The Park Forest Mediation Task Force was organized in 1988 in an attempt to serve as an adjunct to the efforts of local law enforcement. Park Forest, a residential community in southern Cook County, has a service oriented police department committed to proactive intervention in matters of dispute resolution between its residents. This project was undertaken as a first line of intervention for police officers who are called to problems between residents that are not criminal matters. The project enables the police department to focus its proactive efforts in the area of crime prevention and leaves matters of dispute resolution to the Mediation Task Force. There has resulted a strong relationship between the municipal government and the community members themselves as mediation becomes accepted as non-authoritative assistance outside the formal organization of the police department.

The advantages of a mediation task force are several. First, the time and efforts of the police department are better spent in areas that are of greater interest to the community at large. Second, the Mediation Task Force Members are given specific training in matters of dispute resolution. Third, these members are community residents who do not carry the authority relationships that are associated with members of the law enforcement community.

In theory, a broadly defined program of mediation would allow various organizations within the community to respond quickly and proactively to problems of disputes as they occur. The process of referral for mediation services will be enhanced greatly by site-based mediators who are inherently more familiar with problems of the constituency of their organizations. In addition, the advantage of local mediation units in the community will serve as an effective vehicle by which the recruitment of mediators can be more effectively accomplished. Finally, the location of these mediation sites within the community minimizes the perception of authority by the disputants.

The implementation of a mediation program requires a reasonable amount of advance planning and preparation. We believe that the most important prerequisite to the establishment of this program is to obtain the support of the municipal government. A program of mediation is likely to be best understood and accepted from the perspective of its association with law enforcement. Police officers in many small to medium sized communities are beset with problems of domestic relations, neighbor disputes, and general nuisance activity that do not properly fall within the domain of formal law enforcement activities. As a result, many police departments are very receptive to any proposal which alleviates these problems and provides the line officer with a referral source for problems of this nature.

Second, the municipal government needs to be appraised of the public relations value of a program of mediation as well as the opportunity it provides for an effective liaison relationship between government and its residents. This effort should be directed toward involvement of agencies, schools, and organizations within the community. Ideally, it is best to obtain representation from as many organizations as possible to attend an orientation program or information session at the village to appraise these groups of a master plan for mediation within the community. This type of meeting also serves to develop relationships to assist in the recruitment of mediators. Finally, a component of preparation should involve the development of a training component and procedures for referral to mediators.

A significant portion of the training provided to the village of Park Forest has been through the Department of Justice. The second aspect of this component involves the development of a procedure by which refer-

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rals for mediation might be processed. Initially, this will probably require a working agreement between the police department and an employee of the village government. Later, the community members themselves may be encouraged to make referrals to the mediation task force.

When the details of the training component were worked out, a weekend training session was held. The main approach to instructing mediators in this process involved role playing activities. Upon completion of the training activities, the development of policies and procedures specific to the Park Forest Task Force was undertaken. Much of this information was borrowed from Evanston and Sauk Village, the two suburban Chicago area municipalities currently using mediation.

Finally, in March, 1989, the mediation task force officially opened its doors for business. This process started slowly and experienced initial problems with a number of parties who refused the offer of mediation. Those who consented to mediation apparently worked agreements that were acceptable to both sides. An additional activity, somewhat unexpected for the task force, involved a significant amount of telephone time that was spent attempting to mediate disputes of community members who declined the offer of face to face mediation. As a result, the members of the Task Force became involved in the process of problem solving with residents by phone.

We have found that a mediation program has significant potential to restructure some assumptions about the role of government. There is a concern held by many that our society has become too dependent upon government to resolve too many problems. This project, we believe, has demonstrated that empowering people in the community has potential to reverse this trend which results in a citizenry overly dependent on local government. Mediation redefines the proper focus of problem solving by holding those in dispute responsible for resolving their difference.

The future course of mediation for the village of Park Forest will attempt to involve more community awareness, developing a program of ongoing training for the mediators, and a continuing increase in their awareness of resources available in the community. This limited experience strongly suggests that the potential of a mediation component in any community may benefit the community in a variety of ways that make it a valuable asset to developing better community morale. •

Biographies
Anthony Moriarty is Assistant Principal at Rich East High School in Park Forest, Illinois. In this position he is responsible for discipline, attendance, guidance, scheduling, security, and mediation programs. In addition, he is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Matteson, and Palos Heights, Illinois. He holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana.

Susan Bergin, a resident of Park Forest, is Director of Public Relations for Waste Systems Corporation in Crestwood, Illinois. In addition to organizing and directing the Park Forest Mediation Task Force, she has been responsible for organizing the Volunteer Grandparent Program for the State of California. She holds a Master of Arts Degree and a Multi-handicapped and Learning Disability Teaching Certificate in the State of California.

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