Child welfare mediation is a confidential process in which a specifically trained neutral third party, who has no authoritative decision-making power, assists the family, social worker, attorneys, and other interested parties in a case to talk out and develop their own mutually acceptable agreements with respect to issues relevant to an abuse and neglect case before the court. The Essex County Child Welfare Mediation Program (CWMP) began taking cases in January 2000. This interim evaluation was based on the 129 mediations completed in calendar year 2000. The evaluation reviewed written program policies and protocols; and ongoing informal communication was maintained between the evaluators and court and program staff throughout the development and implementation of the CWMP. An Excel-based spreadsheet tracked case-related information. Exit surveys were developed to determine participant satisfaction with the mediation process. Overall, the CWMP was apparently meeting, and in some cases surpassing, its operational and process goals. Successful achievement of operational and process goals suggests that over time, the program will achieve its overall goals related to the development of more family-specific case plans, increased parental compliance, reduction in the use of contested cases, more effective use of judicial and court time, and, ultimately, the achievement of timely permanency for children. Recommendations are offered for improvements that can assist in achieving each program goal, and recommendations are offered for subsequent program evaluations. 13 tables, 37 figures, and appended evaluation instruments