Mediation offers court alternative

There's an alternative to legal court for those involved in conflict in Kirkville. The Boston Chase Mediation Group, an independently owned business, seeks to teach the community the benefits of mediation.  

Mediation is a way for parties in a conflict to decide for themselves what they will compromise on to create a resolution they each can live with, said Chandrika Collins, owner, mediator and conflict resolutions specialist.

"Mediation is an opportunity for individuals to come together and resolve the problem that they are having in a non-adversarial manner, with the assistance of a third party neutral, which is the mediator, to let them look at a variety of options and ideas, thinking outside of the box about their situation and just determine a solution, and essentially what will work for them, what they can live with, without having potentially a judge or a jury or someone else decide it for them," Collins said.

Mediation is both cost effective and time efficient because all parties involved share the cost of mediation involved, and the mediation process typically takes half as much time as a court case, she said. Boston Chase Mediation Group provides services throughout the state, she said. Cases primarily deal with child custody conflicts, but also some involve organizational conflicts among co-workers of an organization or within an organization that is not functioning well as a whole, Collins said.

Collins, a Truman alumna who has a masters in conflict analysis and resolution from Nova Southeastern University in Florida, opened the business in 2006 after completing her practicum work with the Adair County Circuit Court. She said that through the practicum, she conducted a needs assessment of the community and recognized an opportunity for an alternative conflict resolution method in the region.   

"I was able to identify essentially where there were gaps in the system in comparison to other communities that offer alternative dispute resolution," she said.

Collins said after assessing the  community she decided there was a need for mediation services and that she wanted to stay in Kirksville.

The mediation process is confidential and anything that occurs in mediation cannot be discussed outside of it unless agreed upon by all parties involved, Collins said.

Before the process begins, all parties agree to four ground rules, she said. One, all parties will try to mediate through the entire process. Two, each party will be allowed to speak without interruption until they are finished. Three, each party will refrain from calling each other names, specifically profanity. And four, each party will respect each other's right to leave if they decide not to participate.

When mediation is complete and the parties reach a final resolution, Collins drafts a Summary of Mediated Agreement, which all parties review and sign off on before it is sent to their respective attorneys, she said. The attorneys then turn the resolution into a legally binding agreement and present it to the judge, Collins said.

Bill Alberty, Knox County Associate Circuit Judge, said he refers cases to the Boston Chase Mediation Group through the Mediation Achieving Results for Children program. This program pays for up to four hours of free mediation services for parties in cases involving child welfare, according to the M.A.R.C.H. Mediation website.

Alberty said he tries to order parties who are eligible for M.A.R.C.H. Mediation to attend the sessions because they're free, and it often helps them focus on the real issues at hand.

"If you can get them to focus on the best interest of the children, they can usually come to some sort of an agreement," he said. "Too often the parties get mad at each other and their focus is on that, and when you can get them to sit down and start thinking about the children, you can usually — well not usually — but you can quite often  get them to come to some sort of an agreement."

Kirksville residents Derek Slaughter and Shana Stremel opted to go through the Boston Chase Mediation Group instead of court for their divorce in April 2009. Both said it was a positive experience. It was a good way for them to handle their disputes in an unbiased way, Slaughter said.

The couple chose mediation because it was a "hopeful, healthy" option for navigating the complicated legal process, Stremel said.