NCJ Number
74523
Journal
Evaluation Review Volume: 4 Issue: 6 Dated: (December 1980) Pages: 739-768
Date Published
1980
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This article reports the results of an outcome evaluation of the Orange County Bar Assoication's Citizen Dispute Settlement Project in Florida.
Abstract
Citizen dispute processing programs are becoming more common in the United States as an alternative to expensive, time-consuming litigation in court. Although no empirical evidence has been presented to date on the effectiveness of this type of mediation program, policymakers are calling for an increase in the number of such programs. The project in Orange County was designed to provide impartial hearings for residents of the county who have complaints involving ordinance violations and misdemeanors. The project was administered through the Orange County Bar Association via an executive board. The majority of the staff were volunteer attorneys from the bar association who served as hearings officers. The primary objectives of the program evaluation were to monitor the clients and their complaints and to measure the effectiveness of the hearings. The impact of the project on the local criminal justice system was also analyzed. A client intake form was administered to all complainants by project personnel. To assess the effectiveness of the hearings, ratings were made at the conclusion of all the hearings, and random sample of complainant-respondent pairs were contracted for a followup approximately weeks after the hearing. Evaluation results indicated that complainants, respondents, and hearing officers were generally satisfied with the hearings. Complainant satisfaction increased after 3 weeks, while respondent satisfaction stayed at the original high level. A quasi-experimental comparison of hearing and nonhearing groups of disputants indicated that mediation programs of this type may not be particularly effective for longterm solutions of underlying problems. Such projects give disputants a chance, however, to reestablish communication and to spend time thinking about a problem. Thus, these dispute settlement projects may be a limited but genuine source of relief for citizens who have rejected the official, expensive, and intimidating court system. Notes and 30 references are included.