OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY SUPREME COURT OF VIRGINIA ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ GUIDELINES FOR THE CERTIFICATION OF MEDIATION TRAINING PROGRAMS (Adopted by the Judicial Council of Virginia: March 1999 Effective Date: January 1, 2000) 1. An applicant seeking certification of a mediation training program shall submit a completed OES Form ADR-2000 along with an administrative handling fee of $25.00. Applications must be submitted at least thirty days in advance of the date the training will be offered. 2. In addition to completing the OES Form ADR-2000, the applicant shall submit a description of the course, including: a. the course agenda with exact times to be spent on each subject specified; b. the outline of subject matter to be covered; c. if application is made for the Basic, Family, Circuit Court-Civil, Circuit CourtFamily, Domestic Abuse, Judicial Training, Observation, or Mentoring class, an explanation of where in the agenda and in the course materials the information required to be covered in these courses (as listed in the course content outline attached) is reviewed and the length of time spent on the required subjects d. all course materials, handouts, exercises, role-plays, and student manual(s) e. the trainee evaluation form which will be used f. the resume(s), experience, and qualifications of the instructors ( more specific information on trainer qualifications is provided below) 3. The Basic 20-Hour Mediation Training, the Family 20-Hour Mediation Training, the 20-Hour Circuit Court-Civil Mediation Training, the 12-Hour Circuit Court-Family Mediation Training, the Eight-Hour Screening for and Dealing with Domestic Abuse in the Mediation Context Training, the Four-Hour Virginia Judicial System Training, the Eight-Hour Observation Course, and the Two-Hour Mentoring Course must be certified by the Supreme Court of Virginia in order for attendees to count the training towards meeting the mediator certification requirements. 4. A suggested course outline for the certified training programs listed in 3. above is attached for instructors to use in developing a course. All courses should include a mixture of lecture, discussion, exercises, and role-plays (with the exception of the Four-Hour Virginia Judicial System Training). 5. Sufficient experienced mediators must be available during certified trainings to observe, critique, and evaluate the performance of trainees in role-plays. Instructors are strongly encouraged to utilize one experienced mediator observer per role-play. If American LegalNet, Inc. www.USCourtForms.com that is not possible, each experienced mediator shall be responsible for observing no more than two role-plays at any one time. 6. If a trainer proposes to utilize the course manual of another organization or trainer, that trainer must, after obtaining permission to use the manual, indicate on the course outline and agenda, how the material will be presented. 7. Listed below are the minimum qualifications for the primary instructor for the certified training programs. Please note that “adult education experience” mentioned below each category may be met through degrees in Education, through demonstrated teaching of adults in other fields and/or through some amount of experience teaching in ADR/mediation. Specific qualifications of assistant trainers are not indicated, as assistants and guest speakers will be working under the direct supervision of the primary trainer. Basic Mediation and Circuit Court-Civil Mediation Instructor a. Certification as a General District Court Mediator for the 20-Hour Basic Mediation course and certification as a Circuit Court-Civil Mediator for the 20Hour Circuit Court-Civil Mediation course. b. Recertification as a General District Court Mediator or Circuit Court-Civil Mediator (Please note that trainers certified in the General category prior to January 2000 must provide evidence of recertification in General) c. Successful completion of at least 20 hours of mediation training over and above the training necessary to receive either the General District Court certification or Circuit Court-Civil certification. (For example, trainers certified as a General District Court Mediator seeking to teach the 20-Hour Basic Mediation course must have at least 40 hours of mediation training) d. A minimum of a bachelor’s degree e. Participation in at least 20 mediations and 40 hours of mediation f. Attendance at a training on how to be a trainer or other evidence of adult education experience Family Mediation and Circuit Court-Family Instructor a. Certification as a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Mediator for the 20-Hour Family Mediation course and certification as a Circuit Court-Family Mediator for the 12-Hour Circuit Court-Family course. b. Recertification as a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Mediator or Circuit Court-Family Mediator. (Please note that trainers certified in the Family category prior to January 2000 must provide evidence of recertification in family) c. Successful completion of at least 20 hours of mediation training above the training necessary to receive certification. (For example, trainers certified as a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Mediator seeking to teach the 20Hour Family Mediation course must have at least 60 hours of mediation training) American LegalNet, Inc. www.USCourtForms.com d. Juris Doctor or Masters in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, Conflict Resolution or other related area - waiver of educational requirement if other relevant degree is shown e. Participation in at least 20 family mediations and 40 hours of family mediation f. Attendance at a training on how to be a trainer or evidence of adult education experience Orientation to Virginia’s Judicial System a. Juris Doctor and member of Virginia State Bar - Waiver of educational requirement, if direct relevant experience b. Certification as a mediator -Waiver of mediation experience background if other experience with ADR shown c. Evidence of adult education experience Screening For and Dealing With Domestic Abuse a. J.D. or Masters in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, Conflict Resolution