More States Offer Foreclosure Mediation Programs

Over the past year, the number of states with programs offering foreclosure mediation has nearly doubled, from 11 to 21 states, according to the Center for American Progress. Based on their state-by-state assessment of existing programs, the Washington-based think tank argues that automatic scheduling of mediation at the start of the foreclosure process, as opposed to requiring already stressed homeowners to opt in to the program, significantly increases participation rates without reduction in the rate of successful outcomes. In their report, authors Andrew Jakabovics and Alon Cohen, recommend jurisdictions with opt-in programs adopt automatic scheduling, as Connecticut and Philadelphia, among others, have done. Similarly, they argue that successful pilot programs running at the circuit court, city, or county levels should now be scaled to the state level. During a conference call to discuss the issue, Roberta Palmer, program manager for court operations for Connecticut's judicial branch, said for the majority of foreclosures in her state, conversations between homeowners and representatives for large national servicers "aren't happening." "So, bringing the parties into the room and having someone with authority from the large servicers look over options with the homeowner, has been a great benefit. Loan modifications that we enter into are much more sustainable than those done without a third party present in the mediation," she said.