The goals and purposes of the
Maryland Society of Professional Family Mediators are: (i) to
promulgate and enforce stringent standards for family mediators
in the State of Maryland; (ii) to admit as Members of the
Society only those family mediators who are possessed of the
highest degree of education, skill, experience, and overall
competence and who meet the highest ethical standards; (iii) to
promote the public's awareness of family mediation as an
alternative to traditional litigation; (iv) to provide an
information and referral service for those persons seeking to
employ the services of a family mediator; (v) to provide such
assistance as may be requested by the Courts of the State of
Maryland and by other governmental agencies in matters which
relate or pertain to family mediation; (vi) to provide mediation
training to those persons who aspire to become family mediators
or who wish to improve their family mediation skills; (vii) to
implement a mentoring program for family mediators; (viii) to
act as consultants and advisors with respect to family
mediation; and, (ix) to author, publish, sell, and distribute
books, pamphlets, articles, periodicals, circulars, manuals,
reports, journals, curriculums, audio tapes, video tapes, visual
aids, computer programs, and all form and manner of artistic and
literary works which are necessary or desirable to promote and
carry out the purposes of the Society.
Membership
in the Society is limited to those persons who meet the
following qualifications:
(a) A
member must be an attorney-at-law admitted to practice before
the Court of Appeals of Maryland and be in good standing before
that Court.
(b) A
member must have not less than fifteen (15) years experience in
the practice of family law and/or in the practice of family
mediation.
(c) A
member must be engaged in the full time practice of family
mediation both as a private practitioner and on referral from a
Court of general jurisdiction.
(d) A
member must be a Practitioner Member in good standing of the
Academy of Family Mediators and meet or exceed all continuing
training and educational requirements of the Academy.
(e) A
member must have not less than 150 hours of formal training in
mediation skills.
(f) A
member must have participated as a teacher or trainer in the
education of prospective family mediators.
(g) A
member must subscribe to the Standards of Practice for Family
and Divorce Mediation promulgated by the Academy of Family
Mediators, and the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators
promulgated by the American Bar Association.
(h) A
member must be recognized in his or her community as a competent
and professional family mediator.
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