Tag Archive for: mediation

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Additional Resource Available to Parents of Children with Special Needs through Special Education Mediation Services

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Whether you’re a parent or an educator, your goal is to meet the emotional, physical, and educational needs of each student, and that requires good communication between everyone that’s involved. However, there are times when challenges will require additional support to help parents and schools find common ground to meet the educational needs of the student. When you need to resolve a dispute, manage complex meetings, or improve the relationship with the school team, the answer may just be special education mediation. 

Conflict Resolution Services provides Special Education mediation free of charge for Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Missaukee, and Wexford counties’ schools and residents through the Special Education Mediation Program. These services are federally funded through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and paid for by a grant from the Michigan Office of Special Education.

What are Special Education Mediation Services? 

Special Education Mediation Services (SEMS) are an effective way to help support cooperation and teamwork between those who are directly involved in the students’ education and well-being. The overall goal — to improve educational outcomes — involves using a neutral third-party, specially trained mediator to help parents and educators collaborate to find a mutually agreeable, beneficial solution. 

Mediation is non-confrontational and a way of working together to find a solution, rather than working against each other. Both sides have an opportunity to share their view on the situation, contribute ideas, and provide feedback in a confidential setting. Not only does this help to resolve issues quickly and avoid lengthy and costly court proceedings, but it keeps the focus on what’s important — positive outcomes for the child. 

Benefits of Special Education Mediation Services

When faced with a challenge regarding your child’s educational services and outcomes, special education mediation services can help in a variety of ways.

Resolve disagreements

Both educators and parents are busy and under a lot of pressure to handle a wide range of complex, often difficult special education issues, and it can understandably get emotional. A trained special education mediator can provide a safe, neutral environment to guide the conversation and ensure all parties have equal opportunity to express their point of view. They also keep everyone on topic, and help identify and evaluate options to resolve the dispute and create a legally enforceable agreement regarding the solution. 

Mediation results in a 70-80% agreement rate, and the speed of mediation as opposed to the courts means students benefit from those solutions in a more timely fashion without the constraints of state complaint and due process timelines. This means both more time and money can be spent on educating — which is the ultimate goal. 

Manage complex meetings

Planning the educational services for students often requires a variety of meetings, whether that’s about IEP, IFSP, BIP, MET, MDR or planning a conference. If any of the participants are uneasy about a meeting or the relationship between caregivers and educators is strained in any way, participants can request a neutral, third-party mediator to facilitate the meeting process. 

The facilitator can create an agenda based on the participant’s input, and they’re trained to keep the conversation on track and on topic, centered on the needs of the student, while helping to negotiate disagreements without taking sides. 

Training to improve communication and relationships

Mediation services can greatly help to improve communication between parents and educators, but it’s also important to learn collaborative communication and dispute resolution techniques so that all parties can more effectively make decisions going forward — and hopefully avoid future disagreements.

Skills like active listening, empathy, and framing issues in a neutral fashion can help to promote collaboration, but they’re not always the easiest skills to understand or implement. SEMS offers a variety of workshops that can be adapted to the unique needs of your situation, including: 

  • Dispute Resolution Options in Special Education 
  • Conflict Resolution and Communication in Special Education 
  • Discipline for Students with Disabilities 
  • Effective IEP Team Meeting Participation Techniques 
  • How to Develop Trusting Relationships Between Families and Schools 
  • How to Communicate with the Most Challenging Personalities 

SEMS provides the materials and trainers at no cost to organizations that work with special education students. The only thing the hosting organization has to do is arrange the location, promotion, registration, and provide refreshments. 

Interested in Special Education Mediation Services? 

The use of these no-cost services allows parents and educators to spend less time, energy, and money on resolving disagreements and more time focused on positive educational outcomes and the growth of the students. 

For more information, please call 833-KIDS 1ST or 833-543-7178 or visit mikids1st.org. Requests for services are processed through the SEMS central office with local service delivery coordinated by Conflict Resolution Services.

