How to Become a Family Mediator

The OAFM has been accrediting Ontario’s family mediators since 1998. Accreditation is an important qualification that distinguishes mediators who are suitably trained, qualified and insured from those who may not be. If you want to obtain work with one of Ontario’s court-connected family mediation programs you generally must be accredited.

Benefits of accreditation with OAFM include belonging to the organization which introduced mediation to Ontario over forty (40) years ago and being in fellowship with over 500 mediators from various disciplines.

To begin the process review the Accreditation criteria which outlines the background you require and the courses that must be taken in order to satisfy the educational requirements.

If it appears that you have the necessary background for Accreditation status, your next step would be to join OAFM as an Associate Member.

Your next step is to take the training courses. There are a number of providers of the training courses and we have listed the reliable and known ones that have been approved for many years. The people who provide these courses are members of the OAFM and have been conducting training for many years.

If you have questions about a different course you may have already taken, please contact us. It is possible that other courses, not designed to meet accreditation requirements, will qualify. It depends on the course content, and how much of it complies with the requirements established by the accrediting organizations.

Once you have completed your courses, your final step will be Internship. The internship program is an essential component of accreditation since it provides hands on experience with observation, co-mediation, mediation and the drafting of agreements. Family information and mediation service providers in each court jurisdiction generally provide internships. Some accredited mediators in private practice offer internships. Some individual mediators may agree to allow candidates for accreditation to observe and co-mediate cases with them. Please contact us if you have difficulty securing an internship.

Once you reach this step, you will require insurance. If you require any assistance, please contact us and we will be pleased to assist you.

Applicants must satisfy the following requirements:

Standing

OAFM MEMBERSHIP DUES

Must be an Associate Member in good standing with membership fees paid.

STANDARDS OF PRACTICE

Applicants must endorse and adhere strictly to the code of professional conduct as set out in the OAFM Standards of Practice. No mediator shall venture into an area of practice beyond his/her own area of expertise.

LIABILITY INSURANCE

Each applicant must carry insurance which covers the practice of family mediation, with a minimum of $1,000,000. It is the mediator’s responsibility to satisfy him or herself that his or her coverage applies to family mediation. The OAFM does not audit or verify insurance coverage held by member mediators, and members are solely responsible in the event of claims should the insurance coverage not apply to the practice of family mediation, or apply with limitations to coverage or for any other reason.Application Fee & Submission

Each application requires a processing fee of $450 + HST upon submission.

Applicants are required to compile all information listed in the Accredited Family Mediator (AccFM) designation application in their OAFM Member Portal

Applicants are required to submit a Resume Educational Requirements

Educational Requirements

Applicants are required to provide one of the following:

  1. Proof of a university degree or comprehensive college diploma ; or
  2. Proof of Family Mediation Canada certification; or
  3. Proof of a minimum of ten (10) years of relevant work experience in the human services field.

Fundamentals of Family Mediation Training

Applicants must complete the forty (40) hours of Fundamental Family Mediation Training. The course must be taught by an approved OAFM Accredited Mediator authorized to conduct training or be pre-approved by OAFM by applying to the Accreditation Committee. Please note that only courses taught by OAFM accredited mediators will be reviewed. This course will include a minimum of five (5) hours in each of the following categories:

  1. Conflict intervention models and theories
  2. Psychological issues in separation, divorce, family dynamics, and power imbalances
  3. Issues and needs of children in separation and divorce
  4. Mediation process and techniques
  5. A minimum of 30% role play
  6. An overview of Ontario Family Law including custody, support, asset evaluation and distribution, equalization of net family properties, and taxation as it relates to separation and divorce

Advanced Family Mediation Training

Applicants require twenty one (21) hours of additional Family Mediation skills training which must be delivered in one course that contains a minimum of 50% role play experience. The course must be taught by an approved OAFM Accredited Mediator authorized to conduct training, or be pre-approved by OAFM by applying to the Accreditation Committee. Please note that only courses taught by OAFM accredited mediators will be reviewed.

