The Ombuds Blog: Maryland Judiciary Closes Ombuds Program

March 05, 2014

Maryland Judiciary Closes Ombuds Program

After eight years as the Ombudsman for the Maryland Judiciary, Ed Modell learned that the new Maryland Chief Judge decided the program would not continue after restructuring. Modell was awarded the first contract to create an Ombuds program for judiciary employees in 2006. In 2010, his role expanded to include serving as the Ombudsman for court users.

During his tenure, Modell helped over 200 court employees and over 1,000 court users with questions or concerns. Modell abided by the IOA Standards in the delivery of these services and had the strong supported of the prior Maryland Chief Judge, Robert Bell, who retired last summer. Maryland had been the only state to have an Ombuds for court employees and one of just two states with an Ombuds for court users (New Jersey being the other).

Modell is a Past President of the International Coach Federation Metro DC Chapter and Global International Coach Federation, and continues to be active with ICF.

Related posts: Job Posting; Michigan County Court Launches Pilot Ombuds Program; DC-Area Coaches to Learn from Ombuds.

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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Austria -- Ombudsstelle

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany -- Ombudspersonen

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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March 05, 2014

Maryland Judiciary Closes Ombuds Program

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