Rule III ADR Programs.

A. Courts.

1. The Center will coordinate with the Administrative Office of Courts (“AOC”) on a regular basis to provide information on ADR programs in other jurisdictions; to develop pilot programs, put those programs in place, and assist in follow-up; to inform the director of the AOC about ADR in Alabama; to formulate judicial surveys regarding ADR; to present ADR information at judicial conferences; and to conduct special mediation and arbitration training courses.

2. The Center will cooperate with the court-assistance division of the AOC to ensure that civil cover sheets include ADR fields and that case-management and statistical data collection are coordinated with the Center.

3. The Center will assist pilot programs by providing administrative help and financial assistance, as necessary.

4. The Center will maintain contact with the AOC public information division to ensure that ADR news is disseminated to judges and court personnel.

5. The Center will regularly contact court-connected ADR offices in other states and maintain in files at the Center information on the programs offered by those offices.

B. Schools.

1. The Center has available introductory school-conflict resolution and peermediation program kits for use by interested parties. Each kit explains the steps in setting up a school-conflict resolution and/or peer-mediation program, and provides the necessary curriculum information and resources to develop those programs.

2. The Center will make presentations on conflict resolution and peer mediation to school faculties, school boards, and other interested organizations.

3. The Center will assist schools in training teachers in conflict resolution and in selecting curriculum materials.

4. The Center will coordinate ADR programs with the Alabama Department of Education, and the Department will assign a liaison to work with the Center.

5. The Center will maintain current information on school-conflict resolution and peermediation programs operating in Alabama, and will share this information with interested schools and organizations.

6. The Center will maintain contact with Alabama law schools and the professors at Alabama universities who teach ADR, business law, and related courses. Upon request, special ADR presentations can be made to the classes in these courses.

7. The Center will join the Alabama Department of Health and other state agencies in the Partnership for Preventing Violence program, a national school-violenceprevention training program, broadcast via satellite technology to over 50 cities in the United States from the Harvard School of Public Health.

8. The Center will conduct conflict-resolution/peer-mediation programs for the faculty at Alabama juvenile detention centers.

C. Community Mediation Centers.

1. The Center has community mediation kits available for use upon request. Each kit provides information and guidance for local nonprofit organizations that wish to establish community mediation centers.

2. The Center receives up-to-date information from, and is in frequent contact with, the National Association for Community Mediation.

3. The Center will maintain information on all community mediation centers in Alabama and the programs offered by those centers, and will communicate with those centers and their mediators on a regular basis.

4. The Center will provide new community mediation centers with technical assistance, training, and guidelines for standards and training when requested, and if time and resources permit.

D. State Agencies.

1. The Center will seek out and collect information about the use of ADR programs by administrative agencies in Alabama and around the country.

2. The Center will encourage state agencies to obtain assistance from the Center if they wish to explore alternatives to litigation or to develop dispute resolution procedures for in-house disputes.

3. The Center maintains information on implementation of ADR at the federal government agency level.

4. The Center will work toward promoting and establishing ADR in state agencies. 5. The Center will work to promote consensus building and public policy facilitation in state government.

E. Local Bar Associations. The Center will provide technical assistance, information, and ADR seminars to local bar associations for ADR education and implementation, or for developing ADR programs as part of community outreach.

[Adopted eff. 1-11-2001.]