By: Patricia Gross

The El Paso County Dispute Resolution Center (EPCDRC or DRC) was established by County Commissioner's Court in 1988, and began serving residents of El Paso County, Ft. Bliss, and surrounding communities, under the direction of the Rio Grande Council of Governments (RGCOG). On the fifth anniversary of service, the date of July 23, (1993) was officially designated as "Dispute Resolution Day" in El Paso County by City Council Proclamation, and a Resolution by County Commissioner's Court. The DRC Advisory Committee, the RGCOG Board of Directors, the Council of Judges, and the El Paso County Commissioner's Court are the governing entities that oversee the activities of the DRC.

The DRC provides services in two offices. The Court-annexed office is staffed (full-time) by Technician, Stella Rodriguez. The Neighborhood Justice Center houses offices for Patricia Gross; DRC Coordinator, (full-time) and Letitia Turner; Intake Specialist (part-time). Staff works together as a team to coordinate services in both offices. Often, cases will be moved from one office to the other to accommodate the special needs of a party.

In the Court-annexed office, Mediation and Moderated Settlement Conferences (MSCs) continue to be the most requested forms of ADR. Once the merits of the case have been explored in an MSC, and the panel renders its opinion, attorneys and parties will often request to schedule a mediation session to begin negotiation towards settlement. The subsequent mediation is normally conducted by another Pro Bono mediator, who did not serve on the MSC panel. Case referrals originate from the 13 District Courts, 7 County Courts At Law, 2 Family Courts, the Child Welfare Court, Probate Court, offices of the District and County Attorneys, and from the Attorneys for the disputing parties. An average of 10 cases per week are scheduled during the daytime.

Neighborhood Justice cases have not reached the litigation stage, although an Attorney may occasionally accompany a client to the session. If only one party is represented, counsel is invited to remain in the DRC office while the mediation is in session, but the client and his/her attorney are able to meet at any point. Referrals to Neighborhood Justice Mediation come predominantly from the El Paso Police Department, the Justice of the Peace Courts, El Paso County Sheriff's Department, the Attorney General's office, and the office of the City Prosecutor. Other sources include recommendations by parties who have participated in a case, and from the Pro Bono mediators themselves. An average of 12 cases per week are scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m. to accommodate work schedules.

The same operating procedures are applied in both offices. Prior to the mediation, there is no contact between the parties, respective counsel and the mediator. Parties are encouraged to bring pertinent documents to the session, but discouraged from providing them ahead of time. Mediators are assigned to cases based upon personal strengths and experience with the subject matter. Often, an attorney will request a particular mediator based upon the mediator's qualifications. If the request can be met, the desired mediator will be assigned to the case. However, mediators are assigned at the discretion of the staff. Availability of the mediator is also a factor. Evaluation forms are provided to the parties to gauge the effectiveness of the mediator's approach to the session. At the conclusion of the mediation, the mediator logs the case in by date, case type, style of case, length of mediation, and whether case was settled or not settled.

Services are provided in civil cases to include contract disputes, probate, personal injury, employment, consumer issues, restitution, neighbor problems, threats and assaults, uninsured motorist, landlord/tenant, Child Welfare and Special Education mediations. Mediations are conducted in English and in Spanish. Currently, the DRC has a total of 50 mediators available to provide services on a Pro Bono basis. Several of the mediators that trained in the initial training class in 1988, continue to provide services to the DRC, in both office environments.

The major source of funding for the Center comes from the $10.00 civil and probate case filing fees collected by El Paso County on behalf of the DRC. Parties involved in litigation are not charged any additional filing fees. Family cases, however, involving divorce, custody and visitation issues are assessed a $50.00 filing fee per spouse. If the case has not reached the litigation stage, a $10.00 non-refundable fee is paid by the complaining party. There is no charge for the responding party. The fee may be waived under special circumstances when the individual is disabled, not working, or unable to pay the fee. The fee for Arbitration or a Moderated Settlement Conference (MSC) is $!00.00, respectively. If either the plaintiff or defense attorney participating in the MSC agrees to serve as a panelist on another MSC, the fee will be waived.

Other sources of revenue originate from contracts for services. A contract with the Texas Education Agency, provides for mediation services for Special Education Mediations involving children enrolled in Texas School Districts. The contractual agreement with the Area Agency on Aging provides special services to the elderly. Clients age 60 years and over, may elect to have the Area Agency on Aging pay the filing fee if the client submits a confidentiality release, enabling personal statistical data (not related to the mediation issues) to be released to the Texas Department on Aging. As per DRC Family procedures, a $50.00 fee is collected on mediations conducted for the Child Welfare Court. Fees for training also help to fund the daily operation of both offices.

Since it was created, the DRC has provided training to individuals to conduct the mediations in the DRC offices, as well as training for other organizations interested in implementing their own internal mediation programs. Training offered includes the 40 Hour Basic Mediation Training, a 32 Hour Family Training which incorporates the issues of Domestic Violence, and 12 hours of continuing education for trained mediators. By local rules, Family trained mediators are also required to take the 4 Hour Children Cope With Divorce class offered by the YWCA.

Community service programs provided by the DRC include presentations on Conflict Resolution skills to organizations and schools. Special services are provided to the El Paso Police Department at each of the Regional Command Centers to assist the officers in dealing with difficult situations. Conflict Resolution training is conducted for the officers and members of the police volunteer units, on an on-going basis.

Setting the tone for excellence, our mediators often make themselves available on a regular basis for mediation in both offices, and to assist with community presentations. The Pro Bono Mediators are the very core of the DRC's existence. Their dedicated participation coupled with the coordinated efforts of the DRC staff, provides the positive environment that affords each case the best opportunity for a win-win situation.