Mentoring Plan - Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship

Mediator ______Mentor ______Date______

The primary purposes of the Mentoring Program of the Alaska Court System:

  • To promote quality services for users of the Alaska Court System mediation programs
  • To assist new mediators in their professional development and in particular in transitioning from an apprentice phase to a practitioner phase of practice
  • To evaluate the readiness of mediators to provide unassisted mediation to clients and to report to the Dispute Resolution Coordinator on their assessment of mediator strengths and weaknesses.
  • To assist experienced mediators transitioning from one area of mediation to another. This may involve acquiring substantive knowledge or skills in multi-party vs. two party approaches.

Goals of the Mentoring Program of the Alaska Court System are to assist the mediator to develop his or her capacity to:

  • Engage in self-assessment and reflective practice.
  • Conduct quality mediation sessions (includes preparation and screening, scheduling, the joint session(s), and appropriate follow through).
  • Understand when to mediate, when not to mediate, and how to terminate mediation safely and appropriately
  • Create quality written mediation agreements.
  • Feel comfortable in the mediator role, having and projecting appropriate confidence.
  • Maintain standards of mediator practice identified for program.
  • Understand and follow administrative requirements of program.
  • Understand and practice within the policies and procedures and general philosophy established by the Alaska Court System mediation programs.

Specific goal areas are as follows:

I.PRACTICE SKILLS (at all stages: screening; orientation and preparation; scheduling; joint sessions (including caucus); post-session)

  • Listens actively
  • Uses clear, neutral language
  • Effective in non-verbal expression
  • Demonstrates awareness and consideration of others
  • Engages participants, developing rapport and trust
  • Identifies and elicits relevant information
  • Identifies and separates the issues involved, framing them effectively for resolution
  • Manages tension and emotion effectively
  • Effective in developing strategy, managing process, working with conflict
  • Sensitive to strongly felt values of participants, including gender, ethnic, and cultural differences
  • Able to deal with complex factual materials
  • Demonstrates an overt commitment to honesty, dignified behavior, and respectfulness
  • Conveys patience, empathy, compassion, as appropriate
  • Effectively manages a diverse group of participants
  • Identifies and separates his/her personal values from issues under consideration
  • Understand and work with power imbalances
  • Screens effectively for domestic violence and other safety concerns
  • Accurately assesses appropriateness to mediate
  • Terminates mediation safely when needed
  • Understand the negotiating process and the role of advocacy
  • Converts participants positions into needs and interests
  • Able to screen out non-mediable issues
  • Helps participants invent creative options
  • Helps participants identifying principles and criteria that will guide their decision making
  • Helps participants focus on how each person’s needs might be met
  • Helps participants recognize areas of agreement
  • Helps participants make their own informed choices
  • Helps participants assess the feasibility of their tentative agreements
  • Manages joint session time in order to capture, draft, review, and finalize the participants agreements
  • Understands, creates, and maintains the necessary momentum so that referrals are well managed from acceptance to completion, maximizing the potential benefits of each stage
  • Utilizes an approach to mediation that is consistent with the training provided and the program’s policies and procedures. This is a facilitative approach in which the mediator is non-directive, neutral and impartial, with no decision-making role.
  • (Feedback from mediation participants is characterized as positive)

II.WRITTEN AGREEMENTS

  • Recognizes importance of documenting and finalizing agreements reached in mediation
  • Create quality written documents of parties’ agreements: appropriate for situation; uses clear, neutral language; includes sufficient detail; well organized

III. SUBSTANTIVE KNOWLEDGE

  • Understands and articulates differences between mediation and other dispute resolution processes (settlement conferences, early neutral evaluation, arbitration, etc.)
  • Has necessary familiarity with:
  • Adult guardianship and conservatorship proceedings and system context
  • State statutes and court rules relevant to adult guardianship cases
  • Family functioning and dynamics
  • Abuse and exploitation of vulnerable adults
  • Understanding of the following as they may affect capacity, care-giving needs, and the support and service resources related to them:
  • Mental illness
  • Developmental disabilities
  • Substance abuse
  • Dementias including Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Aging
  • Has knowledge of the process that will be used to resolve the dispute if no agreement is reached, such as judicial or administrative adjudication
  • Understands legal standards, rights, and protections applicable in court case
  • Demonstrates cultural knowledge, awareness, and sensitivity, and
  • Understands issues of diversity

IV.ETHICS AND PRACTICE STANDARDS

  • Understands and adheres to appropriate mediator standards of practice
  • Is familiar with commonly encountered ethical dilemmas
  • Commitment to program goals to develop an approach to guardianship and conservatorship concerns which will:
  • Engage the adult, his or her family and others closely involved, in a productive, creative, problem-solving process addressing care, safety and capacity concerns
  • Protect the adult’s autonomy
  • Seek creative and least restrictive options by exploring alternatives to guardianship or conservatorship for meeting the needs of the adult
  • Increase communication and understanding among family members and others involved
  • Encourage consensus building among family and others closely involved
  • Maintain supportive family relationships
  • Prevent victimization of a vulnerable adult
  • Create plans that reflect the real needs of the adult
  • Provide the adult, family and others a satisfactory decision-making process
  • Avoid the trauma and adversarial nature of a court proceeding
  • Eliminate unnecessary appointments of guardians or conservators

V.PROGRAM POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

  • Is aware of, understands, and follows program policies, procedures, and administrative requirements

VI.CONFIDENT AND SELF REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

  • Engages in self-assessment and reflective practice
  • Expresses plan for continuing professional development as mediator
  • Experiences and projects confidence in role of mediator

Mentoring Plan Narrative

This is Initial Plan Review of Plan (last plan/review date was______)

A. Assessment of Mediator Strengths
B. Mediator Goals, Progress Toward Goals (when reviewing prior plan)
C. Specific Activities to Meet Mentoring Goals
D. Communication Plan and Expectations (Mentor, Mediator, MFSM)
E. Plan for Review of Progress, Recommendations (when reviewing prior plan)

______

Mediator Date

______

Mentor Date

______

Mediation and Facilitation Services Manager Date

5/17/11