Main Library
This library contains CADRE resources as well as State, Lead Agency and Parent Center resources. Please note that CADRE makes no endorsement of the State, Lead Agency and Parent Center resources included here, nor of any policies, procedures, processes, or documents specific to any item.
WI - IEP Facilitation Request for Information Letter
CADRE is working with states to coordinate and improve their dispute resolution programs using a systematic, data guided process of planning for change. This session outlines the steps in that change process, emphasizing the initial steps of problem analysis and identifying areas with the highest potential for improvement. Walter is designed as a review of all aspects of the State's dispute resolution system, identifying what is working well, where problems exist and which problems are most amenable to solutions that will produce a desirable outcome. Explicit throughout CADRE's approach is...
As summarized in the presenter’s book, Supporting the IEP Process – A Facilitator’s Guide (Brookes Publishing, 2010), participants will learn 19 specific options for assisting others to work through their difficulties on the road to both consensus and conflict prevention/resolution. Segments from a video of a facilitated IEP meeting will be shown as a springboard for discussion. Practical skill development through audience participation will be a major component.
This 90-minute session represents an evolution of 10 years of discussions with thousands of IEP participants in several states and is summarized in the presenter’s, Guide to Collaboration for IEP Teams (Brookes Publishing, 2005). It is based on the belief that IEP participants nationwide are expected to collaborate effectively and yet the vast majority have not been given the training necessary to achieve this important and very reasonable objective. As one participant commented, “I have been running IEP meetings for 13 years, and no one has ever taught me how.” In simple, practical, and very...
Fran Fletcher Session 4.1 - Presentation.ppt Presenters: Marie-Anne Aghazadian , Parent Information Center, Wilmington, DE Fran Fletcher , University of Delaware, Conflict Resolution Program, Newark, DE Elizabeth Siemanowski , POLYTECH School District, Woodside, DE Martha Toomey , Delaware Department of Education, Dover, DE The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) has been offering the option of using the services of an external IEP facilitator for five years. In this panel presentation you will hear the unique perspectives of those who are knowledgeable and experienced in the delivery...
The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) has been offering the option of using the services of an external IEP facilitator for five years. In this panel presentation you will hear the unique perspectives of those who are knowledgeable and experienced in the delivery of this service. Hear from: State level: DDOEs Director of Exceptional Children and Early Childhood Education regarding the development of the initiative, how the service evolved over time and its future goals; Program coordinator: who manages the day to day aspects of the service and serves as one of the facilitators; LEA...
We will work with participants to build advanced conflict management skills in handling impasse in special education disputes.
On April 2, 2015 CADRE hosted a webinar, Trusting Family-Professional Partnerships: Preventing, Resolving, and Moving Beyond Disputes with Dr. Ann Turnbull The PowerPoint and other handouts for the webinar are available for download below. About the Webinar: Ann Turnbull will reflect on her four decades as a parent of a son with multiple disabilities and a special education faculty member in terms of preventing disputes, if at all possible, and resolving and moving beyond disputes, when necessary to do so. She will use her own family experiences in providing examples at the early childhood,...
Broward is the 6th largest school district in the nation. In 2013, the Florida Department of Education began training groups of key staff members in Key2Ed's Facilitated IEP Process. Broward had Program Specialists and a District level administrator trained in Facilitated IEPs. It was at that professional development opportunity provided by the FL DOE that Broward began to develop a plan to train all site-based LEAs in the process. This was a two, school -year process to get all schools in Broward (335 schools) trained. In addition to the initial roll-out of FIEP, the District has developed a...
The South Dakota Navigator Program is a new and innovative effort in this rural/frontier state that includes a Native American population of approximately 8%. The focus is on providing assistance in communication facilitation and early dispute resolution to both parents and schools, regarding students ages birth to 21. It is funded by the state Office of Special Education Programs and managed by the state's only Parent Training and Information Center. The partnership of the South Dakota Parent Connection and SD-OSEP models the relationship that we want to nurture in individual situations. The...
Contra Costa SELPA's model of facilitation for Resolution Meetings has proven highly successful in the first year of implementation. Drawing on techniques from IEP facilitation and local mediation, our trained Resolution Meeting Managers lead participants through a simple process of reviewing issues, clarifying positions, analyzing differences and writing agreements. With or without attorneys present, this process has resulted in a 70% success rate in settling Due Process cases in a 16 district local consortium. Participants in this session will learn and have an opportunity to practice the 4...
About the Webinar: This webinar will present the results of a systematic analysis of a representative sample of complaint procedure decisions and hearing officer decisions in five of the most active states. The comparison will be not only between these two systems for the total sample but also among the five state subsamples. The three dimensions of the comparison will be (a) the issue categories, (b) the outcomes, and, for the parent-favorable outcomes, (c) the remedies. About the Presenter: Perry A. Zirkel is university professor emeritus of education and law at Lehigh University, where he...
