Offered by
The State of Kansas
Tenth Judicial District
Domestic Court Services
588 East Santa Fe, Suite 4000
Olathe, Kansas 66061
Purpose: This internship is designed to provide professionals with a clinical training experience in court ordered domestic mediation to help them develop their own competence and confidence in conducting court ordered domestic mediation.
Clinical Experience: During the course of the internship the intern will have the opportunity to observe and perform all aspects of court ordered domestic mediation including parties' orientation to mediation, data gathering, agenda setting, mediating agreements, preparing written agreements, and closure.
The supervisor will also provide the intern with appropriate preparation and mentoring for each case. This will include some professional mentoring such as
required reading before case assignments,
the development of a basic mission statement during the observation phase of the program, and
comprehensive skill assessment during the program.
Supervision: Domestic Court Services staff who are credentialed by the State of Kansas as court ordered domestic mediators will supervise the intern's clinical experience.
The supervisor will, at all times, be responsible for the conduct of the mediation process, and may, at the supervisor's discretion, intervene at any time including removing the intern from a case.
Clinical Time: Each intern will be involved in at least six domestic cases, with an anticipated 36 hours of minimum client contact time. In addition the intern will receive a minimum of 17 hours of supervision and spend approximately 18 hours in self-study and preparation tasks.
The internship may last up to or exceed one year in length depending on the availability and needs of cases, the supervisor's availability, and the intern's availability. The supervisor will make every effort to schedule cases to provide beneficial movement of the internship and keep the total duration of the intern's commitment to a minimum.
Any constraints on the intern's availability will tend to lengthen the total duration required to complete the internship. The intern will also be expected to keep the duration of their training program to a minimum to insure the quality of their learning experience. If an intern is unable to accommodate their next case in less than two months, their learning will be seriously compromised by the delay. Continuation of their internship will be at the discretion of the supervisor and Director.
Requirements: Candidates will have completed a basic 40-hour domestic court mediation program course or the equivalent, approved by the Director of the Office of Dispute Resolution for the Supreme Court of Kansas before entering into this program.
Due to the Court Services setting’s requirements, the student will need to complete a criminal records check before their clinical experience can be scheduled. The form for this check is found at the end of this contract. This form should be completed and mailed along with the program application to
Adriana Weatherspoon
Johnson County Court Services
588 East Santa Fe, Suite 4000
Olathe, Kansas 66061.
Note: The start of each student’s clinical course will be determined with the student after this criminal records check has been completed and the student has passed this requirement.
Restrictions: Candidates for the Internship who have recently experienced a divorce or paternity action run the risk of being distracted and biased as they work with parents by that experience. They may not be ready to effectively perform the mediation duties they will be expected to provide to families as they progress through the Internship.
The Director and Clinical Supervisor will be responsible to screen candidates for their readiness to assume the duties of an Intern before acceptance into the Internship. It may be recommended that candidates wait at least 12 to 18 months after the actions are completed to begin the Internship.
Evaluation: Ongoing evaluation of the intern's performance will be provided by the supervisor, beginning with the Co-Mediation phase of the internship.
Personal qualities of an effective mediator are
strong people skills,
analytical thinking ability, and
have the presence, competence, and integrity to generate the trust of the parties.
Criteria recommended by the Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution for the Supreme Court of Kansas will be used (see "Supervisor Evaluation Form" in the Manual). Specific standards for the internship are
performance in the Co-Mediation phase must be rated at least "average" in all areas before the intern will be permitted to proceed to the Mediation phase;
performance in the first Mediation phase case must be rated at least "average" in all areas before the intern will be permitted to proceed to the last case; and
in the last Co-Mediation case and in the Mediation phase, written tasks that produce documents for the parents will be completed and the documents delivered to the supervisor within 3 days of the applicable mediation session.
In the event performance at any of these points is less than average, the supervisor will assign the intern to an additional case or take other steps as may be appropriate, and may, after consultation with the Director, including terminating the internship.
In addition, comprehensive performance will be assessed through the use of the Domestic Relations Mediator Skill Observation Form.
Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest: The intern, by entering the internship, accepts the legal and ethical requirement to keep all information learned in mediation sessions confidential. This information cannot be revealed or used, unless readily discoverable through other means, in the future.
The intern will ensure that any notes taken during a case are free of identifying information including names, addresses, unique aspects that would tend to suggest a person's identify, etc.
Interns will be given the name of parties before a case begins. The intern is expected to identify to the supervisor any conflict of interest they may have with a case before they meet or receive information about the family. If an intern discovers what may be a conflict of interest during a case, the intern will immediately inform the supervisor, and the supervisor will determine the appropriate action to be taken, including disclosure to both parties of the potential conflict and the intern's withdrawal from the case if one of the parties request.
It would be ethically prudent for any mediator who is or will be a practicing attorney or employed by a practicing attorney, to avoid mediating cases with past clients, friends, or relatives.
Likewise, it would be ethically prudent for any mediator who is or will be a practicing attorney to avoid taking as clients any party who was part of a mediation case in the program.
The supervisor will be responsible for determining if and when information about child abuse / neglect or an intended crime will be reported to authorities.
Any occasion where confidentiality or conflict of interest are breached during the internship will result in immediate termination of the student.
Certificate: At the end of the internship, the intern will prepare a written self-evaluation (no required length), and will share this evaluation with their supervisor.
The intern will receive a certificate signifying the completion of the internship at this meeting. A descriptive reference letter will also be provided to the student who satisfactorily completes the internship.
Application: Candidates will make requests for the internship through the Director of Domestic Court Services. The Director will review the candidate's background and determine their suitability for the internship.
Application and Release Form
Upon acceptance for the program, the Director will assign the intern to the supervisor who will mentor the clinical aspects of the internship. The supervisor will contact the intern and begin scheduling sessions.
Tuition: The cost of the internship is 700 dollars, payable in advance to the Director, by check to the "Kansas 10th Jud. Dist. Domestic Court Services."
Tuition is not refundable once the internship has begun. Because the students benefit from the program depends on their skill, performance, and commitment, tuition does not guarantee successful completion of the internship process.
Transition: If a student transitions into the Internship from the Co-Mediation Program, the student will enter the Internship
phase with the second co-mediation case format, after all the requirements of the Co-Mediation option are completed.
An additional tuition payment of 350 dollars, payable in advance to the Director, by check to the "Kansas 10th Jud. Dist. Domestic Court Services," is required for this transition.
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