In partnership with Community Mediation Maryland, we offer a free 45-hour mediation training to volunteers from DC who commit to volunteering with CMDC as a mediator, outreach liaison, or providing administrative support for at least one year following the training. We arrange transportation, food, and childcare for these trainings to increase their accessibility. The training is followed by a mediation apprenticeship, and often Advanced Mediation Trainings.

CMDC uses a ten-point mediation model. We strive to:

1. Train community members who reflect the community’s diversity with regard to age, race, gender, ethnicity, income and education to serve as volunteer mediators.
2. Provide mediation services at no cost or on a sliding scale.
3. Hold mediations in neighborhoods where disputes occur.
4. Schedule mediations at a time and place convenient to the participants.
5. Encourage early use of mediation to prevent violence/reduce the need for court intervention, and provide mediation at any stage in a dispute.
6. Mediate community-based disputes that come from referral sources including self-referrals, police, courts, community organizations, civic groups, religious institutions, government agencies and others.
7. Educate community members about conflict resolution and mediation.
8. Maintain high quality mediators by providing intensive, skills-based training, apprenticeships, continuing education and ongoing evaluation of volunteer mediators.
9. Work with the community in governing community mediation programs in a manner that is based on collaborative problem solving among staff, volunteers and community members.
10. Provide mediation, education, and other conflict resolution processes to community members who reflect the community's diversity.