Accredited Professional Mediator Requirements and Application

Initial Requirements:

All persons applying for accreditation must be current members of the Association in good standing and will be required to satisfy the Initial Requirements for Accreditation set forth below:

1. Accredited Professional Mediator (APM) in Divorce and Family Mediation 
1. Education (a minimum of a Masters level degree such as one of the following):

   Juris Doctor (or equivalent law degree)
   Advanced degree in mental health
   Advanced degree in business, finance, or accounting
   CPA
   CFP

   The education requirement may be waived for mediators who demonstrate substantial mediation experience as part of their employment duties when employed as a neutral, such as mediators employed by the government agencies.

    

2. Professional Experience:

    

   Minimum of four years of professional practice in a discipline in which the educational requirement was satisfied.

    

3. Mediation Training:

    

   Completion of an approved divorce and family mediation training course (minimum 40 hours or 18 hours in addition to an approved 40-hour training in another mediation field);

   and,

    

   Training must include at least two hours of training on identification of domestic violence issues.

   Mediators who have completed a training course that does not include information about New Jersey law are expected to show knowledge of New Jersey law through experience practicing law in New Jersey or completion of at least 16 hours of education in the divorce and family law, such as courses by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Rutgers, NJAPM, NJSCPA or other continuing education providers.

    

4. Mediation Experience:

    

   Completion of at least 15 cases and 100 hours of divorce and family mediation, with at least 80% of the cases having been mediated face-to-face with the parties.

   Up to 48 hours of participation in an approved practicum or internship or in co-mediation with an accredited divorce/family mediator may be counted towards the required hours for mediation experience.

    

5. Any of the foregoing requirements may be waived upon demonstration of equivalent experience in divorce and family mediation acceptable to the Accreditation and Standards Committee and the Board of Directors.

    

6. Mediators holding Advanced Practitioner Member Status with the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) will be considered as having satisfied the mediation training and experience requirements upon completion of at least 16 hours of training in New Jersey family and divorce law.

 

2. Accredited Professional Mediator (APM) in Business and Commercial Mediation
   

    

   1. Education (a minimum of a Masters level degree such as one of the following):

      Juris Doctor (or equivalent law degree)
      Advanced degree in business, finance, or accounting
      CPA
      CFP

      Advanced degree in a field of expertise in which the individual will practice mediation (e.g. engineering, architecture, mental health, etc.)
      State licensure in the professional field

       

      The education requirement may be waived for mediators who demonstrate substantial mediation experience as part of their employment duties when primarily employed as a neutral, such as mediators employed by government agencies.

       

   2. Professional Experience:
      Minimum of four years of professional practice in a discipline in which the educational requirement was satisfied.

       

   3. Mediation Training:

       

      Completion of an approved business and commercial mediation training course (minimum 18 hours);

      and,

      Mediators who have completed a training course that does not include information about New Jersey law are expected to show knowledge of New Jersey law through experience practicing law in New Jersey or completion of at least 16 hours of education in the applicable area(s) of New Jersey law, federal law or both, such as courses by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Rutgers, NJAPM, NJSCPA or other continuing education providers.

       

   4. Mediation Experience:

       

      Completion of at least 15 cases and 100 hours of business and commercial mediation, with at least 80% of the cases having been mediated face-to-face with the parties.

      Up to 48 hours of participation in an approved practicum or internship or in co-mediation with an accredited divorce/family mediator may be counted towards the required hours for mediation experience.

       

   5. Any of the foregoing requirements may be waived upon demonstration of equivalent experience in business and commercial mediation acceptable to the Accreditation and Standards Committee and the Board of Directors.

       

3. Procedures:

   The Accreditation and Standards Committee shall develop procedures for reviewing and evaluating applications for accreditation.

   While the review of applications for accreditation is usually on the submissions of the applicant, the Accreditation and Standards Committee may require any applicant to meet with the Committee or a subcommittee to resolve any issues concerning an applicant's credentials and experience. Any applicant may request a meeting with the Committee or the subcommittee reviewing his or her application.

   All submissions to the Accreditation and Standards Committee concerning experience, such as case summaries, memoranda of understanding, property settlement agreements, settlement agreements and the like will be treated as confidential and used only for the accreditation process.

    

4. Continuing Education:

    

   Participation in 10 hours of continuing education every 12 months shall be required of all accredited members in order to maintain their status. At least 5 hours shall be in the field of mediation and the rest in allied fields, such as mental health, law, finance, or conflict resolution.

   Attendance at the NJAPM annual conference usually counts for 6 hours.

   The program portion of an NJAPM general meeting with a speaker or panel usually counts for 1.5 hours.

   Presenting a program at either the annual conference or a general meeting counts for 3 hours.

   Members are responsible for maintaining their own continuing education records and to submit them every year.

    

5. Designation and Title:

   Only those persons currently accredited by the NJAPM as an "Accredited Professional Mediator" are authorized to use that title and/or the initials "APM" following their name, and only for so long as they remain currently accredited by the NJAPM. General members may specify that they are "members" or "general members" of NJAPM, but shall not specify accreditation or pending accreditation. NJAPM does not certify mediators, and no implicit or explicit reference to certification should be associated with NJAPM.

Term:

Accreditation is granted for a period of not more than one full year. Renewal after the first period and for each subsequent one-year period is granted only to members of the Association in good standing and only upon satisfaction of Continuing Education Requirements and approval of the Board of Directors.