If you are interested in becoming a South Carolina Supreme Court Certified Family Court Mediator, the first step is to complete the Family Court Mediator Training Program sponsored by the South Carolina Bar.  This 40 hour program has been approved by the Commission on ADR and meets all the requirements of ADR Rule 20(b).

This course is not a classroom lecture but is a highly interactive program that will equip you with all the training and skills you will need to enter into the practice of mediation.

The two presenters, Bruce M. Poore and Joy D. Bennett, will provide you with an opportunity to learn new skills and to improve your existing skills to get you off to a great start.

The program materials have been designed to cover all the relevant areas you need to be familiar with and understand, including but not limited to: mediation process; the role of the mediator; how to successfully organize a mediation conference; mediation skills; the nature of conflict and its effect on litigants; court procedures; substantive law; ethics; Online Dispute Resolution; and agreement writing.

This is not your traditional sit and take notes type of program.  There is extensive in-class participation in all parts of a mediation conference that will allow you to experience first hand what it is like to work as a mediator.

This is the best place to start your entry into Family Court mediation.

NOTE: TRAINING IS NOT THE SAME AS CERTIFICATION
Anyone may take these classes to become a well-trained mediator. However, training does not guarantee certification by the S.C. Board of Arbitrator & Mediator Certification; you must also be eligible for certification, of which training is only one requirement. For all Board certification requirements, please read closely court-annexed ADR Rule 19, available at www.scbar.org/adr, along with applications, roster, FAQs and much more. 

About the Trainers
Bruce M. Poore graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.A. in Philosophy in 1974 and from the University of South Carolina School of Law with a J.D. in 1977. 
From 1977 to 1979 Mr. Poore served as a law clerk to Associate Justice George T. Gregory, Jr. and during those two years he received a priceless education from a wonderful mentor. After completing his clerkship with Judge Gregory, he returned home to York County. Mr. Poore enjoyed a brief stint as Municipal Judge for the Town of Clover; a couple of years as an Assistant Solicitor for the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit; and a lengthy tenure as a coach for the Northwestern High School Mock Trial team. He is a former certified Rider Coach for the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Rider's Edge New Riders Course and Skilled Riders Course. Mr. Poore is an Eagle Scout.
As with most small town attorneys, Mr. Poore began his practice by taking the legal work that walked in his door. Finding his primary interests to be working with the people and the issues involved in family disputes, he focused his practice in the area of Family Law. He is trained as a Collaborative Family Attorney and participates as a member of a team of collaborative divorce consultants in his home area. Mr. Poore currently serves as a volunteer Mediator for the York County Family Court Self Represented Litigant Mediation Program. Presently his practice is limited to Mediation and Collaborative Law.
In July 2012 Mr. Poore took his first Family Court Mediation Training Program with Ms. Bryan and Mr. Sarratt and also took the Circuit Court Civil Mediator Course in August 2013. Finding a calling in family mediation, he took the Family Court Mediation Training again in March 2016 and July 2017 and began to assist the trainers. Along with Joy Bennett, Mr. Poore worked with Ms. Bryan and Mr. Sarratt in presenting the March 2018 training program in Greenville.

Joy D. Bennett, LISW-CP  is a non-attorney certified mediator who has successfully guided hundreds of families through the mediation process. She received her training in 1998 from Mary Lowndes Bryan and Cotton Harness. 
After earning her BA in 1981 from the University of Illinois, Ms. Bennett served as Executive Director for the Rape Crisis Council of Greenville for four years. She then earned her Masters in Social Work from the University of South Carolina in 1992. Among other positions, she has served as program Director for the "Families in Transition" program of Compass of Carolina, conducting parent trainings and support groups for children of divorcing families.
Ms. Bennett is a Licensed Independent Social Worker licensed at the highest level of practice for Clinical Social Workers in South Carolina. She has been in private practice since 1999. She specializes in therapy with children and family therapy for divorcing and blended families. She has special training in the treatment of trauma for both children and adults.
Ms. Bennett has been especially successful mediating divorces and other family matters with only the parties present, facilitating their communication with each other directly. She has special knowledge in the area of children's developmental needs in divorce, and has presented training workshops around the state, including for groups such as the Upstate Mediation Network, the South Carolina Society for Clinical Social Work, American Mental Health Counselors Association, the National Association of Social Work-South Carolina Chapter, the South Carolina Council for Conflict Resolution, and the South Carolina Bar's Supreme Court-Approved Training for Family Mediators.
Ms. Bennett was a Founding Member of the Upstate Mediation Network and is a past Board member and current volunteer for the Upstate Mediation Center.