Conflict Resolution Institute

Description

Founded in 1990, the Conflict Resolution Institute (CRI) provides conflict resolution education, training and direct services to the community of Ventura County. CRI is the only organization in Ventura County to offer mediation skills training. With over 150 volunteer mediators, CRI staffs the Ventura County Superior small claims courts in Ventura and Simi Valley with trained volunteer mediators every week. Litigants can choose to mediate with our volunteers free of charge instead of having their case heard by the judge. The efforts of our small claims volunteers relieve the court of approximately 500 cases each year.

In house,  CRI provides conciliation, mediation and arbitration services and specializes in areas ranging from restorative justice and family disputes to real estate and environmental issues.  Services are offered to the community for free or at a low cost. No one is turned away due to financial hardship.

In the near future, we would like to work with Ventura County schools to (1) provide proactive conflict resolution training to students and school personnel, (2) implement peer mediation programs and (3) mediate school based disputes, keeping students in school and disrupting the school to prison pipeline.