Update 1/5/2004 - The South Plains Dispute Resolution Center is now a department of Lubbock County and accountable to the Lubbock County Board of Judges. Judicial governance and appointing the Center Director/Master of Dispute Resolution for a DRC provides Texas with a new approach for delivering ADR services.

On December 1, 2003, five employees with the South Plains Association of Governments (SPAG) - South Plains Dispute Resolution Center became employees of Lubbock County. This event ended SPAG's 18 years as the administrative entity for the South Plains ADR system.

Interlocal agreements have been executed with area counties enabling the South Plains ADR system to remain intact and expand. Statewide mediation services continue being provided for USDA and others. It is anticipated that the Fiscal Year 2003 3,000 inquiries and referrals will be surpassed.

A new training partnership has been developed with Texas Tech. This arrangement enables the Center to offer various modes of training in Texas and New Mexico.

Funding for the Center is derived from non-county tax dollars. The DRC has an annual budget of approximately $500,000.00 and does not anticipate demanding additional statutory ADR dollars in the future.

As a result of the separation from SPAG, the Center's new name is The Dispute Resolution Center. Correspondence and contact information is as follows:

The Dispute Resolution Center
P. O. Box 10536
(916 Main Street, Suite 702)
Lubbock, TX 79408-3536

Telephone: 806-775-1720, toll free 866-329-3522
Facsimile: 806-775-1729

E-mail: www.co.lubbock.tx.us

After remodeling and installation of equipment for The Dispute Resolution Center's expanded facility, an open house will be held. Information regarding The Dispute Resolution Center's current and future activities may soon be found at www.co.lubbock.tx.us.

The South Plains - Achieving Legislative Purpose
By D. Gene Valentini

The South Plains Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) system is the best in Texas according to data published by the Texas Judicial Council. Annually, the Council publishes data provided by counties and alternate dispute resolution systems authorized by Chapter 152, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Based on the data in the Council's 1999 annual report, the South Plains ADR system has the highest ADR usage per capita in Texas.

In 1983, the legislature authorized counties to create Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) systems to provide litigation alternatives such as mediation for citizens and the courts. Historically, the standard method of assessing the impact or importance of a Chapter 152 ADR system has been the number of cases referred to the system. However, this criterion does not reflect an individual system's usage relative to the population it serves. A per capita standard alleviates the inequities in determining the effectiveness of a system. The per capita data more accurately reflects the actual usage of ADR in a particular community.

The South Plains Association of Governments (SPAG) manages the South Plains system. Lubbock, Terry, Hockley, Cochran, Yoakum, Garza, and Dickens counties have intergovernmental contracts with SPAG to operate their ADR system. The Regional Alternate Dispute Resolution Advisory Committee which is appointed by the SPAG Board of Directors assists with policy and program development for the region. According to Linda Shoemaker Lowrey, Chair of the Advisory Committee, "The acceptance and usage by the courts and communities throughout the region indicates that the South Plains system impacts a greater percentage of citizens than any other region in Texas. Beginning in the late eighties, the civil and criminal justice systems in the South Plains began using ADR. The benefits of these early efforts are paying off. More people are using ADR and this contributed to our being number one in Texas."

According to Judge Brad Underwood, Administrative Judge for the Lubbock County Courts, "creativity and performance have allowed Lubbock County's courts to be in the forefront of the ADR movement in Texas. Without quality mediators and management Lubbock County would not have implemented many of the ADR services that currently exist. Our accomplishments are testimonial to what can be accomplished with limited financial resources and lots of intergovernmental cooperation. We are proud of what we have accomplished during the past decade."

D. Gene Valentini is the Director of the Lubbock Dispute Resolution Center and as director he manages the South Plains Association of Governments' Alternative Dispute Resolution Program. You can reach him at SPAG@juno.com

Editor's Note: The SPAG ADR system under the direction of Gene Valentini manages several creative and innovative ADR programs, including the Texas Rural Mediation Services that handles mediations for the United States Department of Agriculture in Texas. Through this program, Texas Rural Mediation Services (TRMS) helps resolve the disputes of agricultural producers, their creditors, and other persons affected by the actions of the USDA. Examples of issues covered in these mediations are wetland determinations, compliance with farm programs including conservation programs, agricultural credit, rural water loan programs, grazing on national forest system lands, pesticides, and others.