For people in the business of solving disputes in a collaborative manner, power is sometimes viewed as a dirty word. Power is equated with coercion, a noncooperative spirit, and a breakdown in communication. Yet power also provides the motivation for collaboration and defines the range of settlement options available to the parties. Power is a factor in all interpersonal relations, and it has a significant effect on even the most cooperative disputeresolution process. All negotiators have some power or influence over other parties and use this influence to pursue their goals. People who have no source of power in regard to a dispute do not have to be dealt with or taken into consideration and are therefore not a party to the conflict.Mediators are also invested with a great deal of power by the mediation process. Whether or not they consciously choose to exercise it, mediators inevitably use their influence at every point of the intervention. This is neither good nor bad; rather, it is a necessary consequence of the structure of the intervenor's role in conflict resolution. What mediators can choose is whether to exercise this power in a deliberate way and with a specific purpose.A n awareness of the ways in which power impacts negotiation and mediation is crucial to the conflict resolver. In order to help parties reach a settlement, the intervenor must understand the nature of power as it is C. W. Moore fed.). Practical Shnk-g& for the Phases of Mediation. Mediation Quarterly, no. 16. San Fmndsco: Jossey-Bass, Summer 19E7 75

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Consensus approaches to child protection decision making such as mediation and family group conferencing have become increasingly widespread since first initiated about 25 years ago. They address but are also constrained by paradoxes in the child protection system about commitments to protecting children and to family autonomy. In a series of surveys, interviews, and dialogues, mediation and conferencing researchers and practitioners discussed the key issues that face their work: clarity about purpose, system support, family empowerment, professional qualifications, and coordination among different types of consensus-building efforts. Consensusbased decision making in child protection will continue to expand and grow but will also continue to confront these challenges.

Findings from this demonstration project involving mediation in child protection cases indicate a positive effect on parents' attitude toward intervention plans.

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