Morning Session
8:30:00 AM to 9:30:00 AM - Friday, April 16, 2010

Session 1. Health
Understanding and Advancing Health Equity: Local, State, and National Initiatives

Supported in part by the Lolette Hanserd Fund; Sponsored by Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation
Health disparities are the result of the complex interaction of social, behavioral, economic, political, and environmental factors. Eliminating health disparities is one of the primary goals of the nation’s Healthy People 2010 plan and has proven to be one of the most challenging to accomplish. This session will examine how an understanding of these social determinants of health can lead to effective strategies to reduce health disparities. Through case studies and a focus on local issues, participants will learn to apply principles and practices to the development of effective interventions in their communities.

The session will provide an overview of the current state budget and the prospects for adequate funding for health and social services in the next budget. Participants will learn about recent changes in state tax policy and how they have interacted with the recession to impact revenues. The presentation will discuss major state programs including Medicaid, education, and criminal justice and key policy choices that will shape cost and outcomes in these programs. The session will also explain the potential impacts of federal health care reform on the state budget and conclude with tax policy options that will help Ohio close its budget gap. [Repeated as Session #14]

Speakers:

• Jon Honeck, Ph.D., Director of Public Policy, Community Solutions
• Emily Campbell, Policy and Planning Associate, Community Solutions

Supported in part by the Homer D. Webb, Jr. Fund

In this session, participants will learn more about the statewide impact of the economic crisis on children and families, how county Job and Family Service departments are reacting to greater needs with fewer resources, and how the community can be supportive of that work. Public Children’s Services Association of Ohio will give an overview of statewide child welfare indicators, the impact of state budget cuts on children and families, and projections for the upcoming state budget. Attendees will also learn about the status of child welfare issues in Cuyahoga County.

Speakers:

• Debra Forkas, Director, Cuyahoga County Family and Children Services
• Greg Kapcar, Assistant Legislative Director, Public Children’s Services Association of Ohio, Columbus, OH

Sponsored by The Euclid Chemical Group

How can we have an economic recovery when so many people continue to be unemployed?  What are some of the plans being discussed to get people back to work, and how might those plans help those with whom we work? This session will explain the issues involved in the workforce and jobs debate from both the federal and state perspectives. Attendees will learn who is proposing what, how it might impact those needing services, and what each of us can do to share in the discussion about workforce, jobs, and training issues.

Speakers:

• Rebecca Kusner, Research Associate, Community Research Partners and the Ohio Workforce Coalition, Columbus, OH
• Andrea Ray, Regional Field Director, The Workforce Alliance, Washington, DC

Organized by WECO
Establishing a good credit history has never been as important as it is now. Whether you are looking for a house, an apartment, a job, a car, a credit card, or anything else where you need to borrow money or make payments over time, your credit score may well determine whether or not you are successful and how much you will pay. What is a credit score? How is it created? How do you access and understand your score? Who can see it and use it? How are decisions made based on your credit report? How do you correct mistakes on your report? How do you build or rebuild your credit? How is a good credit score a financial asset?  While the information presented in this session is valuable for everyone, the focus is for those who work with low- and moderate-income populations.

Speakers:

• Lamar Cole, Assistant Vice President, Business Banking, KeyBank
• Beverly Davis, Manager, Keybank Financial Education Center, WECO Fund, Inc.
• Sheryl Harris, Consumer Columnist, The Plain Dealer
• Jeanne Morton, Director of Community Training, Cleveland Housing Network

Supported in part by the Ralph Brody Fund

Nonprofit organizations serve as intermediaries that bridge gaps between individuals, governments, business, and other nonprofits. Yet, many in government contracting and philanthropic organizations require the formation of new partnership connections among reluctant parties as a condition of grant making. Experience tells us that there is a delicate balance that must be struck to form, maintain, and effectively use bonds of connection between organizations, and that a particular kind of leadership is vital. Clearly, coercive incentives from third parties do not provide the necessary framework for a meaningful, successful partnership.  In this session, attendees will gain an understanding of both scholarly thinking and practical approaches to building meaningful, deeply rooted partnerships, and then apply these concepts in a series of case studies. They will receive a tool to assist in assessing, developing, nurturing, and managing their own partnership arrangements.    

