Answer:
There were regions, but individual conciliators covered the whole
region. For example, we have five state areas in Texas. So you went anywhere in that area. If
there was an educational issue, the educational specialist would go. They had the field office in
Dallas.
There was a Houston field office, there was a New Orleans field office, there was an
Oklahoma City field office. There may have even been one in New Mexico. But there were
more field offices and more people, so those education specialists, or law enforcement
specialists, were in smaller areas and they covered their whole area. When the agency was
reduced, and you only had five people in region five, then each conciliator had a state and they
had to become generalist. I had Oklahoma and part of Texas, somebody else had New Mexico
and part of Texas, Arkansas and part of Texas, Louisiana and part of Texas. Efrain had south
Texas. That's when we became generalists, and I think it was as much driven by resources as
anything. You had to research. If you didn't have the background in a particular area, you'd have
to research that. There were materials the agency had and some things you just had to research
on your own.