| Sally E. Jones, L.C.S.W.-C. Family Mediation Services Sally Jones has over 10 years of experience as a social worker working with families and children. She has received her certification for Basic Mediation with The Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution in Howard County and certification for Child Access and Child Support and Financial and Property with the University of Maryland at Baltimore. Sally Jones has a private mediation practice in Mount Airy, Maryland. She chose the field of mediation because of a desire to work with families in the process of separation and divorce in a collaborative, cooperative, and family focused effort where both parties win, rather than a competitive, self focused, and combative effort where someone loses. Overview Sally's role as mediator focuses on neutrality where she assists the clients in normalizing their emotions that often get in the way of talking about practical issues. Her role is also to educate the clients on the destructiveness to children when put in the middle of fighting parents, when given too much information, and when asked to take sides. Where children are involved, Sally helps the clients recognize that it is possible and necessary to continue to work together as parents even when they cannot live together as husband and wife. Process During the orientation session, the clients are introduced to the mediation process and go over the Agreement to Mediate which covers guidelines, topics to be discussed, fees, and length of sessions. During this first session, Sally goes over issues that may be discussed during mediation such as a parenting plan that involves designation of custody, visitation schedule, holidays, vacations, and special events, medical issues, schooling, and visits by relatives, etc. Clients who mediate property and financial issues will be given a list of budgeting information required to mediate, including marital and non-marital property, assets and debts, retirement funds, and insurances. Goals Sally's goals are to create a setting where people have an opportunity to really listen to each other and to be fully heard, to direct the clients attention towards making workable plans for the future, rather than assigning blame for the past, and to help the clients create the most constructive and fairest agreement possible by maximizing the outcome for all involved. Session Duration Mediation sessions are two hours in length and the number of sessions varies with each family. Fees Effective 3/1/08 Mediation fees are generally split between the two parties and are due at the beginning of each session in the form of cash, check, or money order. Fees for general mediation sessions and parenting plans are $300.00 per session. Fees for property mediation are $400.00 per session. |
Family First Mediation |