The Mediator Classification Index (MCI) is designed to assist in understanding the approach or style a mediator tends to use during the mediation process. The MCI is a valuable tool which you may ask prospective mediators to complete as part of the mediator selection process. This is also a valuable tool for mediator self-examination.
A Tale of Two Conversations
These two videos, which were developed by the Office for Dispute Resolution http://odr-pa.org/ in Pennsylvania, feature Dixie Trinen and Suzanne McDougall. The first video shows an example of two people having a difficult conversation using poor communication skills. The second video shows how the same conversation can be conducted in a way that leads to significantly enhanced communication (both require Adobe Flash player , a free download). We recommend that you view the "Listening" video and "Understanding Positions & Interests" video in our "Working Together" suite of resources before...
(Study Guide videos on this page are captioned through YouTube. Non-captioned videos may be accessed at Study Guide 2 .) Introduction All of our relationships can benefit from reflecting on and improving how we communicate. This Study Guide offers keys for more effective communication and problem solving approaches and skills. It provides opportunities for you to reflect on how you communicate now and what you could do differently. “A Tale of Two Conversations” is a two-part video showing actors playing a parent of a child with special needs and a school administrator. The meeting was...
(Captioned versions of these materials are available only through YouTube videos. These may be accessed at the main Study Guide page.) Introduction All of our relationships can benefit from reflecting on and improving how we communicate. This Study Guide offers keys for more effective communication and problem solving approaches and skills. It provides opportunities for you to reflect on how you communicate now and what you could do differently. “A Tale of Two Conversations” is a two-part video showing actors playing a parent of a child with special needs and a school administrator. The...
It is easy to understand why conflict between parents and school district members has become a national topic of concern. The financial, emotional, and physical tolls that due process can have on all parties involved are extensive. Because of these limitations, districts are beginning to recognize the need to promote positive relations with parents and to address conflict at the pre-mediation level. Some districts are currently experimenting with trust building changes, as well as alternative dispute resolution practices.
AC - Resolving Concerns About Your Child's Special Education
Participants will be given the results of a Mediation Program that has: Increased Student Attendance 98% Increased overall academic performance 99% Increased Parent involvement 62% The presenters will explain each component of the program in detail with examples of forms and procedures. Participants will also be given an opportunity to ask questions about the pitfalls and barriers associated with setting up a Truancy Mediation program. Participants will also be given an opportunity to ask the lead Mediator and Project Director questions about their personal experiences what worked and...
Learn about the two components of San Francisco Unified School District's ADR program, the Collaborative Conference and the Communication Strategies Program. Our Special Education Services Department partnered with The Bar Association of San Francisco to offer a new way to resolve complaints and assist district personnel with difficult conversations. Professional Facilitators offer skilled mediation for the prevention and resolution of complaints between parents and school district personnel in a cooperative forum called the Collaborative Conference. All district staff has access to our...
This presentation will allow participants to interact with each other about the elements of a mediation system that builds state-wide trust in it's system and the mediation process. Participants will discuss with the presenters and one another: How do you know if stakeholders trust your state's ADR system? How do you involve stakeholders? What examples can you share about your system's transparency? In what ways have you experienced optimism in your system? How have stakeholder evaluations changed your system? How does your state try to assure implementation of the agreement? What are the...
There is a spectrum of dispute resolution processes, ranging from informal discussion to formal adjudication. The concept behind the development of alternative dispute resolution, or "ADR," is that the traditional adjudicatory model of dispute resolution is not always the best approach. Rather, the concept has developed that "the forum should fit the fuss," and not vice versa.
This three hour interactive workshop will focus on practical techniques in dealing with high emotion - specifically frustration, anger and fear. We will also explore how people can have such different perspectives of reality and what to do if they hold on to their positions in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. We will discuss four possible reactions people may have to conflicting realities (self-justification, rationalization,the power of irrevocability, and inconsequential decision-making) and learn specific, practical techniques in dealing with each one. This workshop...
This very practical three hour skills building training will be divided into two different areas - both of which will be focused on specific techniques and strategies that help facilitators and mediators create maximizing environments and move parties toward agreement. The first half will focus on a new model of brainstorming developed by the trainer that takes into account new research in neuroscience, culture, and decision-making. The second half of the workshop will focus on techniques in dealing with difficulties in communication (cultural, psychological, situational, and systemic) - i.e...
Presenter: Jim Melamed, CADRE and Mediate.com, Eugene, OR This session will consider various mediators strategies and styles, including problem solving, hypothesis generation and testing (mediator guessing) and doubt and dissonance (heat). We will then discuss the extent to which empowerment is ethical and advised in the context of the mediators duty to be impartial. How, if offered, can empowerment be reconciled with the mediators duty to be impartial? Empowerment carried to its logical extreme is maximization. Implications of a maximizing model and skills for empowerment and...