Association for Conflict Resolution Guidelines for Eldercaring Coordination: From Conflict to Collaboration toward the Care and Safety of Elders

• Date: 01 July 2015
• Published date: 01 July 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21124

C R Q, vol. 32, no. 4, Summer 2015 413

© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the Association for Confl ict Resolution

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/crq.21124

MINICOLLOQUY

Association for Con ict Resolution Guidelines

for Eldercaring Coordination: From Con ict to

Collaboration toward the Care and Safety of Elders

Linda Fieldstone

Sue Bronson

 e Association for Confl ict Resolution endorsed the work of its Task

Force on Eldercaring Coordination, composed of twenty-one U.S. and

Canadian organizations that developed a dispute resolution option spe-

cifi cally for high-confl ict cases involving the care and safety of elders.

Currently there are no options for dispute resolution that diff erentiate

between the unique needs of cases involving elders. Using parenting

coordination as a model, Guidelines for Eldercaring Coordination con-

tain an ethical framework for the practices of eldercaring coordinators.

Training protocols, a court pilot project template, and project assess-

ment tool complete the package so that this new application to a promis-

ing fi eld can be applied responsibly and productively.

Courts and participants agree that mediation is a successful process for

many family issues (Emery and Wyer 1987; Johnston 1994; John-

ston and Roseby 1997; Kelly 2000, 2003, 2004; Koch and Lowery 1984;

Pearson and  oennes 1984; Sprenkle and Storm 1983; Taichert 2006).

However, when the focus becomes primarily self-interest and perpetuating

the confl ict itself, rather than the resolution of the issues at hand or the

needs of a family member, another alternative is needed.

To address this issue, on October 5, 2014, the board of directors of the

Association for Confl ict Resolution (ACR) unanimously approved Guide-

lines for Eldercaring Coordinators, posted on the ACR website at http://

acreldersection.weebly.com/, and endorsed by the Association of Family

and Conciliation Courts as of November 6, 2014.  ese guidelines were

414 FIELDSTONE, BRONSON

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crafted by the ACR Task Force on Eldercaring Coordination (henceforth

referred to as the ACR Task Force) composed of representatives of the

following entities (note that “National” here refers to the United States):

Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Canada

American Association for Marriage and Family  erapy

American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging

American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section

American Psychological Association

Association of American Retired Persons

Association of Confl ict Resolution

Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

Elder Justice Coalition

Florida Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys

National Adult Protective Services Association

National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers

National Association of Area Agencies on Aging

National Association of Social Workers

National Center for State Courts

National College of Probate Judges

National Committee on the Prevention of Elder Abuse

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

National Guardianship Association

National Guardianship Network

 ese organizations joined the ACR Task Force because of their com-

monality: each recognized the negative eff ects of confl ict on elders when

decisions are delayed or actions undermined by contentious family mem-

bers, at times putting the elder at risk and at other times ignoring the rights

of the elder. In addition, they acknowledged the need to treat elders and

their families caught in high-confl ict situations more humanely and more

productively within the judicial system.