Organization Provides Support in 2022 Grant Cycle for Community Programs Designed to Improve & Innovate Crisis Response by Law Enforcement

NEW YORK, N.Y.—April 7, 2022—The American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation® (AAA-ICDR Foundation) announces that it has awarded more than
$740,000 in grants to community initiatives focusing on using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to facilitate constructive and effective crisis intervention by police and law enforcement.

“In light of the social unrest we have witnessed over the past two years, it is vital to support innovative programs that can bring communities and law enforcement together,” said James R. Jenkins, Chair of the AAA-ICDR Foundation. “We believe we have a duty to fund, where we can, community and law enforcement partners that are committed to finding better, and less invasive, violent, injurious and potentially fatal ways of resolving conflict during times of crisis.”

Recipients of the AAA-ICDR Foundation’s 2022 grant cycle include:

• Dayton Mediation Center, which will receive $150,000 to facilitate the creation of a mediation response unit pilot program for the Montgomery County Regional 9-1-1 Dispatch System in Dayton, Ohio. The mediation response unit will train civilians to respond to low- level 911 calls in an effort to ease the burden of calls handled by the police—and empower citizens to handle conflicts and disputes with the least invasive response. For more information, visit https://www.daytonmediationcenter.org/.
• Effective Law Enforcement for All, which will receive $149,500 to enable the creation of a national education campaign to promote best practices in law enforcement and public safety through constructive engagement. To learn more, visithttps://ele4a.org/.
• Metropolitan Family Services, which has been granted $25,000 to support a partnership between the Metropolitan Peace Institute and the Chicago Police Department implementing stronger community police training in Chicago’s most challenged neighborhoods. For more details, visithttps://www.metrofamily.org/.
• Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law Program on Dispute Resolution, which has been awarded $250,000 to support a pilot project developing in-service training for the police department in Columbus, Ohio. The pilot project will also include a “train-the-trainer” workshop for strengthening internal police negotiation and communication skills—and fostering more diverse recruitment and retention, and better police/civilian interaction. For more information, visithttps://moritzlaw.osu.edu/faculty-and-research/program-dispute- resolution.
• Dispute Resolution Center of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York (CUNY), which will receive $95,000 to create an online mental health communication and conflict resolution training program for police officers across the country. To learn more, visit http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/disputeresolution.
• Temple University’s Center for Conflict Management and Media Impact, which has been granted $21,505 to evaluate the Community-Police Complaint Mediation Program in Philadelphia. The assessment will look at the impact of the program on trust between citizens and the police, and community awareness and use of the program. The Center will also compare the impact of online and in-person mediation. More information is available at https://www.temple.edu/academics/degree-programs/conflict-management-and-dispute- resolution-certificate-graduate-co-cmdr-grad
• Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, which has been granted $50,000 to fund its ongoing work for enacting policy changes for reducing the police footprint in schools. The organization will also continue to push for more support and services for students affected by trauma, as well as students of color and students with disabilities—fostering a healthier educational environment for all. To learn more, visithttps://www.washlaw.org/.

“The principles and processes of alternative dispute resolution can make a positive impact on communities throughout the nation,” said Mr. Jenkins. “We are proud to be able to support programs that embrace dialogue and out-of-the-box thinking to increase trust and cooperation between law enforcement and community members.”

The AAA-ICDR Foundation has awarded more than $3.75 million since its inception in 2015. To learn more about the Foundation’s mission to fund high-quality, innovative programs which advance arbitration, mediation, and other ADR processes, please visit https://www.aaaicdrfoundation.org/aboutus.

About the AAA-ICDR Foundation
The American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation (AAA- ICDR Foundation) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that is able to solicit donations and provide grants to fund a range of worthy causes that promote the Foundation’s wide-reaching
mission, which is to support the use and improvement of dispute resolution processes in the United States and internationally.

Its focus includes fostering measures that reduce potential escalation, manage and resolve conflicts; increasing access to justice in and through alternative dispute resolution; and encouraging collaborative processes to resolve public conflicts.

The Foundation is a separate 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization from the AAA®, and the Foundation is not involved in any way in the oversight, administration or decision making of the AAA-ICDR® cases or in the maintenance of the AAA-ICDR's various rosters of arbitrators and mediators.

For more information on the AAA-ICDR Foundation, please visit: www.aaaicdrfoundation.org.