Dispute Resolution Center Of Montgomery County Inc

TO PROVIDE AND PROMOTE AFFORDABLE, HIGH-QUALITY DISPUTE RESOLUTION SERVICES AND TRAINING TO THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY AREA.

MEDIATION: DURING FY 2021-2022, STATE AND NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS CONTINUED AS A RESULT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. DUE TO MULTIPLE COVID-19 SPIKES IN THIS COUNTY, THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION CENTER OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, INC. (DRC-MC) CONTINUED TO CONDUCT MOST OF ITS MEDIATIONS AND TRAINING PROGRAMS VIA ZOOM. WHILE ZOOM MEDIATIONS AND TRAINING PROGRAMS ARE VERY CONVENIENT FOR PARTICIPANTS AND ALLOWED THE DRC-MC TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC, THEY ARE QUITE LABOR INTENSIVE DUE TO THE ADDITIONAL PAPERWORK AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE THEY REQUIRE. THEREFORE, NOT AS MANY MEDIATIONS CAN BE CONDUCTED EACH DAY. DESPITE MANY PANDEMIC RELATED CHALLENGES, THE DRC-MC STILL COMPLETED MEDIATIONS FOR NEARLY 4,000 FAMILIES, BUSINESSES AND/OR AGENCIES IN FY 2021-2022. IN ADDITION TO REMOVING A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF CASES FROM THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURT DOCKETS THROUGH SETTLEMENTS, DRC-MC MEDIATORS ALSO PREVENTED COMMUNITY DISPUTES FROM ESCALATING BY HELPING PEOPLE RESOLVE THEIR CONFLICTS, REBUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND RESTORE COMMUNICATIONS. THE DRC-MC ALSO OFFERED PRO BONO MEDIATION SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE, CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT, AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WHO COULD NOT AFFORD LEGAL ASSISTANCE OR MEDIATION FEES. DURING FY 2021-2022, DRC-MC MEDIATORS COMPLETED 222 PRO BONO MEDIATIONS, INCLUDING 65 CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICE (CPS) MEDIATIONS FOR ABUSED/NEGLECTED CHILDREN. SIGNIFICANTLY, VOLUNTEERS CONTRIBUTED OVER $200,000.00 WORTH OF SERVICES TO BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY.

TRAINING/EDUCATION AND OUTREACH: AS NOTED ABOVE, COVID SPIKES IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY PRESENTED SERIOUS CHALLENGES TO DRC-MC STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS. TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF VOLUNTEERS AND TRAINING PARTICIPANTS, MOST GENERAL MEDIATION, PEER MEDIATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION TRAINING PROGRAMS HAD TO BE OFFERED VIA ZOOM. THESE ZOOM TRAINING CLASSES REQUIRED MUCH MORE STAFF TIME TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE DURING THE TRAINING AND THIS MEANT THAT SOME OF THE DRC-MC'S REGULAR TRAINING PROGRAMS (SUCH AS FAMILY MEDIATION AND CPS MEDIATION TRAINING) COULD NOT BE OFFERED DURING FY 2021-2022. DESPITE THESE CHALLENGES, THE DRC-MC STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS STILL (1) PROVIDED ONE IN-PERSON PEER MEDIATION TRAINING PROGRAM FOR 27 HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS FROM VARIOUS MONTGOMERY COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS; (2) PROVIDED MEDIATION TRAINING AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION TRAINING PROGRAMS TO 179 INDIVIDUALS; (3) RESUMED THE CONFLICT RESOLUTION BOOKMARK ART CONTEST IN WHICH 840 MONTGOMERY COUNTY ARTISTS IN GRADES K-8 PARTICIPATED; (4) DISTRIBUTED OVER 18,000 BULLYING PREVENTION BOOKMARKS DRAWN BY MONTGOMERY COUNTY STUDENTS THROUGHOUT MONTGOMERY COUNTY; (5) PROVIDED PEACEFUL DISPUTE RESOLUTION TRAINING/OUTREACH SERVICES FOR TO OVER 20,000 IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY; (6)COMPLETED ANOTHER PEACEBUILDING COMMUNITY CONTEST TO RECOGNIZE AND EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO PROMOTE PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY; (7) PROVIDED PRO BONO TRAINING/OUTREACH AND OTHER SERVICES THAT BENEFITED 309 INDIVIDUALS NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY COVID-19; AND (8) PROVIDED ONGOING MENTORING AND SUPPORT TO PREVIOUSLY TRAINED PEER MEDIATORS AT LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS. SIGNIFICANTLY, APPROXIMATELY 99 DEDICATED DRC-MC VOLUNTEERS AND 4.5 STAFF MEMBERS CONTINUED TO PROVIDE THE SAME HIGH-QUALITY AND AFFORDABLE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SERVICES AND TRAINING TO MONTGOMERY COUNTY RESIDENTS, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION, DURING FY 2021-2022.