Speakers:

• Stuart C. Mendel, Ph.D., MNO, Special Assistant and Chief of Staff, Office of the President, and Assistant Dean and Co-Director, Center for Nonprofit Policy and Practice, Cleveland State University

Session 7. Health
Implementing Systems Change to Improve Health: Case Studies in Routine HIV Testing

Organized by AIDS Funding Collaborative; Sponsored by Saint Luke's Foundation
In September, 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued recommendations that clinical settings initiate routine HIV screening of all patients age 13-64.  Implementation of these recommendations involves the intersection of legal, administrative, organizational, professional, and other issues.  In this session, attendees will hear how three large clinical systems—MetroHealth Medical Center and Community Health Centers, University Hospitals of Cleveland Emergency Department, and Cuyahoga County Board of Health clinics—have approached the integration of routine HIV testing.   Presenters will describe the HIV testing initiatives underway in their organizations, and will review lessons learned that can provide guidance and insight for others engaged in systems change work. 

Speakers:

• Ann Avery, M.D., Infectious Disease Physician, MetroHealth Medical Center
• Sandi Hoch, B.S.N., R.N., Grants Administrator Supervisor, Nursing, Cuyahoga County Board of Health
• Vicken Totten, M.D., Director, Research in Emergency Medicine, University Hospitals of Cleveland

Due to the lack of investment, federal Medicaid prohibitions, and the multi-faceted needs of individuals with mental illness, Ohio’s current mental health care system hampers long-term patient-centered treatment.  In lieu of treatment, increasing numbers of Ohioans with severe mental illness are being incarcerated or institutionalized at greater financial and human cost. Action is needed now at all levels of government to prevent individuals with mental illness from falling deeper into the cracks.  This session will identify opportunities that may be made available through federal health care reform to improve care for people with mental illness, and the changes needed at the state and local level to enable Ohio to once again be a leader in mental health care.

Speakers:

• Susan Ackerman, Fellow/Senior Budget and Fiscal Analyst, Community Solutions
• Joan Englund, Executive Director, Mental Health Advocacy Coalition

Invest in Children, Cuyahoga County’s comprehensive and groundbreaking early childhood initiative, has partnered with Case Western Reserve University to produce the Child Well-Being Indicators project, a comprehensive look at the state of Cuyahoga County’s youngest children.  This session will provide information on the data collected and tools to help child and family providers and advocates interpret and use the data effectively.

Speakers:

• Rebekah Dorman, Ph.D., Director, Invest in Children, Cuyahoga County Office of Early Childhood
• Robert Fischer, Ph.D., Co-Director, Center for Urban Poverty and Community Development, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University

Organized by the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University 

This session will explore ways to use program evaluation as a planning, management, fundraising, and assessment tool for nonprofits and public sector agencies.  As agencies and government programs are called upon to collaborate for more efficient delivery of services, program evaluation can be one way to make these collaborations work better. Drawing on examples, presenters will discuss the practical ways in which evaluation has been used as a dynamic tool that provides continuous feedback and helps collaborative program teams work more effectively and efficiently.  

Speakers:

• Kathryn W. Hexter, Director, Center for Community Planning and Development, CSU
• Mittie Davis Jones, Associate Professor, Maxine Goodman Levin College, CSU

The long-term care continuum is a complex system consisting of a myriad of services and programs that make up the aging network. Many consumers and practitioners intimately know only specific components and rarely understand the full continuum and how each section interacts with another.  The first part of this two-part session will offer an overview of the continuum.  [Part 2: Session #17]

Speaker:

• Ron Hill, Chief Executive Officer, Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging

Presented in partnership with Ohio Grantmakers Forum

As the economy fluctuates, nonprofits explore every possible source of funding for their programs. One potential source is family foundations. Families create foundations for varying reasons, but almost always having the goal of perpetuating the values and charitable intent of an individual member or of the family as a whole. Northeast Ohio has many such philanthropic families. This session will introduce a few such foundations, identify trends they are seeing, and offer ideas on the future of funding through family foundations.

