Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2013 Year-End Report & Evaluation

During Fiscal Year 2013, the first year of the Massachusetts Community Mediation Center (CMC) Grant Program, 15 community mediation centers across the state were awarded state operating grants. This report documents and evaluates the progress of the CMC Grant Program towards its goal of expanding the use of community mediation as an affordable public service for Massachusetts citizenry. The status of program implementation is analyzed, and the program’s success is assessed through its impact on the stabilization and effectiveness of the funded community mediation centers as measured by, among other things, their delivery of high quality mediation services, efforts to increase public awareness, and cultivation of community roots. The report discusses the human resource situation faced by participating centers and portrays the investment opportunity afforded by the Fiscal Year 2013 budget to reduce conflict and strengthen capacity for dispute resolution in Massachusetts communities. Recommendations for enhancing community impact as well as insuring the long-term sustainability of community mediation throughout the Commonwealth are proposed