Denton County Alternative Dispute Resolution Program

My feelings about the Denton County Alternative Dispute Resolution Program (DCAP) are fairly mixed.
On the one hand, DCAP provides low and medium income parties with the opportunity to mediate their disputes at a reasonable cost. A typical full 9 – 5 day of mediation is just $ 150.00 per party, and the fees also include lunch. This seems like a great bargain, except sometimes it seems like the mediation takes twice as long as it really needs to for no reason other than to use up the full allotted time.
The mediators all serve on a volunteer basis. Some are seasoned attorneys who now specialize in mediation, while others are simply trained mediators. It’s pretty much the luck of the draw as far as who you are assigned, so the mediator’s expertise and skill-​set are up for grabs. I have had several very competent mediators assigned to my cases, but I’ve also had others that seemed rather biased and unqualified.
DCAP will work just fine if your pocketbook is a bit light. Otherwise, I think it’s worth $ 300-​$ 400 for a half-​day with a private mediator.