CHAUTAUQUA - The impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision upholding the Affordable Care Act will be one of the topics covered when The Resource Center conducts its third annual TRC Symposium at Chautauqua.
The event, which takes place July 31 and Aug. 1, will highlight current issues and new approaches in the field of services for people with disabling conditions. The symposium's theme is "Supporting Individuals with Disabilities: A Changing Landscape."
The event offers an opportunity to engage in discussions with those on the front lines of the issues and hear from individuals who experience disabling conditions throughout their daily lives. The experiences of those with disabilities can be quite diverse, but they can touch in profound ways the individuals, their families and their community.
Day One of the symposium will take place in the Athenaeum Hotel on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution. This year's speakers include Patrick Gauthier and Bill TenHoor with Advocates for Human Potential.
Together, Gauthier and TenHoor have decades of experience in behavioral health policy, system design and quality improvement. They will discuss the aspects and implications of the multi-year implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the Supreme Court's decision on legal challenges to the law. They also will touch upon the impact on health care providers as well as people with special needs.
Also slated to speak on the first day is C. Thomas Cook, the executive director of Rehabilitation for Wisconsin in Action. Cook brings with him 30 years of experience consulting, designing and operating programs serving individuals with disabilities. His discussion will focus on states that have implemented demonstration projects and utilized managed care to support people with disabilities.
Next, there's Edye Schwartz, director of systems transformation for the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation services. Schwartz is a proponent of the recovery movement in the field of mental health. Her discussion will focus on the key strategies and applications of New York State's behavioral health transformation agenda.
Jerr Boschee rounds out the group of first-day speakers. Boschee is the founder and executive director of The Institute for Social Entrepreneurs in Dallas. He has served as an adviser to social entrepreneurs for more than 30 years. Boschee will discuss breakthrough concepts that create jobs and careers for those with disabling conditions or those who are socially or economically disadvantaged. He also will talk about the government's role in fostering new models and the explosion of academic institutions offering courses and degrees in social enterprise.
During the luncheon, symposium attendees will have the opportunity to hear personal perspectives and gain valuable insight from three local residents with varying disabilities. The panel presenters, who each receives supports from The Resource Center, include Andrew Lockwood, an aspiring writer who has is on the autism spectrum; Jocelyn Monaco, who participates in her community and is a Special Olympics athlete; and Ed Christensen, who, though challenged by several disabling conditions, has been able to improve his ability to manage these barriers and return to work.
Once Day One wraps up, attendees will have the opportunity to take a guided walking tour of Chautauqua Institution and enjoy the institution's rich history and its stately homes and buildings.
The following day, attendees are invited to join the five guest speakers from the first day for breakout tours of various programs operated by The Resource Center, after which the attendees and speakers will interact in informal dialogs. The individual groups will reconvene in TRC's Conference Center for a luncheon, during which insights from the morning sessions will be shared.
The Resource Center has been supporting people with disabilities and their families for more than 50 years. TRC created the symposium two years ago as a means of giving its own staff, as well as employees of other area human-service providers, the opportunity to experience experts in the disability field without having to travel to faraway conferences.
The $69 registration fee covers both days of the symposium, including lunch each day. Those planning to attend are asked to register by July 24.
For more information or to register, contact Victoria Trass Bardo at vicky.bardo@resourcecenter.org or at 661-1477. You also can register online at www.trcsymposium.com.
