Policy Consensus E-News — December 2004
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Season’s Greetings
From the Board, Staff and Fellows of PCI and the National Policy
Consensus Center!
In this issue:
- Indiana AG expands Advisory Services to include DR
- Kansas Water Office initiates DR training for state agencies
- Check your listing in the State DR Programs Directory!
Indiana Attorney General Creates Special Mediation Unit
 Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter |
Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter has created a special unit within his Office that will focus on mediation. In an effort to avoid costly litigation for governmental entities, Carter’s “Advisory and Alternative Dispute Resolution Services Division” will work to resolve legal disputes before they end up in court.
The new unit of the office is an expansion of the Advisory section, which has traditionally focused on providing legal opinions and serving as general counsel to all state agencies, boards, and commissions. There are six deputy attorneys general trained and certified in civil mediation that will provide DR services to the state.
"Governmental entities should be working together, not against each other," Carter said in a news release announcing the new unit. "This program opens the door for finding common ground and creative resolutions.” He said his office would continue to represent the state's interest in court if resolution is unattainable, “but it would be fiscally responsible to attempt some resolution beforehand.”
Carter was re-elected in November for a second term as Attorney General, and is President-Elect of the National Association for Attorneys General for 2005-2006.
According to John Krauss, Director of State Programs for the Indiana Conflict Resolution Institute (ICRI) at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Carter was the first AG in Indiana’s history to request a third-party neutral to help resolve a case. The 2002 case involved a $6 million inter-governmental dispute between a school corporation, the Indiana State Department of Education, and the State Auditing Agency.
Kansas Water Authority Spurs State Agency DR Trainings
The
Kansas Natural Resources Sub-Cabinet—appointed by Governor Kathleen
Sebelius to encourage collaboration among agencies in managing the state’s
natural resources—sponsored a two-part mediation training for employees
of their agencies. The training was in response to a recommendation of
the Kansas Water Authority to use Alternative Dispute Resolution as a
way to resolve water conflicts throughout Kansas.
The first training in November covered basic mediation skills. The second, in early December, was an advanced training that focused on multi-party dispute mediation, and also included creation of a network of DR practitioners with expertise in identifying and assessing disputes that can be resolved through alternative methods.
The training program was developed and coordinated by Ken Grotewiel, Assistant Director of Kansas’ Water Office, and conducted by the Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution. Art Thompson, DR Coordinator for the state’s Office of Judicial Administration, has played a key consultative role in developing the training and in helping the Water Office launch this initiative. He served on a year-long Water Office committee to design the DR portion of the State Water Plan, and also acquired grant funding for the Water Office to mediate two key water issues.
Update Your DR Program Listing for 2005!
We are updating the PCI Directory of State Dispute Resolution Programs for 2005. The Directory – which includes166 programs in 45 states – is the most comprehensive listing of dispute resolution activities at the state level. Programs are divided into the following categories:
- State Administrative Branch Programs
- State University Programs
- Statewide Coordinating Groups
- State Court Programs
- Attorneys General Offices
- Administrative Law Judges
- Nonprofit Programs
To ensure your dispute resolution program list is current and accurate, please visit the Directory, click on the appropriate state, and review your listing. If you have modifications or additional information that should be included, contact PCI.
Environmental DR Directory
PCI also has posted a separate Directory of state agencies and programs that are using collaborative processes to address environmental issues and conflicts. It was designed to track and improve communication among state environmental agencies and conflict resolution programs, and enable these programs to exchange information about their activities
The listing includes brief descriptions of each state's environmental conflict resolution programs and activities, where we have been able to locate them.
To check your state's listing, or to add one that should be included, please visit the Environmental DR Programs Directory, and contact PCI with corrections or additions.
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