Father Force: How Organizations Can Accomplish More by Mobilizing and Utilizing Dads
May 27 , 2008
12:30 to 4:30
Open Book
1011 Washington Ave. So.
Minneapolis, MN

Father Force is an interactive, hands-on training that helps professionals and their organizations recognize ways to use the father resource, making dads into allies in accomplishing your mission. You will learn effective ways for improving fathers' communication and commitment to health, child and family and ways to assess how "father friendly" you and your organization are. Emphasis is given to the role of gender, race and class in healthy fatherhood. Father Force also provides rationale and methods for weaving responsible fatherhood issues into evaluations of public health initiatives. Workshop brochure and registration form are available here.

10th Annual MCH Summer Institute on Health Disparities
Promoting Health Equity: Family-centered Program Development and Advocacy
June 12, 2008
Center for Continuing Education and Conference Center
University of Minnesota St. Paul Campus

Sponsored by the Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health
Division of Epidemiology and Community Health
School of Public Health
University of Minnesota

Institute Focus: The Institute will provide an opportunity to discuss how the universal experience of family—and its diverse definitions—can be integrated into family-centered programs and policies that enhance family resilience and improve individual and population health. We will also affirm that family-centered care is fundamental to health equity: individuals who are at social disadvantage can thrive when programs and policies strengthen and support their core support systems.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers:

Maureen Reed, MD, Adjunct Instructor, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota. Dr. Reed has dedicated her career to delivering better health outcomes for Minnesotans and is a former Medical Director of HealthPartners. Dr. Reed is a nationally sought speaker on health care quality, health care improvement and patient satefy. Dr. Reed served on the University of Minnesota's Board of Regents from 1997-2005 (and chaired the Board from 2001-2003). In addition to her clinical and administrative expertise, Dr. Reed extended her advocacy and policy skills as Peter Hutchinson's running mate in Minnesota's 2006 gubernatorial race. Dr. Reed graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School, where she also completed her residency in internal medicine.

Joe Kelly Joe Kelly has two grown daughters and is the President of the national organization Dads & Daughters. He is a nationally recognized fatherhood speaker and trainer; and author of Dads and Daughters: How to Inspire, Understand and Support Your Daughter , The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Being an Expectant Father , The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Being a New Dad , Clean: A New Generation in Recovery Speaks Out, and The Body Myth: Adult Women and the Pressure to Be Perfect. Mr. Kelly is a co-founder of the award-winning New Moon magazine for girls, has a BS degree in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Jacquelyn Boggess, JD Jacquelyn Boggess is the Co-Director of the Center for Family Policy and Practice (CFPP). She has worked with the CFPP since its inception in 1995 and is the Project Director for the Center's Legal Assistance Project. The Project is designed to provide legal information and education about child support to low-income parents. Ms. Boggess has expertise in state and federal child support and paternity establishment law and policy, with a particular emphasis on low-income, never-married fathers. She has also developed a Q&A legal resource and co-authored a child support manual for parents and practitioners who have questions and concerns about child support and paternity establishment. Ms. Boggess is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison Law School.

Poster Sessions and Information Table:
We invite Communty and academic researchers, program developers, students and advocates to display their work as posters during the institute. We are specifically interested in posters that fit our theme of family-centered program and policy development, health equity, and/or health disparities. The poster application is available here.

A table will be available for organizations to place one or two informational pieces to share with Institute attendees (space is limited).

MCH Brownbags

MCH students participate in monthly meetings with the MCH Chairperson and Student Coordinator for Professional Development. The schedule and presentation materials are available here.

Videoconference Continuing Education Opportunities

Lessons from the Field sponsored by the University of Minnesota Center for Excellence in Children's Mental Health in conjunction with University and community partners offers a series of videoconferences focusing on bridging the gap from research to practice in children's mental health. This year's series will be held on the University of Minnesota metro campus and broadcast to over 35 host sites around the state. A list of locations and registration information may be found here or contact Ellen Lepinski at lepin008@umn.edu.Dates and topics are as follows:

Local, Regional, and National Conferences

The following is a list of some upcoming conferences that MCH professionals may be interested in attending. Check the conference websites for further information.