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Welcome, We Are Glad You’re Here!
We are excited to welcome you to the Minnesota Social Service Association's 128th Annual Training Conference and Expo!
This year’s theme is Raise Your Voice.
This. Past. Year.
This past year has been so full of grief, loss, tragedy, loneliness, racism, political division… where do we go from here? What do we do next?
Many of the traditional ways we cope—friends, church, restaurants, work lunchrooms, therapists’ offices are out of reach or have transitioned to virtual formats. As health and human services providers, we know that virtual options, while better than nothing, are not the same.
This is true for this year’s conference as well. We are glad that you are joining us for this virtual event. While it may not look the same the staff, board of directors and conference committee have worked hard to ensure a conference space that will allow you to Raise Your Voice.
If you are looking for tools and training to become a better health and human service professional—we have you covered with a variety of sessions that will leave you with new and innovative information to take you to the next level.
If you need a place to rest, refresh and reset—we have sessions that will provide mindfulness strategies that you can try, and perhaps incorporate into your daily life—such as meditation, yoga, and journaling. You can even join us for a short St. Patrick’s Day Vacation!
If you need to connect with like minded health and human services professionals—we have our Curated Connections series. These are small breakout rooms that you can connect with other MSSA members around a particular topic.
If you need a space to process everything you have learned—we will be ending the conference with a Conference Conclusion session that will allow you to talk, discuss and process what you have learned throughout the conference.
Our goal is for this conference to be a place for you to not only learn, but to carve out some time for you to reflect on the ever-changing world we are living in today.
But our mission, and our theme this year is more than that. We need you to take care of you, we need you to be the best you can be, because we need your voice. This year has made divisions, disparities, and injustices so crystal clear that we need you to Raise Your Voice to demand change.
The pandemic has further demonstrated the inequities that have long plagued our health and human services systems—resulting in significant disparities for BIPOC communities. We continue to be haunted by the death of George Floyd and the countless others both before his passing and after. Our elderly and disabled populations are increasingly lonely and isolated—with devastating consequences.
There is so much to be done. And there is no one to do it but us. No one knows the health and human service system like you, like us. Together, when we Raise Our Voice to stand up against injustice, to stand up for those you work with and for, you are standing with over 3,000 of your colleagues, and together we can move mountains.
As you navigate our 128th Annual Training Conference and Expo we encourage you to take what you learn and Raise Your Voice—how will you use the information you learn, how will you change, how will you make a difference?
And MSSA will be here to help you. Throughout the remainder of 2021, you can continue to look to us for opportunities to Raise Your Voice!
“So, what are you going to do differently?” Austin Channing Brown, I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness. (MSSA 2021 keynote)
A Message from our President
Our Sponsors
Conference Schedule - 03/12/21
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Moral Injury in the Social Services
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
From Cell to Street: What Offenders Need When They Return to the Community
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
MN Waiver Positive Support Service
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Changing the Narrative on Suicide Prevention
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Demographics, Trends, and Assessment of the LGBTQ+ Population
11:15 AM to 12:00 PM
Career Connections: Veterinary Social Work
11:15 AM to 12:00 PM
Career Connections - Dispositional Advisor
11:15 AM to 12:00 PM
Career Connections - Elected Officials
11:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Curated Connections - Macro
11:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Curated Connections - Rural
11:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Curated Connections - Supervision & Leadership
Conference Schedule - 03/17/21
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Keynote Tim Wise
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Balancing Rights, Safety, and Risk as a Community During COVID-19
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Employee Retention: How to Keep Them Once You’ve Got Them
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Linking Cross-System Child Data to Understand Patterns of Mental Health Services Access
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Move Worker, Get Out the Way...
