JEFFERSON — Foreclosure mediation is just one aspect of the services provided through the Ashtabula County Joint Court Mediation Project.

The service is available to parties filing civil action in both Conneaut and Ashtabula municipal, Eastern and Western county, and Ashtabula County Juvenile, Probate and Common Pleas courts. Special-project money raised through filing fees in the participating courts pays for the program. Its proposed 2010 budget, paid outside the county’s general fund, is just over $167,000.

Program coordinator Wendy S. Hawbaker said the mediation service encompasses all of the courts in the county that contribute to its operation.

Hawbaker and mediation coordinator/mediator Tammy Martin Kosier don’t represent either party. Their role is to listen, raise question, provide structure, explore options and make sure each party has the opportunity to speak and be heard. Kosier says it is a “dignified” way to resolve a legal action.

“Everybody has a right to have their perspective and point of view heard,” Kosier says.

Hawbaker says a mediation trainer once told her that a good mediator must have “intense curiosity” that forces the mediator to dig below the surface of every statement until the truth is unearthed and all parties have a thorough understanding of the issues. She and Kosier say defendants and plaintiffs develop blind spots by being so close to a situation and are likely to have emotional attachments that cloud their viewpoints. It is the mediator’s job to question them so they can “back out of the tunnel” and make a reasonable assessment of the situation.

The sessions are held in privacy, outside of the public view that typically comes with legal proceedings in a courtroom. Information that arises from the sessions is privileged and can’t be used in court. This give and take occurs in a physically safe environment.

“It is the participants who make the decisions,” says Hawbaker, who has been with the Ashtabula County program since its start.

A lawyer, Hawbaker was in private practice before she decided to focus her career exclusively on mediation. She didn’t like the stress and confrontation that came with being a lawyer.

“I love doing what I do,” she says.

Kosier also came from a law background, but she decided to pursue mediation while still in law school.

“I became disgruntled during law school,” she says. “I did not like the adversarial aspect (of practicing law). I felt this was a better fit.”

She joined the Ashtabula County project about three years ago and handles the juvenile court and foreclosure mediation cases.

Mediation is particularly suited to small claims court cases. Hawbaker said the process is an effective, efficient way to handle these disputes, and it offers something the court cannot — a remedy other than a money judgment. For example, a case between a homeowner and roofing contractor that goes to mediation could result in the work being performed to the homeowner’s satisfaction; a court can only award a money judgment that has to be collected.

The process also works well where there is no law to govern a situation, such as the distribution of assets in a relationship outside marriage.

Mediation is used in probate cases where wills and asset distribution are challenged. Even Workers Compensation cases are being handled through mediation.

Common Pleas Court Administrator Jean Whitney said mediation is built into the trial management schedule of every civil case that is filed, and as a result of that option, there are many cases that judges never see.

“Thank God for this program,” Whitney said. “I don’t know how we’d handle all these cases if it were not for mediation.”

The program has three full-time employees plus a corps of volunteer mediators who can be called upon to handle the cases originating in the lower courts. Hawbaker estimates that nearly 200 persons have received the free training, which is offered once or twice a year. After completing the 16-hour course and observing several cases, the volunteers are placed on a call list when assistance is needed.

Hawbaker they have volunteers who have been with the program since it started.