Forest Futures Visioning Process: Evaluation Report

The effectiveness of the Forest Futures Visioning Process, a collaborative process sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation to develop policy recommendations for the future stewardship of Massachusetts forests, is evaluated. The evaluation, based upon a logic model used to assess collaborative environmental governance projects, generally found that goals were met

Youth empowerment for conflict resolution

Participants were trained in conflict resolution and invited to share their everyday experiences through photos

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2022 Report & Evaluation

The FY2022 evaluation report prepared by MOPC for the tenth year of the Grant Program operations confirms that the state’s FY2022 appropriation of $2.7 million[1]continued to strengthen community mediation center operations statewide, expanded public awareness and utilization of community mediation, and maintained critical public programs focused on housing stability, youth empowerment, reducing recidivism and building capacity for diversity, equity and inclusion for center practices and services, while producing significant social and economic impacts, including a$22.1 million return on the state’s investment in cost-savings and leveraged resources. This impact demonstrates the public value and cost-effectiveness of this local conflict resolution infrastructure funded by the state. The sizable state budget appropriation maintained for the CMC Grant Program in FY2022, a continuing pandemic period, was critical to the sustainability of statewide access to community mediation. State funding of $2,114,022 (75$1.7 million from other private, state, local and/or federal government sponsors/funders, including private foundations. In addition to fundraising, the positive effect of state funding was reported by Centers across all categories of operations – center sustainability; staff, volunteer, and mediator numbers; professional development; diversity of mediators and parties served; and programs. [1] The FY2022 state appropriation of $2,713,465 to the Community Mediation Grant Program was maintained in FY 2023 at the same level and continued the$200,000 earmark of funding for the statewide re-entry mediation program

Increasing Housing Stability Through State-Funded Community Mediation Delivered by The Massachusetts Housing Mediation Program (HMP) FY2023 Evaluation Report

The Massachusetts Housing Mediation Program (HMP) is a comprehensive statewide program that provides free housing mediation services as a tool to increase housing stability with the intention of preventing homelessness created by landlord-tenant disputes. It is administered by the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston and deploys the community mediation system infrastructure with 11 Community Mediation Centers (Centers) participating and serving all 14 counties of the Commonwealth to provide free conflict resolution services for tenants and landlords/property managers with housing disputes at any stage, from the earliest point a problem occurs, up to, and after any eviction action in court. The HMP is a vital public program, particularly against the backdrop of a housing crisis that has worsened. MA residents cited housing as the biggest issue on their minds. The country is also facing a dramatic 12% increase in homelessness, which is its highest reported level as soaring rents and a decline in COVID-19 pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more Americans. Homelessness among individuals rose by 11%, among veterans by 7.4%, and among families with children by 15.5%. Though a clear causal link between housing mediation through the HMP and homelessness prevention is difficult to determine, several factors support housing mediation’s role in preventing homelessness and increasing housing stability. These factors include: 1) the ability of mediation to improve communication and help reduce landlord-tenant/tenant-tenant conflict; 2) the opportunity afforded by mediation for landlords/property managers and tenants to negotiate in good faith and the option to generate creative solutions to issues surrounding the non-payment of rent, repairs and a host of tenancy-related issues; and 3) the coupling of mediation with housing counseling and other assistance programs. Data from the centralized case management system (MADtrac) indicates that mediating landlord-tenant cases resulted in 65.2% of the tenants preserving their tenancy in FY2023 where Centers served 428 housing cases under the HMP resulting in 279 tenancy preservations. A strong correlation does exist between housing mediation provided through the HMP and tenancy preservation. For example, using a subset of mediated cases and an analysis of a sampling of 163 written mediated agreements reached between landlords/property managers and tenants through housing mediation provided by Centers during the 12-month period from July 2022 to June 2023 shows that 85 agreements, a little over one half (52%), resulted in the preservation of tenancy, suggesting a strong correlation between housing mediation and the preservation of tenancy

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program Fiscal Year 2024 Report and Evaluation

