MSEMP Training Programs

• Communication and Conflict Resolution Workshops
  Whether you are a parent or educator, you play a pivotal role in the lives of children and young adults with special needs. Your ability to work with others in meeting those needs is crucial to their success. You can maximize your collaborative skills through workshops provided by the MSEMP. You will learn to foster a climate of cooperation, improve communication, understand differing perspectives, identify interests and issues, generate planning options that bridge differences, and choose solutions workable for everyone. The workshops feature participatory exercises so that you can practice what you learn. Educational and fun, they can be tailored to your group’s particular needs. help build relationships that move youngsters forward.
  
  
• IEP and IFSP Facilitation Workshops
  You know how important it is for IEP and IFSP meetings to go well. Effective communication means more productive collaboration among educators, parents and service providers, and that’s better for kids with special needs. Facilitation skills help parents and educators engage in better meetings. They can help participants create safe discussions, listen for understanding, frame issues neutrally, address all concerns, and seek mutual, workable solutions in the child’s best interest – all while minding the clock. The workshops cover facilitation techniques, IEP and IFSP legal requirements, the IEP form and the application of facilitation skills to IEP and IFSP meetings. Make your meetings better through these MSEMP opportunities.

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• New Mediator Training
  A two-day immersion into the world of special education and early intervention mediation, including the language, law, and techniques you need to be a successful mediator in this field. Learn about IDEA, the federal special education law; the important acronyms; the statutory dispute resolution processes; the major cases; new opportunities for facilitation and mediation; and tips for promoting the resolution of specific issues. Also learn how the MSEMP is promoting greater use of facilitation and mediation in the special education and Early On communities. A highly interactive session that combines discussion, participatory exercises, and multiple perspectives on the issues. This training is required for placement on the Michigan Special Education Mediator Roster.
  
  
• Mediator Update Training
  Learn what’s new in special education mediation and brush up on your skills. The 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides new opportunities for the use of mediation early in the dispute resolution process. The MSEMP is expanding outreach efforts to increase the use of mediation across the state, not only in special education, but also through the Early On program. Details of these developments; updates on the law and significant cases; a review of techniques; and participatory exercises will provide an intensive and rewarding day of training. The MSEMP Mediator Update Training is required once every two years for those who have completed the MSEMP New Mediator Training.
  
  
• IEP and IFSP Facilitation Training
  This training furnishes MSEMP mediators with skills for facilitating IEP and IFSP meetings and resolution sessions. These skills can play an important role in helping parents and educators work constructively together at key points in their relationship. The program discusses the similarities and differences between facilitation and mediation, basic facilitation skills, IEP and IFSP legal requirements, the IEP form, the ideal IEP meeting, facilitation challenges, and the application of facilitation techniques in the meeting context. Facilitation is gaining attention in Michigan. This training will be useful in advancing early dispute resolution.
  
  
• Case Management Training
  If you talk with educators, parents, or service providers through intake, outreach or other activities, if you schedule cases or assign mediators, if you collect and report special education mediation and facilitation data, there is much to learn in this one-day session. New regulations have been issued to implement IDEA 2004 that affect case management. New data protocols are being developed to improve productivity. Additional outreach efforts are underway to make educators and parents more aware of your center’s services. This training is imperative for MSEMP centers that want to ensure accuracy and professionalism in service delivery.
  
  

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