This comparative study reviewed court files to examine case process and efficiency outcomes for the first 22 cases of the King County, WA pilot child protection mediation program to 28 randomly selected cases where parties opted out of mediation. The study found that mediated cases had fewer continuances and reached adjudication faster than non-mediated cases. Moreover, 26% of mediated cases reached agreement prior to or at the 30-day shelter conference whereas no non-mediated cases were able to reach an agreement prior to or at that hearing.
Description of Study: Examined case processing and efficiency outcomes for the first 22 cases referred to mediation under a pilot program in King County, WA, and 28 randomly selected cases in which parties opted out of mediation.
Method: Reviewed court files for both mediated and non-mediated cases. Analyzed cases to detect differences in the two comparison groups
Comparative: Yes
Comparison Groups: All mediated cases from one Child Protective Services office in Seattle and randomly-selected non-mediated cases from similar CPS offices around the city. Petitions in all cases were filed between February 2009 and February 2010.
Sample Size: 22 mediated cases and 28 randomly selected non-mediated cases.
Variables Examined: Number of continuances, percent of cases reaching adjudication within 75 days, percent of cases reaching agreement prior to specific conference dates, percent of cases with agreed upon orders
Program Variables: Opt-out program. All cases were referred on intake. One mediator conducted all mediations using a facilitative approach.
Findings: Mediated cases had fewer continuances than non-mediated cases (a mean of .45/case v 1.58/case). Mediation accounted for a significant proportion of this difference. More mediated cases reached adjudication within 75 days (84% v 50%). Mediated cases reached adjudication on average 34 days sooner (51 days v 85 days). Again, the use of mediation accounted for a significant proportion of the difference. 26% of mediated cases reached agreement prior to or at the 30-day shelter conference. No non-mediated cases reached agreement prior to that hearing. 63% of mediated cases reached agreement prior to or at the pre-trial conference. Only 5% of non-mediated cases reached agreement. The researchers hypothesized that agreed upon orders would lead to shorter conferences. 90% of mediated case and 75% of non-mediated cases had agreed upon orders. This difference was not significant.