COURT-BASED PROGRAM RECOGNIZES NJAPM AS ACCREDITING AGENT FOR PANELISTS

First Class Graduates on January 25, 2000

I. Introduction

(Princeton, January 23, 2000) A new Mercer County Family Court program on "Child Dependency Mediation" has been created to handle agreements in child abuse and neglect cases, in response to recently adopted Federal Adoption and Safe Family Act (ASFA) Guidelines. Dependency mediation is an intensive multi-party process that facilitates agreements involving Deputy Attorneys General, Law Guardians, Public Defenders, private attorneys, the Department of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) supervisors and case workers, parties to the cases, their families, mental health professionals, and other community members/interests.

To be considered as a panelist within the Mercer County court system, applicants must be accredited by the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators (NJAPM), and have specific experience in family mediation. The County requires that all applicants who meet this qualification complete a training program sponsored by Mercer County Family Court. The initial class of trainees will graduate on Tuesday, January 25, 2000.

According to Hanan Isaacs, an accredited mediator and attorney, who serves as President of the NJAPM, "It is very exciting and gratifying for NJAPM to be recognized as the credentialing organization for this important new pilot program. There is nothing in this world more important to NJAPM than the safety and care of our State's children. If we can play a role in easing the burden of abused and neglected children, we will gladly accept that responsibility"

The NJAPM is a statewide, non-profit professional organization dedicated to the training and accrediting of professional mediators. The organization promotes mediation by accredited mediators as the preferred method of conflict resolution. Members of NJAPM include attorneys, mental health practitioners, accountants and other professionals with special training and experience in the practice of mediation.

For more information about NJAPM, please call (800) 981-4800 or visit the NJAPM web site at www.njapm.org. For more information about the Mercer County Family Court program on Child Dependency Mediation, please contact Mercer County Court, Family Division Manager, Al Federico at (609) 989-6742.