THE USE OF THE COURTS TO PROCESS DISPUTES PRESENTS SEVERAL PROBLEMS, THE MOST SALIENT OF WHICH ARE LIMITED ACCESS AND UTILIZATION, DELAYS AND DISMISSALS, INAPPROPRIATE USE OF ADJUDICATION, AND THE CENTRALIZED BUREAUCRATIC AGENCY. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD JUSTICE CENTER CONCEPT BEGAN WITH THE RECOGNITION OF THESE PROBLEMS, AND A PILOT PROGRAM WAS INITIATED IN RESPONSE TO CRITICAL DIFFICULTIES IN THE PROCESSING OF DISPUTES. KEY ISSUES IN CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT AND THE PILOT PROGRAM WERE ACCESS AND UTILIZATION, EFFICIENCY AND SATISFACTION WITH THE DISPUTE PROCESS, THE DEGREE OF COERCION, IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY, AND CENTER POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. THE STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES OF NEIGHBORHOOD JUSTICE CENTERS IN ATLANTA, GA., KANSAS CITY, MO., AND LOS ANGELES, CALIF., ARE DETAILED. FEATURES OF THE WORK PLAN TO EVALUATE THESE CENTERS IN FIELD TESTING ARE DECISIONMAKING UTILITY, PARTICIPATION AND FEEDBACK, EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS, AND EMPHASIS ON IMPLEMENTATION AND PROCESS DATA. IMPLEMENTATION, PROCESS, IMPACT, AND COST STUDIES ARE COMPONENTS OF THE EVALUATIVE WORK PLAN. OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF EACH STUDY ARE SPECIFIED. THE APPROACH TO EVALUATION INVOLVES THE APPLICATION OF DECISION AND THEORETICAL TECHNIQUES AND THE USE OF RIGOROUS EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS WHERE POSSIBLE. A SCHEDULE OF THE EVALUATION PROJECT'S MAJOR MILESTONES AND SAMPLE DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS ARE INCLUDED. (DEP)