Birth to 3 Program: Mediation

• Mediation is when a neutral person called a mediator helps solve disagreements between two parties.
• For the Birth to 3 Program, it can be used when parents or caregivers and program staff don’t agree on decisions about eligibility or services on the Individual Family Service Plan.
• In mediation, you have a safe place to openly share your views.
• Mediation is free, private, and voluntary. You decide if you want to use mediation or not.

• Mediation often finds a solution that everyone agrees to.
• The mediator helps come up with options but doesn’t decide for you.
• You can talk openly.
• Your child still gets services from the Birth to 3 Program during mediation unless you say no.

You might choose mediation if you don’t agree with:

• Decisions about your child’s eligibility
• The evaluation process
• The services being offered
• How the services are being provided

• Parents or caregivers
• The local Birth to 3 Program
• Both parties together

• Parents and caregivers
• Two representatives from the local Birth to 3 Program
• Other parties, with the permission of both the parents or caregivers and the Birth to 3 Program representatives.

1. First, you will fill out the Request for Mediation Form (PDF).
   You can either:
   • Fill it out with your local Birth to 3 Program
   • Fill it out on your own
2. Next, mail or email the form.
   • Mail the form to:
     Wisconsin Special Education Mediation
     System (WSEMS)
     Gia Pionek
     PO Box 70693
     Milwaukee, WI 53207
     OR
   • Scan and email the form to gia@wsems.us
3. Last, get a mediator assigned.
   • If you submit the form with signatures from parents or caregivers and local Birth to 3 Program staff, a mediator will be assigned right away.
   • If either party submits the form individually, the other party will be contacted to see if they want to participate. They have three days to agree. If they do, then a mediator will be assigned.

• A mediator will help guide a conversation between the two parties and help them work toward an agreement.
• Mediation will begin within 14 days after the mediator is assigned. You will meet at a time and place you both agree on.
• If an agreement is reached, it will be put in writing. Everyone will sign it and it will become legally binding.

Birth to 3 Program mediation is provided by Pionek Valle Law Group, LLC. They are a neutral provider of the intake, screening, and mediation referral process.

Find more information on who mediators are.

You can contact Pionek Valle Law Group, LLC:

• gia@wsems.us
• 414-241-5535