We sent you a letter because you have been referred to Permanency Planning Mediation (PPM). The referral has come from a professional working with your child(ren), who believes it could be important for them to maintain a connection with their birth family in the event the Court orders adoption or legal guardianship for them down the line. We provide a free mediation service to help you come up with a contact plan in case that happens. The plan can be filed with the court if everyone agrees. We are not a part of the social services department or court, so we will not provide them with any information regarding the progress of the mediation without written permission from you and the other parties.

We were given your contact information by the social worker or attorney who referred you to our program. Your contact information is confidential and will not be shared by us without your written permission.

Yes, we will try to assign a mediator who speaks your language of choice. If that is not possible a translator will be available.

No. Participation in PPM is completely voluntary. There are no legal consequences for declining to participate.

PPM is being made available to you at no cost. We are funded by the State of California to provide free mediation services in these circumstances.

No. PPM Mediators meet separately with each family member in a “caucus” style of mediation, sharing only what they have been given permission to share with the other mediation participant(s). Because of this, even if a participant wants to remain anonymous or have limited information shared with other mediation participant(s), PPM can still occur. Only if appropriate and everyone is willing would mediation participants come together for a joint mediation session, otherwise all meetings are one-on-one with the PPM Mediator.

While meeting in person has many advantages to the process, due to public health concerns and location, mediation may take place by video call if meeting in person is not feasible.

We do not have an example agreement to share. All our agreements follow a similar structure, but each plan is unique to each family.

If you mediated with us in the past and signed an agreement which was then filed with the court, you may return to CFC for further mediation at any point for free until the youngest child in the agreement turns 18. Please call our office at (415) 491-2200 and ask to speak to your Mediation Coordinator.

Try talking to the other person. If that does not work or is not possible, please call our office at (415) 491-2200 and ask to speak with the Mediation Coordinator for your child.