COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHT

Dispute Resolution Center: 25 Years of Service

By Sharon Cammack

The Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, chaired by Glenn A. Ballard, Jr. of Bracewell & Giuliani, L.L.P., provides assistance and support to the only free mediation service in the state of Texas, the Dispute Resolution Center. The Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) is a private non-profit corporation sponsored by the Houston Bar Association and funded through the Harris County Courts. Established in 1980, the DRC has spent the last 25 years helping the residents of Harris County resolve disputes in a less formal manner, outside the traditional courtroom.
The Center’s primary focus is mediation, but it also offers moderated settlement conference and arbitration services. The DRC receives about 35,000 calls a year from the general public with questions ranging from landlord/tenant rights to employment disputes. While the staff at the DRC will not provide legal advice, they can refer individuals to the appropriate entity for help with their particular problem or for basic information regarding their rights.
DRC mediators are all volunteers and come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Each has received special training in order to help people try to resolve their disputes.
The DRC currently has eight mediation programs that cover a wide variety of disputes

1) The Community Based Mediation Program provides mediation services for disputants whether or not a case has been filed in court. Disputes typical to this program involve conflict between neighbors, consumers and merchants, homeowners associations, disputes involving apartments and their tenants, automobile repairs, etcetera. Generally these are the types of disputes that, if not resolved in mediation, will end up in small claims court.

2) The Family Mediation Program pro-vides mediation services for couples (whose combined income does not exceed $70,000 a year) in the process of divorcing and can also help the parties mediate post divorce modifications. The Center also mediates grandparent access cases and non-traditional relationship issues.

3) The Juvenile Mediation Program provides mediation for juveniles involved in disputes ranging from name calling to minor assaults. Parent-Adolescent mediation services are also available through this program. In addition to referrals from the juvenile courts, many come from juvenile probation, school police, school administrators and counselors, as well as parents.

4) The Litigation Program offers mediation, moderated settlement con-ferences, and arbitration services. Most disputes handled in this program are court ordered, however, some services are provided at the request of individual parties or their counsel. Typical disputes in this program involve personal injury, product liability, DTPA, breach of contract, and debt collection.

5) The Special Education Program provides mediation services for children with special needs. These mediations typically involve parents who feel that their child has not been placed in an appropriate educational program within a school. This program provides a forum in which the parents may meet with school officials to discuss and request different available school programs. These mediation services may be requested by either school officials or parents.

6) The Victim Offender Mediation Program provides mediation services between the victim and the offender of a criminal act. Disputes mediated range from vandalism to assault. Most disputes in this program are referred to the DRC by either a criminal court or Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department. Any individual, however, may access this program at their own request. Obviously safety, both physical and emotional, is paramount in this program and the DRC screens the parties and reviews the dispute for appropriateness for mediation.

7) The Child Protection Mediation Program provides mediation services for disputes involving Harris County CPS. Mediation services may be requested by the courts, CPS, county attorney, parents or anyone involved in the CPS case. Mediation may be conducted at any time during the CPS case, with some cases requiring mediations at several different times during the case.

8) The Truancy Mediation Program provides mediation services for disputes involving truant behavior at any school located in Harris County. Mediation services may be requested by the school, parent(s), courts or any person deemed to have a close ongoing relationship with an individual displaying truant behavior.

The Dispute Resolution Center is currently involved with the University of Texas, School of Nursing Center on Aging in a pilot program to provide mediation services for residents of long-term care facilities.
The DRC mediated over 2,300 cases in the year 2004, with all its services being provided free of charge for residents of Harris County. For more information, please visit the DRC’s website at www.drchouston.org

Sharon Cammack practices with Short•Jenkins• Kamin LLP. She is an associate editor for The Houston Lawyer.

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