Speakers:

• David T. Abbott, Executive Director, The George Gund Foundation
• Leah S. Gary, President and CEO, The William J. and Dorothy K. O'Neill Foundation
• John Mullaney, Executive Director, Nord Family Foundation
• Michael G. Shinn, Certified Financial Planner, Investment Advisor Representative, licensed Insurance Agent, Shinn Family Foundation

Session 13. Health
Importance of Public Health Programs: Title X Proves Its Value

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, family planning is one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20^th century. Ample research shows that family planning helps women and men maintain reproductive health; allows women to avoid unintended pregnancies; and assists families in determining the number, timing, and spacing of their children—all of which contribute to the well-being of individuals, families, and broader society as well.  Attendees will gain an understanding of how the Title X family planning program has demonstrated its value to society over time by providing critical services to those who have the most difficulty obtaining them. The session will feature Public Health Solutions, one of New York City's largest nonprofit organizations, widely recognized in designing, implementing, assessing, and recommending effective methods and programs for preventing disease and improving health.

This session will provide an overview of the state budget situation and the prospects for adequate funding for health and social services in the next budget. Participants will learn about changes in state tax policy in recent years and how they have interacted with the recession to impact revenues. The presentation will discuss major state programs including Medicaid, education, and criminal justice and key policy choices that will shape cost and policy outcomes in these programs. The session will also explain the potential impacts of federal health care reform on the state budget and conclude with tax policy options that will help Ohio close its budget gap. [Repeat of Session #2]

Speakers:

• Jon Honeck, Ph.D., Director of Public Policy, Community Solutions
• Emily Campbell, Policy and Planning Associate, Community Solutions

Martin Luther King, Jr. famously pointed out what modern researchers have discovered, “All are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.” As we help others, as we see hurt and brokenness, how can we not be affected? But it does not have to make us sick and tired. There are self-care strategies that can help in maintaining vitality and wellness. In this session, strategies for work-life balance will be presented, and the physiology of stress and relaxation will be discussed. Attendees will learn and practice techniques for mind-body relaxation and leave with practical Mind-Body First Aid Kit tools to use and share with others.  

Speaker:

• Jerome Kiffer, M.A., Manager, Psychological Testing Center, and Therapist, Neurological Institute’s Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Cleveland Clinic

Economic development is the cornerstone of the quality of life in the region and our communities. The interaction between business opportunities, market growth, jobs, income, population characteristics, and social and health conditions determines the need and ability to pay for the community’s social and health care services. This session will highlight a project of The Fund for Our Economic Future, assisted by the Center for Economic Development at Cleveland State University, to monitor the region’s economy and quality of life. The panel will discuss efforts to implement the Fund’s goals and conclude with an open discussion of how the community’s social and health care services are impacted by the region’s economy.

Speakers:

• Ziona Austrian, Ph.D., Director, The Center for Economic Development, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University
• Brad Whitehead, President, The Fund for Our Economic Future
• Mark Salling, Ph.D., Director of Research at Community Solutions and NODIS, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University

The long-term care continuum is a complex system consisting of a myriad of services and programs that make up the aging network. Part 1 of this session offered an overview of the continuum. This session will explore current challenges, discuss emerging trends, and explain how to advocate about issues on behalf of older adults.  [Part 1: Session #11]

Speakers:

• Julie Jarvis, Senior Program Manager, Community Services and Supports, Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging
• Martha Kutik, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jennings Center for Older Adults
• Linda Noelker, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Planning and Organizational Resources and Director, Katz Policy Institute, Benjamin Rose Institute
• Stacey Rokoff, MSSA, LSW, Director, Successful Aging Programs, Fairhill Partners
• Moderator: Sheila Niles, MSN, RN, CS, Community Volunteer, Council On Older Persons

Nonprofit organizations have numerous stories to tell—stories about issues, causes, services, and people. But before they can tell a story, they need to determine what the message really is. An experienced communications professional will use a real, current example of unraveling a complex community issue to identify its messages, prioritize them, and then tell them effectively.

Speaker:

• Jeff Rusnak, Cleveland Office, M+R Strategic Services