While a judge cannot order an unwilling party to participate in the mediation component of the program, a judge can order any unwilling party to provide information to the Program’s conflict resolution workers and that a report be provided back to the court within in a specified period of time. Prior to this, a Program representative will provide a letter to the court confirming that the case has been accepted into the Program and the expected timeframe that the Program team can file a report with the court.
At any time while the Program team is collecting and analyzing information relating to the conflict, the process can be moved back into mediation should the non-consenting party change their mind and decide to voluntarily engage in the mediation process and to enter into a consent agreement before matters return to court.