ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
The highly trained and experienced staff and volunteers at Empowered Pathways offer a variety of dispute resolution services.
Mediation allows people an opportunity to speak and be heard, while a neutral manages the conversation. It helps improve communication, improve relationships, and solve problems. Our professional mediators are trained and certified in accordance with standards set by the New York State Unified Court System, and their services offer real and lasting solutions. These services are free or low-cost.
Family Mediation is designed for people with a permanent relationship. It can address issues like parenting, custody, child support, elder care, and parent-teen conflict.
Community Mediation is available to a broad spectrum of people and organizations, including workplaces, small claims court, schools, neighbors, landlords, tenants, and businesses.

FAMILY MEDIATION
Custody Visitation
Intended to allow parents to build a self-determined plan for custody and/or visitation rights for their child(ren). For parents struggling with issues around custody and visitation rights.
Rather than fighting each other in open court, parents (and other family members) can sit down together and describe exactly what it is that they need to make an arrangement work, including issues of Custody and Visitation. This creates agreements that work better, last longer, and have much less of a negative impact on all involved parties.
CCAP – Child Custody Advocacy Program
Our Child Custody Advocate receives referral of complex child custody cases from the Family Court.
Our Advocate visits the homes of all parties involved in the custody dispute, interviews parents, grandparents, and other interested parties, including children who are age-appropriate.
The home is evaluated for health and safety issues, as well as appropriateness for children. The Advocate then provides a detailed report for the court. CCAP helps Family Court Judges make decisions that are in the best interest of the children.

LANDLORD AND TENANT MEDIATION
Landlord and Tenant Disputes
Are you behind on rent due to Covid 19 or other issues? Are you a landlord who depends on rental income for your income and not being paid? Are there issues between neighbors in an apartment building that are causing concern for other tenants? Are you willing to put in a “good faith” effort to resolve the dispute and improve the relationship with your landlord or tenant or neighbors? Empowered Pathways is available for assistance in all these scenarios and many more.
Empowered Pathways provides a variety of Alternative Dispute Resolution Services including Landlord and Tenant mediation. Empowered Pathways’ mediators (also called neutrals) have been trained by Unified Court System Certified trainers and are required to complete a six-month apprenticeship in which they observe and learn from experienced mediators before receiving their final certification.
Empowered Pathways can mediate a variety of Landlord and Tenant disputes including unpaid rent, disputes over security deposits, property damage, noise disturbances, and disputes between tenants. If the parties are represented by counsel, the attorneys are permitted to be present during the mediation process. Once a mediation agreement is reached, the parties can choose to make the agreement legally binding by having it submitted to the appropriate court.

SMALL CLAIMS CASES
Small Claims
Intended to allow parties involved in Small Claims proceedings to settle more quickly and with greater say in the process. Mediation can help find a resolution that the parties themselves choose.
These agreements are enforceable by the referring court, happen quickly, and offer a flexibility and satisfaction unique to the mediation process. The process is strictly voluntary, and offers both claimants and respondents an option they might not previously have been aware of.

FACILITATION SERVICES
Conflict Coaching
Intended to help an individual to build resilience and conflict resolution skills.
A trained coach meets with the individual one-on-one and discusses common sources of conflict. The coach and individual work together and develop plans and coping skills for conflicts. This service consists of two sessions, two hours each, that are structured to help individuals understand their conflict from their perspective and the perspective of the other parties in involved in the conflict. At the conclusion of the two sessions, the individual will have a constructive plan to deal with their current conflict and future conflicts.