From "Homeowners offered relief in Philadelphia program" in today's Philadelphia Inquirer:

In theory, the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Pilot is supposed to work like this: Under court order, no house can be sent to a sheriff's sale without the owner-occupant's having an opportunity to have a court-sponsored conciliation session.
Before that session, the homeowner must take part in a free housing-counseling session to draw up a reasonable proposal to present to the mortgage company. If the counselor cannot work out a deal, then the borrower and advocates for the borrower and lender appear at a conciliation session before a temporary judge.
If it doesn't work, a full-time judge like Rizzo may get involved. Or, ultimately, the homes can move to sheriff's sale.

Also:

Michael T. McKeever, of Goldbeck, McCafferty & McKeever, a Philadelphia law firm that represents lenders ... applauds the forced conciliation sessions because they require both sides to work out a deal more quickly. "The longer they are in default, the harder it is for them to pay," he said, and the more money the lenders lose.

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