UMass Boston

MOPC is committed to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within its operations and programing, including breaking down the barriers to greater DEI in community mediation.   

MOPC Organizational DEI 

To carry out its commitment to DEI, MOPC created a multi-year strategic goal for expanding DEI with objectives tied to staff performance plans; established a benefited staff position to spearhead DEI initiatives; adopted an inclusive workplace policy and staff professional development policy; sponsored DEI trainings for staff; incorporate DEI principles in research and evaluation; and engaged in an organizational DEI assessment to generate a strategic plan to guide MOPC in making short-term and long-term changes for dismantling of institutional racism, inequity, and exclusionary practices.  

DEI and Community Mediation 

To promote broader DEI in community mediation, MOPC has been awarding DEI grants to qualified Community Mediation Centers for several years. These grants are supporting center organizational DEI assessments, planning, and strategy implementation. DEI grant-funded initiatives have resulted in centers hiring more bilingual staff/mediators, changing HR policies, compensation structures, and hiring processes, creating advisory committees to incorporate voices of diverse communities into center governance and operations, recruiting more diverse mediators, and sponsoring other center-based activities to promote greater DEI such as training scholarships, materials translation, language interpreters, and community outreach.  

To provide a support system to centers in carrying on the challenging work of integrating DEI values and practices into their organizations and community services, MOPC hosts a collaborative DEI learning community to help centers share resources and access diverse groups outside their organizations.  

MOPC and centers are updating and revisioning the Twelve-Point Model standards for community mediation to help achieve greater diversity among center mediators, parties, and partners, as well as reexamining center volunteering practices and convening community listening sessions to help break down impediments to greater involvement of diverse groups in community mediation. (See Research and Evaluation for DEI research study focused on addressing barriers to DEI in community mediation.)