Fairfield Center *

Fairfield Center engages persons who are experiencing conflict (of all kinds) who must, or want to have difficult conversations, and need structure and a neutral person (a trained and certified mediator) to facilitate that conversation. We help people figure out what will work for them, for a foreseeable future. Our mediators are all certified by Virginia Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Our employees are offered training to become certified mediators. Several of our mediators are volunteers. We also engage student interns from JMU programs, typically from Social Work, Psychology and Justice Studies.

We receive referrals from regional courts to mediate issues of custody, coparenting plans, child and spousal support. We offer a 4-hour online parenting seminar for parents in conflict. We mediate divorces, difficult family conversations (parents and adult children), neighbors, business-consumer and other conflicts in community. We are engaged in two grants. Trust Network 360 is a three-year federal grant to track and collect data regarding incidents of hate in communities nationwide, and to engage communities in educational opportunities to prevent hate crimes and to educate the public in better communication skills to preclude incidents and crimes of hate. The other grant is a police referral program to offer citizens alternatives to litigation when police are called to homes or businesses to address some conflict.

Fairfield is the oldest mediation center in Virginia (established in 1982). Our mediators are all certified through the Virginia Supreme Court office on Alternative Dispute Resolution. We offer year-round training for mediators: both basic training and continuing education opportunities on a calendar. Our trainers are long-time mediators and supervisors.