In FY2024, the Commonwealth allocated $3,213,465 to the CMC Grant Program, supplemented by$149,674 carried over from FY2023, for a total of $3,363,139. Of the total funding,$2,542,100 (76%) was awarded to Centers in grants and technical assistance, with Centers leveraging these funds to secure an additional $2,199,813 from private foundations and other state, local, and federal sponsors. These grants supported Centers’ participation in CMC Grant Program related statewide programs, including the Housing Mediation Program (HMP), Reentry Mediation Program (ReMAp), Youth Conflict Resolution and Restorative Practices Program (Youth Program), and DEI organizational capacity-building initiatives. These grants bolstered staffing infrastructure, enabling Centers to meet community needs and accounting for over half of their collective revenue, making this state funding vital for Center sustainability and statewide access to dispute resolution for Massachusetts residents. The CMC Grant Program had a significant impact in FY2024. The HMP preserved 355 tenancies and 103 housing subsidies across 1,487 mediated cases, helping 1,188 landlords and 1,376 tenants avoid eviction or housing loss. As one tenant shared, “Thanks to mediation, I’ve been able to get things under control. I will definitely recommend it to others, this is a wonderful program.” A pilot partnership with MassHousing’s Tenancy Assistance Program (TAP) expanded the program’s reach by mediating 12 upstream cases involving issues like noise complaints and discrimination and conducting community-building workshops to equip residents at TAP-enrolled sites with conflict resolution skills. ReMAp worked with 12 DOC and Sheriff facilities, providing pre-release mediation and expanding post-release support to reduce recidivism and strengthen family ties. Party feedback reflected the program\u27s impact, with one noting, “Today was a good day,” and another commenting, “This was great and productive.” The Youth Program showed significant gains in student social and emotional learning skills, with one administrator highlighting the program’s long-term value: “These are lifelong skills that can be applied in both school and life situations.” The DEI Initiative further enhanced the Program’s impact, with Centers improving language accessibility, program flexibility, and policies to support inclusivity and equity. For example, this included the development of Spanish-language conflict resolution workshops, which led to an increase in inquiries from Spanish-speaking individuals. As one Center noted, “We’ve been able to better train staff and volunteers and provide services in ways community members understand.

Longfellow Bridge Task Force Process Evaluation Report

This report presents process evaluation findings and recommendations regarding the collaborative stakeholder process engaged in by the Longfellow Bridge Task Force, facilitated by the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration, and sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation under its bridge rehabilitation and restoration program. The purpose of the Task Force was to provide stakeholder and public input on the design of the Longfellow Bridge span cross-section, with particular focus on serving transit, roadway, bicycle and pedestrian needs effectively and safely

Youth Program FY2024 Evaluation Report December 2024

The Youth Conflict Resolution & Restorative Practices Program (Youth Program or Program), administered by the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) in collaboration with 10 community mediation centers (Centers), aims to reduce youth conflict and/or violence through a social and emotional learning (SEL) and positive youth development framework. This approach leverages mediation and restorative practices to equip youth with essential SEL skills and improve school climate. This FY2024 program evaluation report assesses the Youth Program’s effectiveness across multiple domains, including school climate, student SEL competencies, engagement/awareness, training, and resources

Legislative Hearing on MA Foreclosure Mediation Program Bills: Written Testimony to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary

The inability of homeowners to communicate with holders of securitized mortgage obligations has been a significant barrier to completing affordable loan modifications that might prevent foreclosures or minimize losses and keep more homeowners in their homes. Increasingly, legislators and the courts are looking at mediation as a potential solution to the problem. In a little over a year, from mid-2008 to mid-2009, more than 25 distinct foreclosure mediation programs were launched in fourteen different states. State legislatures, state supreme courts, and local courts played roles in creating these programs. Mediation is being favored over litigation due to concerns such as those raised at a recent Senate hearing about Legal Aid groups as to whether more federally subsidized foreclosure lawsuits by low-income borrowers are the best method of representing their interests2 Many housing counselors believe mediation programs provide a structure for negotiations. This structure saves time in establishing lines of communication with loan servicers. Even attorneys have endorsed mediation saying they found foreclosure mediation programs helpful for providing them and the homeowner-clients much needed time to investigate the facts of a client’s case, and that this respite led to more informed decisions about potential legal claims. . Analysis of available data, however, indicates that foreclosure mediation programs, either court connected or independent, have little chance of delivering on their full potential. Interestingly, this failure has more to do with federal and state legislation on foreclosure mediation than the actual design of the respective foreclosure mediation programs in operation

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program (CMC-GP) Fiscal Year 2023 Report and Evaluation

