Currently, 180 neighborhood justice centers across the United States handle minor disputes in lieu of legal intervention. Mediation uses a neutral third party to assist disputants in resolving their own conflict through negotiation and the construction of an agreement. In acting as a facilitator for dispute resolution, the mediator acts as an educator, translator, interpreter of reality, idea generator, and crisis intervenor. The mediation process includes the mediator's opening statement, which explains the mediation process and procedural rules; ventilation and information gathering, which provides the emotional atmosphere and data required for subsequent bargaining and negotiation; bargaining and negotiation; the resolution of impasses; and the construction of an agreement. The agreement should be understandable to the disputants, be workable, provide the disputants an outlet if the conflict reoccurs, be creative in structuring the conflict, limit future problems, and be written in concrete terms. 17-item bibliography.