Mediate BC Society experimented with a user-pay mediation project to help families who are undergoing separation and divorce. It provided access to a private Family Roster or Associate Family Roster mediator at a cost that was customized to the family’s financial situation. It used a unique sliding scale based on income and assets/debts in order to set a fee that is affordable for the family.
Uptake was very low. The sliding scale was adjusted in 2016 to reference only income and not assets/debts. Later, funding ended and the initiative was discontinued in 2016.
The BC Family Innovation Lab supported this initiative with respect to developmental evaluation approaches and the provision of research regarding sliding scale methodology.