When Child Welfare Cases Stall: The Role of Mediation

This training provides participants information on the use and benefits of the NYS Child Permanency Mediation (CPM) Program. CPM is targeted for Article 10 proceedings and is designed to improve outcomes and timeliness to permanency for children. CPM is a tool for judges and attorneys to utilize for help moving cases along when parties are “stuck” or when parties may benefit from more time together having communication, solution- focused dialogue, and facilitation toward a shared understanding or agreement.

About Suzanne Shafer

Suzanne K. Shafer, MA currently serves as the Assistant Director for the Child Welfare and Family Justice Division in the Office for Justice Initiatives (OJI). She is also the Program Manager for New York State’s Child Welfare Permanency Mediation Program. Ms. Shafer came to OJI with a background in mediation, facilitation, youth programs and casework experience. Prior to joining OJI, Suzanne ran multiple programs at a not-for-profit agency including Child Permanency Mediation, Divorce Mediation, Young Leaders in Training and Adventure programs where she taught team building through experiential learning. Suzanne has a B.S. in psychology and Masters of Arts in Social Policy. She was a foster parent for 7 years where her family primarily fostered teenage boys and she is an adoptive parent. In the Summer of 2023, Ms. Shafer was recognized by the American Bar Association as a Reunification Hero for her work as a Resource Parent.