1. Person completing survey: ______________________________________

2. Position of person completing survey: ______________________________

3. Date of survey completion: ______________________________________

4. Name of your agency: _________________________________________

5. Type of agency: ______________________________________________

6. What is the primary source of funding for the VOM program?

Please complete the following information based upon information from the most recent year. Please indicate if the data are not available.

7. How many full-time employees does your VOM program have?

8. How many mediators participate in your VOM program?

9. What is the current annual budget of the VOM program?

10. How many cases were referred to victim-offender mediation during the most recent year?

11. What percentage of referrals are felonies?

What percentage of referrals are misdemeanors?

12. Who is the primary referral source of cases?

13. Is offender participation in the mediation program voluntary?

14. Can offenders back out of the mediation program at any time?

15. Is victim participation in the mediation program voluntary?

16. Can victims back out of the mediation program at any time?

17. At what point(s) in the justice process is victim-offender mediation done?

18. How many of the referred/closed cases during the year were actually mediated?

19. How many mediations resulted in written agreements?

20. How many of the above agreements were successfully completed?

21. What are the three most common offenses that are referred to victim-offender mediation (please list the most common first)?

22. Do you ever conduct mediations for any of the following severely violent crimes?

23. What are the three most important tasks of the mediator(s) during the mediation session?

Mediator Training Information

24. How many hours of classroom training do mediators initially receive?

25. In how many cases, if any, are trainees required to participate with an experienced mediator, as a period of apprenticeship, prior to completing their initial training?

26. Does your training include a specific component on understanding the experience and needs of crime victims?

27. If yes, how much time do you spend on the topic of crime victims?

28. If yes, does this include specific information about the crisis response of victims and possible trauma?

29. If yes, does this include specific information about crisis intervention techniques and local referral sources?

30. If yes, does this include specific information about the rights of crime victims in your State?

31. Does your training of mediators include a guest speaker from a local victim assistance program or agency?

32. Do you invite crime victims to tell their story during the training session for mediators?

33. If yes, are these victims ever former clients who went through mediation?

34. Does your training include a specific component on understanding the experience and needs of offenders?

35. If yes, how much time do you spend on the topic of understanding offenders?

36. Does your training of mediators include a guest speaker from a local program or agency that works with offenders?

37. Are one or more offenders ever invited to tell their story during the training session for mediators?

38. If yes, are these offenders ever former clients who went through mediation?

What other topics are addressed during training?

54. Approximately how many hours of role playing do you do in training?

55. What parts of the process do you role play in training?

56. Are your mediators trained in comediation?

57a. If yes, why do you use comediators? What are the benefits?

57b. If no, why don't you use comediators?

58. What do you find to be the most helpful training techniques? Please be very specific.

59. What do you find to be the least helpful training techniques? Please be very specific.

60. Are there specific handouts, manuals, or videotapes that you have found particularly helpful in training? Please be specific.

61. Do you believe that your victim-offender mediation training is sufficiently sensitive to understanding the experience and needs of crime victims?

62. Do you believe that your victim-offender mediation training is sufficiently sensitive to understanding the experience and needs of offenders?

63. Do you think victim-offender mediators should be required to receive certification of completion of a legislatively mandated number of hours of VOM training?

64. If yes, how many hours of training should be required?

65. If no, how many hours of training would be considered appropriate?

66. Do you think that advanced training should be required before mediators work with cases of severe violence such as sexual assault, attempted homicide, murder?

Case Preparation Information

67. Does someone call the victim and offender prior to the mediation?

68. If yes, who does this?

69. Does someone meet with the victim and offender separately prior to the mediation?

70. If yes, who does this?

Mediation Process Information

71. Where are mediations typically held?

72. Who chooses where the mediation will be held?

73. If you use comediators, how often?

74. Do the victim and offender sit across from each other during the mediation, allowing for direct eye contact?

75. After the opening statement by the mediator, who typically begins telling his or her story first?

76. Who decides which party begins?

Mediation Outcome Information

77. What is the primary goal of your victim-offender mediation program?

78. What are the three most important outcomes of the mediation session for the involved parties?

a. ___________________________________________________

b. ___________________________________________________

c. ___________________________________________________

Comments: ____________________________________________

79. Has your program been evaluated at some level?

If yes, please enclose either a copy of the full evaluation or a summary of it.

80. In what ways do you feel your program is sensitive to the needs of victims?

80a. What could be done to make your program more sensitive to the needs of victims?

81. In what ways do you feel your program is sensitive to the needs of offenders?

81a. Do you have ideas of things that could be done to make your program more sensitive to the needs of offenders?

82. Is there anything else you would like to say about your program, the training of mediators, mediation outcomes, etc.?

83. Do you know of any other victim-offender mediation programs that might not be listed in the national VOMA Directory, particularly newer programs?

84. Are offenders required to admit their guilt prior to participation?

85. Are parents of the juvenile offenders present during the mediation session?

86. Are other participants present during the mediation session?

Who are the other participants?

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Thanks for taking the time to respond to this survey!

Please enclose a copy of your (1) mediator training agenda; (2) recent annual report; (3) program flyer; (4) newsletter; (5) evaluation reports.

The survey and other program materials should be mailed to:

Jean Greenwood, Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking
School of Social Work, University of Minnesota
105 Peters Hall, 1404 Gortner Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
612-624-4923