Volunteering at Michigan Community Dispute Resolution Centers

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The State of Michigan has for many years been a leader in the use of conciliation, mediation, and other forms of voluntary dispute resolution as an alternative to the judicial process. Among the most important steps implemented by the state to support the use of ADR is the Michigan legislature’s creation of the Community Dispute Resolution Program (CDRP)[1], under which the state authorized the creation of not-for-profit Community Dispute Resolution Centers (CDRCs). There are currently sixteen Centers across Michigan. These CDRCs help resolve community disputes and provide timely and low-cost ADR services to litigants and others who may not otherwise be able to afford such services. The CDRCs are partially funded by the Michigan Supreme Court Administrative Office of Dispute Resolution and rely heavily on the support of hundreds of volunteer mediators and facilitators across the state. The CDRCs provide critical ADR support to all Michigan Courts, resulting in the resolution of thousands of cases and other pre-litigation disputes that would otherwise require time-consuming and expensive trials to be resolved.[2]

In addition to their role to assist Michigan Courts in the early resolution of cases, the CDRCs also provide outstanding opportunities for professional development and service by Michigan lawyers whose practices include private ADR services, or those who simply wish to learn more about ADR for the benefit of their clients. Among the reasons to consider volunteering at your local CDRC are the following:

  • Experience. Many Michigan lawyers who complete civil, domestic, or other mediation training programs required to serve as mediators find that once they are certified as a mediator it can be difficult to obtain mediation assignments from their local courts. This is often due to the lack of experience that newly trained mediators have in mediating actual cases.

    The CDRCs offer excellent opportunities for lawyers seeking to build their mediation resumes. With the increasing numbers of cases referred to the CDRCs by our Courts, the centers are always looking for qualified mediators to handle cases, most of which are mediated in a few hours or less.    
  • Mentoring. Similar to the practice of law, mentoring is an important part of becoming a skilled mediator. The CDRCs are well-equipped to mentor mediators who volunteer at the Centers. These opportunities may include observing other mediators, co-mediating cases with more experienced mediators, and training opportunities offered by the Centers for their volunteers.
  • Pro Bono Obligations. The Michigan State Bar policy on pro bono legal services strongly encourages Michigan lawyers to contribute a minimum of 30 hours of no fee or reduced fee legal services to needy members of their communities.[1] The CDRCs offer Michigan lawyers with many opportunities to fulfill their pro bono obligations, by serving as mediators or facilitators for the Centers, by working as members of their Centers’ Boards of Directors, or even by making financial donations to the Centers as qualified not-for-profit service providers.
  • Exposure to Courts. The substantial majority of cases mediated through the CDRCs are cases assigned by Courts in each of the Centers’ geographic territories. If you are looking for opportunities to be recognized as a skilled and effective mediator by the Courts in your area, volunteering as a mediator at your local CDRC is a terrific way to do so.
  • Skills Development. Volunteers at CDRCs can gain skills such as active listening, negotiation, and problem-solving. These skills not only benefit them in their personal lives but also enhance their law practices, making them valuable assets for use with clients and in their firms. Utilizing these skills, volunteers become adept at fostering positive relationships, promoting collaboration, and finding beneficial solutions to cases and other disputes in which their clients are involved, thus enhancing their overall effectiveness and success as lawyers.

Want to Learn More About Mediating at a Community Dispute Resolution Center?

To learn more about mediation, and ADR services offered by the CDRCs, check out the videos at https://www.courts.michigan.gov/administration/offices/office-of-dispute-resolution/ODR_videos/.

Interested in Volunteering?

Volunteering at your local CDRC is quick and easy. A list of the CDRCs, along with links to each of their websites, a list of counties served by each Center, and the names and contact information for the Directors of each Center is available at the Michigan Community Mediation Association website (https://www.michiganmediates.org/mediation-centers/). If you are interested, give your local Center a call or send an email – you will find your Center ready to answer any questions you have about volunteering, and ready to make you a part of its team!

[1] Community Dispute Resolution Act, MCL Section 691.1551, et. seq.

[2] See, for example, the 2023 Annual Report of the Community Dispute Resolution Program, available at https://www.courts.michigan.gov/49c1a9/siteassets/reports/odr/2023_cdrp_annual_report.pdf.

[3] See the State Bar of Michigan Voluntary Pro Bono Standard, available at https://www.michbar.org/programs/atj/voluntarystds.

Tag Archive for: mediation

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