or Related Area - Waiver of educational requirement if other relevant degree or direct experience is shown b. Certification as a family mediator c. Background in domestic abuse matters d. Evidence of adult education experience Observation Course a. An instructor teaching the General Observation course must meet the qualifications of a Basic Mediation Instructor listed above. b. An instructor teaching the Family Observation course must meet the qualifications of a Family Mediation Instructor listed above. c. An instructor teaching the Circuit Court-Civil Observation course must meet the qualifications of a Circuit Court-Civil Instructor listed above. d. An instructor teaching the Circuit Court-Family Observation course must meet the qualifications of a Circuit Court-Family Instructor listed above. Mentoring Course a. Certification as a General District Court, Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Mediator, Circuit Court-Civil Mediator, or Circuit Court-Family Mediator. b. Qualification as a Mentor. c. Minimum of a bachelor’s degree. d. Attendance at a training on how to be a trainer or other evidence of adult education experience. American LegalNet, Inc. www.USCourtForms.com 8. The trainer must do the following: a. Provide the Department of Dispute Resolution Services with resumes of all lead instructors and subject-matter specialists who will be used during the training. b. Ensure that the training agenda is followed and that all the areas listed on the course content outline are covered fully. c. Ensure that the primary trainer is in attendance at all times. d. Ensure that sufficient experienced mediators are present to observe and critique the role-plays. e. Ensure that trainee evaluations are completed by all students and returned to the Department of Dispute Resolution Services. f. Provide the Department of Dispute Resolution Services with a calendar of all training programs that will be offered as soon as such schedule is determined. g. Provide all students who successfully complete the course a completed form ADR-1006 indicating that they have successfully completed the training program. h. Maintain ongoing contact with the Department of Dispute Resolution Services regarding changes in the lead trainer or substantive changes to the course outline in which case a new application for certification will need to be made. 9. A trainer may not hold out a course as certified until it has been formally certified by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Applications for course certification must be made at least thirty days in advance of the training date. Please note that time should be allotted for any changes/revisions that may be necessary. 10. All trainers of certified training mediation programs must notify students of the following prior to the commencement of each training: This course is certified by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Please note that while attendance at this program may be adequate for purposes of passing this course, it will not in and of itself be sufficient for successful completion of the course, which is necessary for certification as a mediator. It is the certified trainer’s evaluation of your performance and participation in this course that will be taken into consideration by the Office of the Executive Secretary when it reviews an application for certification. Recommendations by the trainer that a student receive additional training prior to moving forward with the other certification requirements will be given great consideration by the Office of the Executive Secretary in evaluating a candidate for certification. 11. Trainers may discuss the mediator certification requirements during training, but must limit such discussion to no more than fifteen minutes. The subject may be discussed in more depth over a lunch period. 12. An instructional hour is equal to 50 minutes. The Basic Mediation Training shall be a minimum of 20 instructional hours. The Family Mediation Training shall be a minimum of 20 instructional hours. The Circuit Court-Civil Mediation training shall be a minimum of 20 instructional hours. The Circuit Court-Family Training shall be American LegalNet, Inc. www.USCourtForms.com a minimum of 12 instructional hours. The Orientation to Virginia’s Judicial System shall be a minimum of four instructional hours. The Screening for and Dealing with Domestic Abuse course shall be a minimum of eight instructional hours. The Observation Course shall be a minimum of eight instructional hours. The Mentoring Course shall be a minimum of two instructional hours. 13. All applications for certification of specialized mediation training programs will be reviewed on a case by case basis. 14. Specialized or advanced programs will not be considered in the certification of individual mediators. Such courses, however, may be used by mediators as continuing mediation education for recertification purposes. Trainers interested in submitting a course for approval by the Department of Dispute Resolution Services for continuing mediation education credit, or to be used to meet the Advanced Certificate training requirements, must submit the following: a. b. c. d. e. f. the course title and description; the course agenda; the course outline; the course materials, including any handouts, exercises, manuals, role-plays; the trainee evaluation form which will be used; the resume(s), experience, and qualifications of the instructors. 15. In addition to the initial application for certification and on-going submission of trainee evaluations, certification of a training program shall be subject to observation and evaluation by the staff of the Office of the Executive Secretary. 16. Recertification of a training program will be required when there are changes to the course structure and content or in the primary training staff. 17. Upon notice and an opportunity for the presenters of the program to be heard, a certified training program that is found not to meet the continuing requirements of course content, structure, and training staff or whose evaluations indicate that the participants in the training are not satisfied with the quality of the training may be decertified. American LegalNet, Inc. www.USCourtForms.com