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Associate Director
BIRTH TO THREE early intervention MEDIATION AND FACILITATION PROGRAMS
Serving families with children receiving early intervention services
The Birth to Three Mediation and Facilitation Programs are statewide dispute resolution programs serving families with children receiving early intervention services in Delaware. These services are ideal for managing disputes involving any matter under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C, such as a child’s eligibility, classification, and interventions.
This program is offered by the Conflict Resolution Program in cooperation with Delaware’s Birth to Three Early Intervention Program.
WHAT Is Mediation?
Mediation is a structured process in which an impartial third party helps families and the early intervention team resolve differences regarding a child and family’s early intervention services. Mediation encourages dialogue, problem solving, positive relationships, and mutual trust. Participants are able to share their concerns in a confidential and supportive environment.
Through constructive dialogue and joint problem solving, participants gain a more holistic view of the problem and the solution that will best meet the needs of the child.
The participants, not the mediator, determine the outcome of mediation. If an agreement is reached, the terms are documented and are legally binding. If an agreement is not reached, the parties are free to pursue other avenues of dispute resolution.
WHAT IS IFSP Team Meeting Facilitation?
IFSP team meeting facilitation is quickly becoming the most recognized strategy for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of IFSP meetings. Facilitated IFSP team meetings allow team members to focus on the child and family’s early intervention services in a collaborative and respectful manner.
Prior to the IFSP team meeting, our trained facilitators work with the family and the early intervention team to create a comprehensive meeting agenda. During the IFSP team meeting, the facilitator guides the team through a process of open dialogue and understanding aimed at building trust among all team members.
Through balanced participation and shared decision-making, teams are better able to make decisions that are in the best interest of the child and family.
The facilitator is not a member of the IFSP team or an advocate for any person on the team. The facilitator’s responsibility is to the whole team.
Meet our Team
The Birth to Three Mediation and Facilitation Programs are administered through the University of Delaware’s Conflict Resolution Program (CRP). The Program’s experienced mediators and facilitators specialize in early intervention dispute resolution. The program staff adhere to the highest standards of ethics, professional competence, and personal integrity. They are committed to providing confidential and impartial dispute resolution services to families and early intervention team who want to work together to resolve differences.
Mediators and facilitators create an environment that promotes constructive dialogue and collaborative decision making. They assist parties in communicating effectively, problem solving, and exploring mutually satisfying solutions.
Joy Jordan is an assistant policy scientist and conflict resolution practitioner in the Institute for Public Administration (IPA) at the University of Delaware. In this role, she assists in managing and implementing the statewide dispute resolution program known as SPARC. The SPARC team acts as a neutral third party to help parents and schools resolve differences they are experiencing regarding the education of students with special needs.
Joy is also responsible for creating training material, developing and delivering workshops to a variety of audiences, analyzing data, and assisting with writing marketing and website material. Joy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from Drexel University; a certificate in Communications for Professionals from the University of Pennsylvania; and a certificate in Meeting and Events Planning from Temple University.
Sarah Marshall directs communications for the University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration (IPA), in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration. Sarah develops print and online resources for IPA’s public service and research projects, which span from education to regional planning and development. She has been teaching design workshops to non-technical audiences, from students to municipal clerks, for the past 10 years. Sarah guides the development of online professional development programs for government administrators and K–12 educators.
Sarah is a trained mediator and facilitator working with IPA’s Conflict Resolution Program. Sarah received her Master of Public Administration degree with a specialization in design thinking and innovation from the University of Delaware in December 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and geography from Syracuse University. Sarah is a 2018 Leadership Delaware Fellow and UD Leveraging Equity And Diversity (LEAD) Ally.
Kathy Murphy is the Coordinator of the Conflict Resolution Program and Associate Director of the Institute for Public Administration at the University of Delaware (UD). She also has a secondary faculty appointment in the School of Public Policy and Administration in the College of Arts and Sciences at UD. Ms. Murphy helped create Delaware's special education mediation program known as SPARC (Special Education Partnership for the Amicable Resolution of Conflict). She has more than twenty years of experience as a professional mediator and facilitator.
Ms. Murphy received advanced mediation training in special education, eldercare, issues of capacity, custody, and divorce from the Harvard Law Program on Negotiation, Elder Decisions, the Atlanta Center for Justice, Lehigh University, the American Arbitration Association, Mediation Matters, and the Montgomery County Mediation Center. She has a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Delaware and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration.
Contact Us
Birth to Three Mediation and Facilitation services are voluntary, confidential, and free of charge. Utilization of these services will not delay or deny any rights afforded under the IDEA Part C.
For more information about Birth to Three Mediation and Facilitation services offered through the Conflict Resolution Program, contact partc-info@udel.edu or 302-831-8158.