August 2022 Newsletter

Thursday, August 4, 2022 - 5:00pm

August 2022 Newsletter

Message From Our President/CEO

Our county directors have recently been discussing how we can expand our partnerships in the eight counties we serve. One of the themes we talked about was the importance of relationships. Strong relationships mean that people know who we are, what we do, and how we can help our communities meet unmet needs. Strong relationships provide a foundation for partnerships that build on our mutual interests and are greater than the sum of our parts.

Partnerships are not about fixing, rescuing, or coming in to solve problems. They are about identifying mutual interests and working together to tackle issues in a way that benefits all involved.

At the Center, we are committed to building strong relationships as we work to partner with our constituents. One of the ways we are working towards this goal is by sharing information about the programs and services we offer. Many people think of mediation for custody and visitation or divorce cases as our primary focus, but did you know the Center offers a wide range of programs and services?

How many of these are you familiar with?

ACCES-VR

Agricultural Mediation

Anger Management Program

Commercial Arbitration

Community Mediation

Conflict Coaching

Conflict Skills Training

Dialogue Facilitation

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Training

Early Intervention Mediation

Lemon Law Hearings

Peer Mediation Training and Implementation

Restorative Practices Training and Implementation

Restorative Justice

Special Education Mediation

Surrogate Decision-Making Committee (SDMC)

I encourage you to read more about our programs on our website: www.cdsadr.org. Or better yet, contact your local county office to set up a discovery meeting so we can get to know one another and learn how we can work together to build more peaceful communities.

In peace,

Shira May

President/CEO

Celebrating our active volunteer mediators who have served our communities for 15+ years:

Cindy Allen

Mary Auefleger

Warren Cole

William Daniels

Geraldine Gobeli

Earl Greene

Dwight Harrienger

Robert Hauser

Catherine Judkins

Jack Kellogg

Cindy Kyle

Priscilla Minster

William Powell

Laura Schulz

Sandra Simon

Bernadette Tracy

William VanBuskirk

Sherry Walker-Cowart

Mary Williamson

Meet Our Newest Cohort of

Custody & Visitation Mediation Apprentices

Nine participants, including Center staff and volunteers, completed our 16-hour Custody & Visitation Mediation Training, taught by certified trainer and Director of Monroe County, Donna Durbin.

For more information about our C&V Mediation Training, contact Donna Durbin: ddurbin@cdsadr.org

Partnering With Schools on their

Restorative Practices Journey

In partnership with NYS Education Department, the Office of ADR is providing a series of free trainings, coaching, and webinars to support schools in implementing restorative practices, an approach rooted in Indigenous practices that are used to build community, strengthen relationships, and repair harm.

Last week Center staff Kim Reisch and Clayton Lyons co-facilitated an 18 hour virtual training on Facilitating Community Building Circles with educators from across the region.

As with all systems change, implementing restorative practices typically takes 3-5 years for staff and students to fully buy-in, put the tools into practice, and see tangible results. Educators are encouraged to follow up with their local organizations to make plans for continuing professional development, coaching, and assessment.

For more information about school-based programs, contact Ronalyn Pollack: rpollack@cdsadr.org

An Interview with Ronalyn (Ronnie) Pollack, Director of Training and Community Engagement

Ronalyn Pollack, known as Ronnie to her colleagues, is dedicated to speaking up for her community.

Ronnie is Mississaugua the Credit First Nation, and Six Nations of the Grand River. She cites her ancestors as her inspiration.

"My grandmother being a residential school survivor - I call her a thriver - she wasn't able to pass on her culture to the next generation," Ronnie explains. "My mother encouraged me to embrace my indigeneity in a world where I have the freedom and capacity to do that."

As co-chair of the Indigenous Peoples' Day Committee, she was instrumental in achieving a unanimous vote by Rochester's City Council to pass a resolution to make the 2nd Monday of October Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Ronnie has worked in the not-for-profit arena for over 25 years, mostly with at-risk youth and families. She has also had a health coaching business, which has transformed into forgiveness coaching, a topic she is passionate about.

"I see forgiveness and the Seven Generations principle as working together. Forgiveness impacts the next generation and the legacy you're creating and passing on."

