Family Justice Services are a group of programs and services offered by Alberta Justice in collaboration with the courts of Alberta. One of the services offered is Family Mediation.

Family Mediation Services

Family mediation is an interest based process that provides parents with an opportunity to meet with an experienced mediator who is neutral with regard to outcome. In mediation, parents or others involved in raising children work together with a trained mediator to work out parenting arrangements and resolve other issues related to parents living apart.

For more information, visit the Family Justice Services - Mediation Services web page.

Under section 3.1 (1) of the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act, a child, a guardian, or a person who has a significant connection to a child may request mediation in any instance where they disagree with a decision made by the director relating to the child . The process, accessed through the Alberta Children’s Services Provincial Mediation Program, in partnership with Alberta Justice, has consistently led to positive outcomes for all including earlier resolution of issues on behalf of children.

Alberta Courts - Family Justice Services - Child Intervention Mediation

The Dispute Resolution Officer (DRO) Project is a project operating in Calgary only. The project encourages those wanting to apply for child support or to vary child support to meet with a senior family law lawyer before going to court. The lawyers who are acting as DRO's hope to help parties reach agreement on issues without having to appear in front of a judge.

An appointment with the DRO is mandatory for all child support applications and variation applications in Calgary Court of Queen's Bench, regardless of whether or not parties are represented by counsel. Only provisional applications under the Divorce Act are automatically exempt. Any other reason for exemption must be granted by a judge.

The Child Support Resolution (CSR) Project is available only in the Judicial District of Edmonton and is operated out of the Edmonton Family Law Information Centre. Child Support Resolution meetings are mandatory for people who do not have a lawyer and who want to initiate an interim child support application under the Divorce Act or vary a child support order previously granted in the Court of Queen’s Bench. At the child Support Resolution meeting, the parties (payor and recipient of child support) meet with a CSR Officer who is a “family law” lawyer. The CSR Officer’s job is to try to assist the parties in reaching an agreement on their child support issue so that a court application is not required.

The Civil Mediation Program – Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta is a pilot project being offered in Edmonton and Lethbridge. The goal of the program is to help parties involved in lawsuits resolve their cases quickly and in a way that meets their needs and goals.

Mediation in the Court of Queen’s Bench is voluntary and parties must select and pay for the services of a mediator. A roster of qualified mediators is available to interested parties.

In the Provincial Court Civil Mediation Program all civil cases in Provincial Court are reviewed to see if mediation could help resolve them. Appropriate cases are selected for mediation. If selected, mediation is mandatory. One of the parties may also request mediation for their civil case. Approximately 65 % of parties attending mediation are able to resolve their civil dispute. Mediation is currently offered in Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, and Grande Prairie.