Domestic Violence Training

Applicants are required to have taken twenty-one (21) hours of education/training for Screening for Family Violence, Abuse and Power Imbalance within two (2) years of their Application. If the training was taken more than two (2) years prior to the application for accreditation, an additional seven (7) hour refreshment course is required.  This refresher can by completed by requesting to take any one day of an available three (3) day training, or any Professional Development Day focussed on Intimate Partner Violence.

The OAFM considers Screening for Family Violence, Abuse and Power Imbalances training to be a critical and essential component of a family mediator’s training. This training must be taken in person, in successive, intact sessions and include role plays.

Courses and training(s) that merely touch on domestic violence for a few hours at different times in the course(s), or the accumulation of a few hours from different courses do not meet this training requirement. Those qualified to provide Training in Family Violence, Abuse and Power Imbalance may, instead of presenting proof of having taken the courses, provide proof of a comparable training offered and delivered by them.

Family Law Training

Applicants must take twenty-one (21) hours of education/training in Family Law from an Accredited Family Mediator approved to do that training. This course may be completed online. Lawyers who are practicing family law at the time of their application are exempted from this requirement.Supervised Practical Experience

The applicant mediator is required to have hands-on mediation work experience supervised by an OAFM Accredited Family Mediator for a minimum of one hundred (100) hours:

  1. The applicant must submit a letter(s) from an Accredited Family Mediator confirming satisfactory supervision of the required one-hundered (100) hours of family mediation work and the completion of five Mediated agreements;
  2. The one hundered (100) hours of supervision shall be a combination of co-mediating, observing, consulting, conducting mediations under supervision and de-briefing.

Work Experience

The Ontario Association for Family Mediation views work and/or volunteer experience to be an essential component for family mediation accreditation. Applicants must show verification of professional experience in counselling, the legal field, psychology, social work, financial professionals, social services, teaching or nursing. Applicants who work with individuals or organizations in conflict or facilitating discussions between individuals or organizations who have adverse interests will be considered.

The number of years of education was considered in conjunction with the definition and the following recommendations were made;

Applicants are required therefore to have the following work experience:

  • Applicants who have a university graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D. must provide proof (i.e. letter from supervisor or peer reference) of a minimum of two (2) years of substantive and relevant work experience.
  • Applicants who have an undergraduate university degree or comprehensive relevant 2 or 3 years college diploma must provide proof (i.e. letter from supervisor or peer reference) of a minimum of four (4) years of substantive and relevant work experience.
  • Applicants without post-secondary education must provide proof (i.e. letter from supervisor or peer reference) of a minimum of six (6) years of substantive and relevant work experience

Agreements to Mediate / Retainer Contracts

One (1) Agreement to Mediate

  • Any information that could identify clients is to be redacted
  • Ensure that the applicant’s role in the mediation process of each case is noted, i.e. whether the applicant was the mediator, co-mediator, intern, etc.
  • Date the Agreement to Mediate was signed

Mediator’s Reports / Memoranda of Understanding

  • Copies of five (5) Final Mediation Reports*
    • All information that may identify clients should be redacted
    • the corresponding Agreement to Mediate must be uploaded
    • Put a case number that matches the corresponding Agreement to Mediate
    • If the reports do not indicate a substantive mediation, the Committee may speak with the applicant to determine more details of the mediation or request a further report(s)

      * or Memorandum of Understanding or Separation Agreement

Professional Insurance Requirements

All Accredited Members (AccFM) and Associate OAFM Members must obtain and maintain professional liability insurance as practising family mediators. A Minimum $1 Million Errors and Omissions (E&O) Insurance covering Family Mediation is required. General insurance will NOT suffice, only E&O insurance will satisfy requirements.

For those seeking insurance or exploring their options, OAFM offers a list of recommended insurance providers.

The OAFM Board takes client confidentiality very seriously. The committee WILL NOT consider contracts or agreements to mediate where client information has not been completely hidden or covered.

Depending on the professional background of the mediator, the concluding report has a variety of titles, e.g. Mediator’s Report, Mediator’s Understanding of Clients Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding, etc.

For the purposes above, a Comprehensive College Education is a college diploma that indicates that the graduate is equipped with knowledge and a skill set sufficient (or necessary) to competently work in the human service field of family breakdown.

Requirements for Established Family Mediators

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