Pre-Conference Sessions
Sunday, August 28, 12:00-3:30 pm
**To open a separate page with the definitions for the workshop codes, click here.
S1 Poverty Simulation
Carlos Guajardo, VISTA Leader, Think Tank, inc., Springfield, OH
Live a month in poverty in just a few hours. Back by popular demand following the 2008 National Conference, this interactive workshop will take participants through the course of four 15-minute “weeks.” Participants will assume the roles of different families facing poverty: some are newly unemployed, some are recently deserted by the “breadwinner,” and others are recipients of TANF, either with or without additional earned income. But each family shares the same common task: providing for basic necessities and shelter during the four weeks. Through this powerful course, attendees will gain a special insight into the state of chronic crisis that consumes so many working poor families.
Workshop Code: ALL
S2 Show Me the Money- The ABC’s of Foundation of Grant Writing
Connie Philipenko, Director of Vocational Services for Public Housing and Carrie Welnel, Family Self Sufficiency Coordinator, Minot Housing Authority, Minot, ND
Finding funds can be crucial to the success of your program. Join us at this fun filled, intensive session that will assist you in finding foundation grants, understanding requests for proposals, and evaluating proposal and budget criteria. Writing foundation grants is not what you know, but who you know. For foundations it's not so much about the money, but the relationships.
Workshop Code: ALL
S3 Service Coordinator 101
Kelly Daab Green, MA, LLPC, Service Coordinator Program Director, KMG Prestige, Mt. Pleasant, MI; Tonya Balducci, LBSW, Quality Assurance Director for Southeastern Property Management in Birmingham, AL
Are you a new service coordinator? This workshop will provide an intensive overview of the basics of service coordination with an emphasis on the role of the service coordinator, service coordination and ethics and service coordinator best practices. This workshop is designed to provide new service coordinators with the beginning basics and will kick of the New Service Coordinator Track of the conference, which will feature workshops on a variety of other topic areas geared towards new service coordinators including documentation, the service coordinator/property manager relationship and many more.
Workshop Code: SC101
S4 The Nuts and Bolts of the Family Self Sufficiency Program
Patti Zatarian Menard, Training Associate, Nan McKay & Associates, El Cajon, CA
The Family Self Sufficiency programs are asset-building programs for Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing families. The programs encourage communities to develop local strategies to help families obtain employment that will lead to economic independence and self-sufficiency. This session will take and in-depth exploration of the elements, regulations and policies of the FSS programs including the Program Coordinating Committee, intake into the program, Contracts of Participation, calculating escrow accounts, portability, marketing, and finding private sector resources.
Workshop Code: FSS

