ADR-LINKJ has devised payment guidelines for ADR providers. The ADR Operational Plan approved by the Ministry of Children & Youth Services in the South West Region is designed to establish a consistent approach to accessing and funding prescribed ADR services. The overall goal of the plan is to create an approach which is:

• responsive to the needs of families and each Society
• equitable
• sustainable
• flexible to adjust to changing demands

Especially in the early days of the pilot project, a key activity is to build capacity in the region so services of equal quality are available to each family and each Society regardless of geographic location. These activities are necessary to make the plan equitable. Also an issue of equity, each Society must be able to access its fair share of the funds set aside for this region. As we work to build capacity, we will necessarily devote extra funding for travel etc. as ADR practitioners from well-serviced parts of the region take cases in under-served areas.

Equally important, this initiative must be sustainable. Because funds to support ADR are not unlimited, ADR-LINK must ensure all cases assigned for ADR are amenable to the process. Cases which are not suited to ADR will absorb too many hours and drain limited resources, threatening the sustainability of the service and delaying resolution of appropriate cases.

ADR practitioners are asked to respect the need to operationalize the principles of equity and sustainability by adhering to these guidelines:

• identify early in the process if a case is not amenable for ADR and terminate the process in a timely way
• after an opportunity to review case particulars, provide ADR-LINK with an estimated cost breakdown for the case (including costs for venue rental and other expenses for conference day)
• select the most cost-efficient way to acquire needed goods and services such as venue rental, travel and meals for FGC participants (recognizing that goods and services may be more difficult to acquire in rural or remote regions)
• utilize strategies to minimize service costs (e.g., use of video-link, group meetings)
• seek prior approval of ADR-LINK for any travel costs expected for participants coming from outside the South West Region
• notify ADR-LINK when work to date on the case has meet the provincial guideline for billing and the case is not completed
• provide an estimate of how many hours are required to complete the case and an assessment of the likelihood of success
• submit an itemized bill upon completion of case