8:00am – 9:00am | Registration & Breakfast

9:00am – 9:15am | Welcome Address

9:15am – 10:15am | Keynote Address

Building a 21st Century Direct Support Workforce
Joseph Macbeth

Perhaps nothing creates a greater barrier to quality support for people with disabilities than an unstable direct support workforce. The workforce “crisis” has been well-documented for decades, yet every state in the country struggles to find meaningful ways to address it. This presentation will share ideas that, given certain factors in our system’s evolution, now is the time to make an investment in the direct support workforce. It’s time to build a meaningful career that attracts and keeps direct support professionals that is built on research-based knowledge, universal skill standards, high professional ethics and a livable wage. After all, since “quality is defined at the point of interaction,” don’t we owe it to the people we support and their families?

10:15am – 11:30am | Panel Discussion

HCBS Settings Rule and its Impact on Personal Outcomes
Alison Barkoff, Julia Bascom, Chester Finn, Tia Nelis

The HCBS Settings Rule is not an abstract set of aspirations, but federal regulations crafted to positively affect the lives of people receiving services. These are rights, and everyone plays a role in the Rule’s successful and meaningful implementation. How will the Rule promote the achievement of outcomes? What steps can providers take in their supports? How can states identify systemic changes to come into compliance with the Rule? Where can all stakeholders turn to for guidance and resources? An expert panel with decades of experience in public policy, advocacy, rights, and related topics, breaks it all down for attendees.

11:30am – 1:00pm | Lunch (on your own)

1:00pm – 2:00pm | Breakout Sessions

• Person-Centered Career Planning: The Driver Behind Employment for All
• Working on the Bedrock: The Case for Self-Determination Expansion Goals
• Listen More, Talk Less – Positive Services and Supports
• Supporting Self Advocacy and Exercising Rights
• Introduction to Graphic Recording

2:00pm – 2:15pm | Exhibitor Break

2:15pm – 3:15pm | Breakout Sessions

• A New Plan: Renewing the Promise of Person-Centered Planning
• Being the Hero of Your Life Through Informed Self-Advocacy
• Partnerships for Lasting Independence with Enabling Technology
• Living Life in Color
• Introduction to Graphic Recording

3:30pm – 4:30pm | Keynote Address

Daring to Dream: Inherent Dignity, Individual Autonomy, and Full Participation
Michael L. Wehmeyer

Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) states that the principles of the Convention include respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, independence of persons; full and effective participation and inclusion in society, and equality of opportunity. This keynote examines the history of the field of IDD, takes stock of how well our practices align with CRPD principles, and lays out a future path of greater dignity, autonomy, choice, and participation for all. The presentation explores the supports paradigm and its implications for strengths-based approaches to the design and implementation supports, the impact of technology, and the role of self-determination.

8:00am – 9:00am | Registration & Breakfast

9:00am – 9:15am | Welcome Address

9:15am – 10:15am | Keynote Address

Trauma Informed Care for Intellectual Disability: The 4 Keys to Success
Julie Gentile

Julie P. Gentile, M.D. is a Professor and Chair at Wright State University Department of Psychiatry, who has evaluated more than 3,500 individuals with dual diagnosis. Through engaging personal stories and effective strategies for supporting people with IDD and co-occurring mental illness, Julie will detail the four keys to success in trauma informed care. From the nuances of psychotropic medications to interviewing techniques for people with dual diagnosis, attendees will leave this keynote with practical steps to improve their supports surrounding this topic.

10:15am – 10:30am | Exhibitor Break

10:30am – 11:30am | Breakout Sessions

• Walking Our Talk: Adventures in a Person-Centered Initiative
• Nexus Commitment: Daring to Connect, Engage & Listen to Our Front Line
• A Horse Named Culture and his Cart Full of Strategy
• TEC Doesn’t Have to be a Four Letter Word

11:30am – 12:00pm | Exhibitor Break

12:00pm – 1:15pm | Lunch & Awards of Excellence

1:15pm – 1:30pm | Exhibitor Break

1:30pm – 2:30pm | Breakout Sessions

• ‘Systems Theory’ Applied to CQL’s Basic Assurances®
• TaDa: Let’s Celebrate!
• Sex & Relationships Conversation Cards
• Empowering Emerging Leaders, Enhancing Retention
• Leveraging Technology to Connect Our Circle of Supports
• CQL Advice Corner, Part 1

2:30pm – 2:45pm | Exhibitor Break

2:45pm – 3:45pm | Breakout Sessions

• The ‘State’ of Systems Change: Driving Transformation Through CQL Network Accreditation
• Invaluable: The Unrecognized Profession of Direct Support
• What’s Next: Readying I/DD Organizations for Success in Alternate Payment Systems
• Wine and Cheese Creates New Places To Live
• CQL Advice Corner, Part 2

3:45pm – 4:00pm | Exhibitor Break

4:00pm – 5:00pm | Keynote Address

Dignity of Risk and Duty of Care
Jason Buckles

Issues of human rights and systems of supports for people with intellectual disability are often framed within a philosophy of the ‘dignity of risk’. Yet, many individuals’ decisions to take risks or make ‘bad’ choices are constrained to professional concepts of the ‘duty of care’. Definitions of these terms are often unclear. The lines drawn between them are regularly uncertain. The debate surrounding this all is diverse. In this keynote, attendees will gain historical and contemporary perspectives of these concepts. Jason will also introduce a replicable process for understanding and approaching these issues, with relevant examples of effective strategies in the ‘real-world.’

8:00am – 9:00am | Breakfast

9:00am – 10:00am | Breakout Sessions

• Meaningful Employment: Opportunities Don’t Happen, You Create Them
• Using Person-Centered Strategies to Improve Recruitment and Retention
• Keeping Your Rights in Plain Sight!
• Dreams into Action: Transforming an Organization, Putting Dreams First

10:00am – 10:05am | Break

10:05am – 11:05am | Keynote Address

The Richest Man In Town
V.J. Smith

Audience members will go on an emotional roller coaster ride as V.J. describes how Marty, an unforgettable cashier at a local big box store, had a profound impact on the people who went through his check-out line. Marty became a legend in an unexpected place because he treated everybody with dignity, kindness and respect. As V.J. says, “Marty was living proof that you don’t need money, power or title to make a difference in life. You just need to care.”

11:05am – 11:30am | Raffle Drawing & Farewell Remarks