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• CADRE (Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education)

CADRE Activities

• APR/SPP Procedural Safeguard Data Collection and Analysis
• Beyond Mediation Dialogue Guide Package
• Beyond Mediation: Strategies For Appropriate Early Dispute Resolution In Special Education
• Building Collaborative Relationships in Special Education: Foundations and Strategies
• CADRE Process and Practices Continuum
• View all.

Center Overview

The Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE), a national technical assistance and dissemination project, will emphasize elevating the capacity of educators and parents to engage in collaborative problem-solving and other positive, non-adversarial processes that ultimately result in better educational programs and outcomes for students with disabilities. Direction Service, Inc. will continue CADRE as the National Center on Dispute Resolution and extend its capacity to deliver high quality technical assistance and informational support to state education agencies (Part B), early intervention lead agencies (Part C), parent centers, local education agencies, local early intervention providers, and dispute resolution practitioners.

Methods

CADRE activities will facilitate increased and effective use of mediation and other alternative dispute resolution forms that result in a reduction in the financial, relational, and emotional costs of more adversarial procedures. The activities of the project derive from three critically significant factors: the promise of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), the nascent knowledge of and difficulty in measuring effectiveness and outcomes in ADR programs, and the roles and functions of technical assistance (TA) as a bridge between system need and effective practice. CADRE's major objectives are to: (a) conduct annual assessments of the technical assistance needs of states and other entities to ensure that CADRE identifies TA activities that improve system performance; (b) develop and maintain a database of information from states and related entities on the use and outcomes of the full range of dispute resolution processes in special education; (c) develop agreements and deliver technical assistance based on identified needs and on information derived from research on dispute resolution practices; (d) increase the availability of research-based knowledge on alternative dispute resolution in special education; (e) promote informational exchanges about dispute resolution among key stakeholders (state systems, TA and dissemination systems, parents, practitioners, and others); (f) coordinate and collaborate with key partners and participants in the national effort to develop high quality and accountable dispute resolution systems and practices; and (g) manage CADRE to ensure efficient operations, accomplishment of key tasks, evaluation of impact, and continuous quality improvement.