The RSI team is excited to announce the launch of Court ADR Across the US, a comprehensive national guide to court alternative dispute resolution, on CourtADR.org, RSI’s national court ADR resource center. The searchable guide features court rules, statutes, studies and other resources for all 50 states and Washington, DC, organized in an easy-to-access format.
Important facts about this new service:
1. It provides a state-by-state view of state and federal court ADR.
2. It is searchable across states.
3. It is comprehensive.
Court ADR Across the US is a unique free service, as is the host site CourtADR.org. It is the only resource dedicated to collecting and making available as much information about court ADR as is available. By creating and maintaining a central location for reliable, quality information about court ADR programs from each court system in the country, RSI aims to empower court administrators, judges, attorneys and neutrals to use that information to make more effective and efficient use of ADR.
Court ADR Across the US dismantles the current barriers to information that people working in court ADR face and supports the growth of quality programs. It is the antidote to having to reinvent the wheel when creating or updating court ADR programs.
State-by-State
For each state, Court ADR Across the US organizes information on five tabs.
Summary: identifies key factors in state and federal ADR court programs available in the state. This includes what provides the authority for court ADR, whether there is a state office of court ADR, what ADR processes are used in what types of cases, the environment for court ADR (such as mediator standards or ethical guidelines), and what types of funding support court ADR.
Court Rules: provides abstracts of, and direct links to, rules from federal and state courts. Rules can be filtered by case type (e.g., foreclosure, divorce), process type (e.g., mediation, early neutral evaluation), whether the visitor is seeking state or federal court information, and whether at the trial, appellate or supreme court level.
Statutes: provides abstracts of, and direct links to, federal and state statutes effecting court ADR in the state.
Resources: includes a wide variety of resources, including court forms, program evaluations and journal articles. Resources can be filtered by case type (e.g., foreclosure, divorce), process type (e.g., mediation, early neutral evaluation), resource type, (e.g. article, book, web site), whether the visitor is seeking state or federal court information, and whether at the trial, appellate or supreme court level.
Contacts: lists state court ADR offices, community mediation organizations, and other ADR-related organizations.
Search Across States
Visitors also can search the entire guide – all the states at once – through the Court ADR Across the US introductory page. This approach allows visitors to search for entries by keyword, resource type (e.g., court rule, statute, program, journal article), case type (e.g., personal injury, trademark), ADR process (e.g., mediation, nonbinding arbitration), topics covered (e.g., agreements, certification/quality, cultural awareness, judicial mediation, theory, timing of referral), state or federal court, court level (trial, appellate, supreme), and state.
For example, a visitor could search for court rules concerning child custody mediation. The results page would list the court rules according to state, along with direct links to brief descriptions of each rule, as well as the actual rules when they are available online.
Comprehensive and Reliable
RSI started the database on which Court ADR Across the US is based in 1999 and made it available online in 2001. Since then, we have been dedicated to collecting information as it becomes available and keeping CourtADR.org up to date. We will continue to maintain this service, providing courts with the latest information to support their efforts to provide quality ADR services.
By creating a central location for reliable, quality information about court ADR programs around the country, RSI aims to empower courts to use that information to make more effective and efficient use of court ADR. With limited court budgets and staff time to research the ever-increasing amount of information about court ADR, CourtADR.org and Court ADR Across the US are increasingly valuable.
How CourtADR Across the U.S. Was Created
As a new section of CourtADR.org, Court ADR Across the US significantly expands CourtADR.org, which already features a searchable research library of over 4,000 abstracted resources related to court ADR. Court ADR Across the US presents state-specific information in a new, accessible format.
The JAMS Foundation provided funding to RSI to create Court ADR Across the US. The JAMS Foundation has been a longtime supporter of court ADR, and RSI is grateful for their assistance all along the way. If you would like to make a contribution to support the future of this service, you can go to AboutRSI.org, or send your tax-deductible contribution to RSI at 11 East Adams St., Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60603. If you would like to provide feedback on Court ADR Across the US, please email Info@aboutrsi.org. We are very proud of this new service, and would love to hear from you.
Tags: court programs, lessons learned
Congratulations! This is a huge undertaking and will benefit many.
Congrats! What an amazing resource you’ve created!
[…] For more information check out Susan’s blog post about the new guide at the RSI site: http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2010/evaluation/rsi-launches-state-by-state-guide-to-court-adr/ […]
If this site focuses on state court programs, the reference to bankruptcy should be omitted.
@Michelle – The site focuses on state and federal court programs. We simply organize the information according to state to make it easier for visitors to find the resources they need.