Family Law ADR Program

The Family Law ADR Program is one of seven different ADR programs that are part of San Mateo County’s Multi-Option ADR Project (MAP). MAP is a collaboration of the Court, the Bar, and the Community.

When it first started in 1996, the San Mateo County Bar Association ran the Family Law ADR Program and referred interested parties to a panel of mediators and arbitrators.

As the need for Family Law ADR grew, and we obtained new funding, the program made important changes in February 2000:

• We hired the first program coordinator
• We relocated to the court so consumers could have easier access to ADR services
• We reorganized the program to include on-site mediation and an ADR Advisory Committee.

The current Family Law ADR Coordinator provides mediation services at the court and manages the panel of mediators and arbitrators. Parties or their lawyers can use our ADR services upon request. Judges also make referrals from their calendars.

The program is well received by judges and lawyers and is a model program for other counties that are developing court-based Family Law ADR programs.