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (MA) continued its investment in affordable, cost-effective community mediation by appropriating $2,713,465 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 for the Community Mediation Center Grant Program (CMC Grant Program or Program), the Program’s eleventh year. This appropriation funded the continued operations of qualified Community Mediation Centers (Centers) that deliver free or low-cost dispute resolution services to the public. The Centers serve as the backbone of mediation across the state and are the publicly funded infrastructure on which statewide dispute resolution programs are built. The FY2023 state funding in the CMC Grant Program budget appropriation amounted to$2,713,465, which, with the prior appropriation continued from FY2022 of $268,074, totaling$2,981,539. In FY2023, 76% of this state funding, or $2,272,500 was awarded in operational, programmatic and technical assistance grants to 12 Centers across the state. CMC Grant Program funds constituted half of Centers’ collective cash income in FY2023 and were critical to the sustainability of Centers and, as a result, to the preservation of statewide access to community mediation. The 12 MA Centers used the state operational investment to leverage an additional$1,857,218 from other private, state, local and/or federal government sponsors/funders, including private foundations. Centers used these funds to address critical public needs and to further expand their community mediation missions under the Grant Program’s Twelve-Point Model of community mediation. The Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC), the statutory state dispute resolution office at the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston) and the CMC Grant Program administrator, brought operational support through both grant management and the management of statewide programming under CMC Grant Program auspices to attract additional funding and address community needs regarding homelessness, recidivism, youth violence, and systemic injustice. Accordingly, 50% of the grants awarded to Centers consisted of grants to support Centers’ participation in statewide programs consisting of the MA Housing Mediation Program (HMP), MA Re-entry Mediation Program (ReMAp), MA Youth Conflict Resolution and Restorative Practices Program (Youth Program), and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) organizational capacity building initiatives. The award of these grants was an investment in staffing infrastructure to reinforce Center participation in these Grant Program programs. The FY2023 funded Centers were community-based grassroots organizations. They delivered their dispute resolution services through a workforce composed of both paid and volunteer workers. Centers operated with an average of two full-time and three part-time staff per Center. Mediations were mostly conducted by 207 active volunteer mediators from a pool of 501 total mediators across 12 Centers. Centers depended on trainings to recruit additional mediators. A total of 708 trainings, including trainings/workshops in conflict resolution for community members, were offered across the 12 Centers. An estimated 7,491 people participated in the trainings and workshops and a total of 814,772 people overall were reached through public education and outreach conducted by the Centers in FY2023. Initiatives were undertaken to strengthen the quality of mediation services and training across all Centers. A committee convened to examine the impact of Center volunteering practices on DEI crafted recommendations to address structural barriers to community involvement in Centers. Data regarding 280 mediators revealed that, like the state’s population, females, males, Asians, African Americans/Blacks, Hispanics/Latinos, Whites, and multi-racial individuals were represented among the totality of Center mediators. Although the FY2023 data indicated that most Center mediators continued to be White (103 of 280) and the majority female and White, the number of mediators identifying as non-White has increased (69 out of 280) since FY2022. Regarding parties served, based on 2,025 parties identifying race in demographic surveys, 843 (compared to 755 in FY2022) identified as White while 1,182 (compared to 892 in FY2022) identified as non-White, revealing an increase in party diversity. In FY2023 MOPC completed a one-of-a-kind study on DEI in community mediation based on community listening sessions that involved literature reviews and creating a new analytical tool to understand the complexity of the structural barriers to engagement of underserved communities. The study will be instrumental in eliminating institutional racism in the delivery of dispute resolution services through grantmaking, scholarships, and other practices in the years to come, and will kick off a community engagement process to re-envision community mediation through a DEI lens in the coming year. In addition to publishing the report, MOPC published an article on this research and presented research findings at several conferences in FY2023. The services offered by the funded Centers during FY2023 were both in-person and virtual. Pandemic-related limitations on in-person interactions, whether involving individuals or organizations, eased in FY2023 as courts and community-based locations reopened. Centers continued to rely on remote technology to increase the use of their services. The option of virtual services continued to broaden access to parties by providing flexibility in scheduling and ease of attendance at mediation sessions. In FY2023, CMC Grant Program funding helped Centers to provide mediation services to 5,759 parties. The 72% agreement rate achieved through MA community mediation exceeded the typical agreement rate of 66% for community mediation nationally. Among the parties surveyed, a large majority, 92%, were satisfied with their mediation, while 90% were willing to recommend mediation to others, and 84% preferred mediation to alternative services. A majority of responding parties indicated that the impact of mediation on their relationship was positive. Not only did parties benefit from the CMC Grant Program but the Commonwealth also benefited by the estimated $28 million in cost-savings and leveraged resources calculated as the return on the state’s FY2023 investment of$2.7 million in the CMC Grant Program. This is a return-on-investment ratio of ten dollars leveraged for each dollar invested in community mediation in MA. Increasing state investment would produce an even greater return by maximizing the CMC Grant Program’s support of Center operations and the statewide accessibility of dispute resolution services in response to community feedback and research findings about achieving DEI

Democracy in Practice: Lessons from New England

Political decision-making by elites require some form of civilian participation to regain legitimacy. Increasingly groups of Citizens do not trust in political elites and are increasingly frustrated by their behavior. When faced with the problem of diversity, even established democracies face problems of managing diversity. In the global context differences of opinion, culture, religion etc has defined many of the New Wars (Kaldor 1999). In the United States many non-state and semi-governmental organizations have developed programs to increase public knowledge of the legislature and its decision-making processes. The ultimate purpose of this is to exercise some control over state power. Legislators are also increasingly convening dialogue processes with their constituencies in order to create the best possible problem-solving mechanisms. Before the United States‘ model of public deliberation, many indigenous communities practiced a form of joint problem-solving in their villages throughout the world. But the history of New England is rich with a particular form of public deliberation that has continually demonstrated a capacity to increase civic participation and control of state power. New England Town Meetings are a model for direct democracy. The United States, which is also exporting democracy as a political and economic theory to countries facing violent conflict must improve its process domestically before contemplating its possible replication elsewhere. New England‘s public forums have faced certain challenges that must be overcome. These include theoretical and practical challenges with regard to their overall impact on legitimacy through increased citizen participation in decision-making. Deliberative democracy must prove that citizens can arrive at decisions that can affect the community in a positive way and that these decisions can be implemented by law-makers for the good of the people. While engaged in this process, the public must also grapple with the established forms of decision-making, lack of capacity and interest by its members, elite behavior and other practical and theoretical limitations