An article in the Daytona Beach News-Journal this month showed that homeowners in the area are not taking advantage of the court-ordered foreclosure mediation program like they could.

In fact, in Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit, which includes Volusia, Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties, only 33 percent of homeowners who qualified for mediation replied after being contacted about the program between October 2010 and May 2011. Of those, only 26 percent actually participated in mediation.

The mediation program was kicked off two years ago and required every court in the state to participate. The goal was to get as many foreclosure cases settled out of court as possible to help ease the burden of backlog cases piling up in the state.

But participation is a must for the program to work, and at this point, it's being considered by many as a failure.

No one knows for sure what's keeping the participation numbers down, but the program manager for the 7th Judicial Circuit said she thinks she has an idea.

"The reason why they're not buying into the program in bigger numbers is they know they're underwater and don't want to save their house," she said. "Or they have no money at all and can't afford a lawyer, and don't believe we're actually a free service."

Miscommunication also seems to be a problem within the program, she said. Often times, homeowners believe that the mail and phone calls they get from program mediators are advertisements for a costly service, not a free service provided by the state.

Also, many people simply don't understand the legal jargon in the information packets, the program manager said. That is why she has worked with court officials to produce mailings and documents that are easier for homeowners to understand.

More than that will likely be needed to make the program successful, though. Demanding better participation from banks is another thing that may help, she said.

If you live in Florida and have been served with a foreclosure notice, consider mediation as an option. The free service can help you to work out an agreement with your lender that may allow you to stay in your home.

Source: The Daytona Beach News-Journal, "Few take advantage of state's foreclosure mediation program," Tom Knox, Nov. 7, 2011.