The conflicts we mediate include family and divorce, problems such as parenting plans and visitation issues, workplace and neighborhood conflicts, disputes that are brought to Small Claims Court, struggles with planning departments and other government agencies, restitution between offenders and victims, elder care matters, and misunderstandings between friends, colleagues and associates of all kinds.

Comments from client survey feedback forms filled out after their mediation session:

"Very professional! This session was conducted with a proper balance of firmness, [sensitivity], and direction. Thank you."

"Everyone needs to know about this service before divorce lawyers get involved."

"It was good to have someone else there to try and keep things on track and focused. They were not emotionally involved and that helped clarify arrangements."

"Thank you for giving me an opportunity to gather my emotions and being patient!"

"I came in thinking this was dumb and came to realize it was the best thing we could have done and want more sessions."

"Thank you for keeping me on track."

First, the DRC speaks with all parties involved over the telephone to ensure they are willing to try mediation. A session is scheduled and mediators are assigned to the case, a process which takes about three weeks. At the first mediation, the mediators introduce themselves and briefly talk about the process, their role as neutrals, the parties' roles as good faith negotiators and the need for ground rules of civility. An Agreement to Mediate document is signed. Then each party takes a turn talking about what brought them to mediation and what they hope to see happen. The mediators repeat what they have heard and help the parties make a list of topics they both agree to talk about. Then the negotiating begins. The mediators help keep the conversation on track and moving forward. The parties may choose to have the mediators record their agreements using their own words in a Settlement Agreement document. When signed, agreement documents are intended to be legally binding. Mediation sessions are about two hours in length. Many mediations are concluded in one session while more complicated ones may take two or more sessions to complete and can be scheduled at the end of any session.
Mediation is affordable. Parties are charged separately on a sliding fee based upon the household's combined annual income. For a 2-hour session, low-income households pay $30, mid-income households pay $60, and high-income households pay $120. Households outside of Thurston County pay a 25% surcharge on those fees. Organizations, businesses and agencies pay a sliding scale fee based on their annual income. Entities with an income under $100,000 pay $60/hr, from $100,000-$500,000 pay $100/hr, and over $500,000 pay $150/hr.

There is no charge for telephone services including asking questions, talking to the DRC telephone volunteers, determining if mediation is something worth trying, or scheduling mediation sessions.

Call the DRC office at (360) 956-1155 in Olympia, between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. If the lines are busy, leave a message and someone will call you back. Trained volunteers will listen to you, find out what you have tried, what you would like to have happen, and explore ideas about your next steps. They may also help you determine if it would be helpful for us to call the other person, as a neutral go-between, and ask if they would be interested in using our services to settle the conflict. Many of these conflicts can be resolved using mediation.

A call to the DRC may be the most important call you ever make!