She was drawn to her new role at the Center because of the opportunity to create more peaceful communities, and specifically with restorative practices. As Ronnie says, "The model's roots coming from Indigenous cultures, it's such a natural fit."

Ronnie recently joined the Board of Directors at Partners in Restorative Initiatives (PiRI), a Rochester-based organization that specializes in training and facilitation of restorative practices. Ronnie has been involved in an ongoing discussion about partnership between PiRI and the Center. She remarks, "I keep thinking of that phrase 'Wonder Twin Powers, Activate!' I am excited that we are coming together and the impact that this will bring to the community."

Ronnie can be reached at rpollck@cdsadr.org

A Transition for the Monroe County

Restitution Program

For nearly 20 years, the Center's Monroe County office has received referrals from the courts to manage restitution cases, in which one party is ordered to pay financial compensation to another party for the losses or injuries incurred as a result of a criminal offense. Dorethea Jackson-Smith, Executive/Program Assistant, has been managing the Monroe County restitution program since 2011. The Center's services included taking referrals, managing case data, processing payments, and communicating with the courts. In this role, Dorethea has been providing our court partners and clients with an important service in fulfillment of their responsibilities to the community.

This spring, the Center began discussions with the 7th Judicial District's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) coordinator, Amy DiFranco, about the possibility of transitioning out of providing restitution services, due to the fact that the Center's expenses in terms of postage costs and staff time were outweighing our revenue. We had also conferred with our liaisons at the state office of ADR, who agreed with our proposal to transition away from this program in order to focus our resources on more direct conflict resolution services.

A few weeks later, the Center was invited to a discussion hosted by the Monroe County Magistrates Association to talk about the restitution program. At that time, Monroe County Probation Supervisor David Rogers informed the group that the Probation Department was already set up to handle restitution cases, and the judges were in agreement to begin referring cases to them. On July 20th, we received word that the process to have Probation handle all new restitution cases in Monroe County was in place. Dorethea has notified our court partners of the change. She will continue to manage existing cases until they are closed.

It is with gratitude that we honor Dorethea's work managing the restitution program, in collaboration with court clerks from Monroe County town, village, city, and county courts.

For more information, contact Dorethea Jackson-Smith at djackson@cdsadr.org

Continuing Our Work in the Urban League's "Interrupt Racism" Program

This month’s Interrupt Racism focus is on centering Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) voices. Examining this goal offers another lens through which to understand our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) efforts. Diversity, including the personal, social, and professional benefits of working in a diverse culture, is the goal. The challenge is acknowledging and addressing the aspects of workplace culture that stand in the way of diversity.

Implicit bias can be hard to identify and easy to dismiss. This is why, at least in part, it often goes unaddressed. Furthermore, many hallmarks of “professionalism” (i.e., perfectionism, a sense of urgency, quantity over quality, individualism, objectivity) are derived from a specifically white normative point of view. These expectations can be damaging to all people, but particularly so for anyone from cultures that emphasize different values.

Centering BIPOC voices requires making space for not only the voice but the

expectations and points of view that come with it. Loosening our grip on defining how the organization should operate is a necessary part of the work. This requires recognizing these hallmarks of “professionalism” as a perspective and not as fact. Further, it requires acknowledging that work cultures based on these norms favor white people and create barriers for BIPOC success.

We have re-shared Tema Okun’s breakdown of white supremacy culture for your review. To access, please click on the link below.

https://www.dismantlingracism.org/uploads/4/3/5/7/43579015/okun_-_white_sup_culture.pdf

For more information, contact Matt Cole: mcole@cdsadr.org or Shira May: smay@cdsadr.org

Agency Updates

Welcome to our new staff:

Lateisha Thompson, Case Manager, Monroe County
Subrata Paul, Case Manager, Cayuga County

Congratulations to staff in new roles:

Stace Pierce, Director, Livingston County

And a fond farewell to outgoing staff:

Diana Ray, Director, Livingston County
Kim Patch, Case Manager, Cayuga County

Thank you for your service to our communities!

Job Openings

Case Manager, Livingston County (full-time). Contact Kim Stowell, kstowell@cdsadr.org

Case Manager and ADR Provider (contractor, 5 hours/week), Family Empowerment Project (FEP) in collaboration with Monroe County FACT. Contact Ronalyn Pollack: rpollack@cdsadr.org