percent of the time, people are satisfied and would refer others to the Center. For many, it may be the first time they've been listened to."

Neutrality

Sometimes, resolution comes easily once a neutral party is involved. Ms. Kankiewicz told the story of a woman who called the Center because she and her neighbors had been trying to get their road paved for 30 years. A conciliation, in which the mediator speaks with both parties on the phone, occurred. Within 15 minutes, the town agreed to pave the road.

"She called us back and wanted to know what our magic was," said Ms. Kankiewicz.

Mr. Walker enjoys working on family disputes. He told of mediating a visitation dispute between a little girl's paternal grandmother and her mother.

"Communication broke down," Mr. Walker said. "We spent three hours that evening working out a detailed agreement. They also were able to reaffirm what they thought of each other."

Mediators

The mediators are volunteers who participate in a 25-hour training course and six hours of continuing education. They handle a minimum of three mediations per year.

"Our mediators come from all walks of life," Ms. Kankiewicz said. "They are some of the most committed people I know."

According to Mr. Walker, mediators benefit from participating in the program. "You learn to improve skills," he said. "You listen more effectively, rephrase, learn to develop elegant solutions and brainstorm. This can be of use in both your personal and professional life."

Mediators, according to Ms. Kankiewicz, are neither an advisor nor a solution source. Rather, they help people work toward a mutually agreeable solution, which is often in the form of a written binding agreement. In order for the process to work, mediators cannot know either of the parties involved.

Meeting goals

The goals of the Center, according to Ms. Kankiewicz, included serving the community as a forum to resolve disputes, preventing the escalation of disputes into more serious criminal or civil matters, relieving the courts of a number of matters that do not require formal court proceedings, and teaching individuals how to resolve their problems through negotiation, cooperation, collaboration and mediation.

Besides mediating disputes, the Center also has a school-based program that teaches children how to resolve disputes on their own.

"We begin with young children," she said. "Our Peer Mediation Program helps them develop lifetime skills."

More to come

As the children learning the skills in school grow into adults, Ms. Kankiewicz believes, they will be more apt to use mediation services than today's adults are.

Also contributing to future growth is the court system's recommending that many cases go to mediation before coming before a judge.

"We're also doing a good job getting to the public," she said. "Mediation is accessible; it's an alternative to the court system; and it promotes resolving conflict in a nonviolent way."

(To find the Dispute Resolution Center near you, call 473-4160. To reach the Dispute Resolution Center of Delaware and Chenango counties, call 607-746-6351. The Dispute Resolution Center is one of four programs offered by Catholic Charities of Otsego and Delaware Counties. The agency also provides family and individual counseling, visiting nurses services, and youth services.)

(10-30-97) [[In-content Ad]]