Rule 905 Mediation

(a) Each judicial circuit shall establish a program to provide mediation for cases involving the custody or allocation of parental responsibilities of a child or relocation of a child or visitation or parenting time issues (whether or not the parties have been married). In addition to the minimum requirements set forth in subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 99, local circuit court rules for mediation in child custody, allocation of parental responsibilities, relocation, visitation, and parenting time cases shall address: (i) mandatory training for mediators; (ii) limitation of the mediation program to child custody, allocation of parental responsibilities, relocation, visitation, and parenting time issues; (iii) (unless otherwise provided for in this article) standards to determine which child custody, allocation of parental responsibilities, relocation, visitation, and parenting time issues should be referred to mediation and the time for referral; and (iv) excuse from referral to mediation if the court determines an impediment to mediation exists. The immunity and approval requirements of subparagraph (f)(1) of Rule 99 shall apply to mediation programs for child custody, allocation of parental responsibilities, relocation, visitation, and parenting time matters.

(b) Each judicial circuit shall establish a program to provide mediation for dissolution of marriage and paternity cases involving the custody, allocation of parental responsibilities of a child, relocation of a child, visitation or parenting time issues (whether or not the parties have been married). In addition to the minimum requirements set forth in subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 99, local circuit court rules for mediation in dissolution of marriage and paternity cases shall address: (i) mandatory expertise requirements of a mediator; (ii) mandatory training for mediators; (iii) limitation of the mediation program to child custody, allocation of parental responsibilities, relocation, visitation, and parenting time issues; and (iv) referral of child custody, allocation of parental responsibilities, relocation, visitation, and parenting time issues to mediation, pursuant to Rule 923(a)(3), unless the court determines an impediment to mediation exists.

(c) The immunity and approval requirements of subparagraph (f)(1) of Rule 99 shall apply to mediation programs for child custody, allocation of parental responsibilities, relocation, visitation, and parenting time matters.

(d) Any program established under paragraph (a) or (b) of this rule may use remote video conferencing in accordance with Illinois Supreme Court Rule 45 and the Illinois Supreme Court Policy on Remote Court Appearances to improve accessibility for litigants and to increase the pool of mediators available, if needed.

(e) In cases where a litigant needs spoken language interpretation, sign language interpretation, or other language or communication assistance, the court shall provide, at no cost to the individual, a qualified interpreter or other resources, including Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services, for meaningful language and communication access for all the mediation sessions, consistent with the Supreme Court Language Access Policy and Supreme Court of Illinois Policy on Access for People with Disabilities. Interpreters shall meet the court’s standards for accuracy, impartiality, and confidentiality. The court may use interpreters who are available from another county or state and may use remote video conferencing to ensure that meaningful language and communication access is provided at every mediation session.

(f) Every judicial circuit shall file a quarterly report with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts setting out the number of custody, allocation of parental responsibilities, visitation, parenting time, and relocation cases referred to mediation, the number of custody, allocation of parental responsibilities, visitation, parenting time, and relocation cases where mediation was referred but did not proceed, the number of cases referred on a pro bono basis, the number of cases where mediation proceeded remotely for any of the case participants who appeared remotely, the number of cases where there was a full settlement, the number of cases where there was a partial settlement, and the percentage of cases wherein the parties were satisfied or unsatisfied with the process. Every judicial circuit shall require the completion of a mediation report filled out by a mediator on every custody, allocation of parental responsibilities, visitation, parenting time, and relocation case referred to mediation as well as the parties’ evaluation of the mediation on forms prescribed by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts. The information contained in the mediator and parties’ evaluation reports shall remain confidential and shall only be utilized for administrative and statistical purposes as well as the court’s review of the efficacy of the mediation program.

(g) In addition to meeting the requirements of Rule 905(a), (b), and (c), local circuit rules may also impose other requirements as deemed necessary by the individual circuits.