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Online Solicitation of Youth and When it Becomes Commercial Exploitation
10:15 AM to 11:15 AM
Elder Justice State of the Field
12:00 PM to 12:30 PM
Q&A with Keynote Tim Wise
12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
Ethical Issues and Boundaries in Practitioner-Client Relationships
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Be Aware, Be Prepared, Make a Difference: A Reflective Journey to Effective and Compassionate Helping
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Empowering Your Inner Advocate: Advocacy Basics
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Flip of the Hair
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
What's New in Minnesota Guardianship? A Practical Guide to MN's 2020 Guardianship Statute Changes
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Practicing Cultural Humility to Address Racial Disparities and Inequities
2:00 PM to 2:25 PM
Curated Connections - Behavioral Health
2:00 PM to 2:25 PM
Curated Connections - Gender-Based Violence
2:00 PM to 2:25 PM
Curated Connections Student Focus: Employment in the Health and Human Service Field
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
From Vaping to Video Gaming: The New Generation of Adolescent Addictions
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Lead From Where You Stand: How to Succeed as a Middle-Level Manager
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Stories of Employment: Using Employment Services
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Taking Control of Your Wellness: Using Practical Tools to Thrive in Stressful Times
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
The US Constitution, Police Social Work, and Social Work Education
Conference Schedule - 03/18/21
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Keynote Austin Channing Brown
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
It’s Not You, It’s Me: Reinventing Disability Services
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Porn and Teens: Let's Talk About it!
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Social Workers in the Library
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Upstream Interventions to Engage Older Adults to Take Charge Over Their Health and Well-being
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Virtual Moments - Leading with Certainty During Uncertain Times
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Why Are Health Care Costs in the U.S. So High and What Can We Do About It?
12:00 PM to 12:30 PM
Q&A with Keynote Austin Channing Brown
12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
Overview and Outcomes of the DHS Systemic Critical Incident Review Process
12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
The Right to Make Choices: Supporting Individuals' Self-Determination to Make Informed Choices
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Leading with Emotional Intelligence, Part One
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Medicare Benefits – What Do You Need to Know in 2021
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Recognizing and Addressing the Unique Needs of LGBTQIA+ Youth in the Forensic Interview
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Meet the Client Where They're At...Then What?
2:00 PM to 2:25 PM
Curated Connections - Adult Services & Developmental Disabilities
2:00 PM to 2:25 PM
Curated Connections - Child Well-Being
2:00 PM to 2:25 PM
Curated Connections Student Focus: Careers in Clinical Mental Health
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
A Day in the Life: Living with Mental Health Conditions and Recovery During the COVID-19 Pandemic
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Become a Student Loan Champ
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Social Service and Law Enforcement Coordinated Response: Strengthening Public Service in Partnership
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Telling Your Story
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
The Brave New World of Direct Access for Substance Use Disorder Treatment
Conference Schedule - 03/19/21
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Adult Identities Shaped by Childhood: Shifting Emotionally Destructive Identity Narratives
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Handling Difficult Conversations - Permanency
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
People Have the Right to Make Bad Decisions!
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Supporting Ourselves in the Moment...
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Transforming Through Telehealth
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Vulnerable Adult Act (VAA) Redesign: Recommendations and Stakeholder Input
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Getting an MSW: Why? When? and How?
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Getting Started Finding and Seeking Grants: Overview on Private, Corporate, and Community Foundation Grantseeking
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Restoring Our Ability to Breathe: Healing Trauma in Diverse Communities
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Student Showcase Presentations
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Teen Dating Violence: A Multidisciplinary Team Approach Within a CAC
10:15 AM to 11:45 AM
The Art of Empowering: Navigating Difficult Situations and Teams
12:00 PM to 12:25 PM
Curated Connections - Aging
12:00 PM to 12:25 PM
Curated Connections - Criminal Justice
12:00 PM to 12:25 PM
Curated Connections - Housing
12:00 PM to 12:25 PM
Curated Connections - Virtual Care / Telemedicine
12:30 PM to 2:45 PM
What to Do With Children Who Start Fires?
12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
Connecting the Dots: Ableism and Accessibility
12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
Ethics through a Moral Courage Lens
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Improving Awareness and Service Delivery for Individuals With FASD
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Leading with Emotional Intelligence, Part Two
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Minnesota's New Assisted Living: Moving Forward with Regulatory Reforms
2:00 PM to 2:25 PM
Curated Connections - Veteran's Affairs
2:00 PM to 2:25 PM
Curated Connections Student Focus: Careers in Disability Services and Aging Services
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Conference Conclusions
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
How a Brain Injury Could Impact a Client’s Overall Functioning. What Do I Need to Know?
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Making Positive Roommate Matches!
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Recovering With Mom: Lessons Learned From Children Living With Their Mothers in a Treatment Setting
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Veteran Suicide