Invited Speaker: Whitney Shipley, MS, MEP Cities Readiness Initiative Coordinator, Omaha MSA 
Douglas County Health Department, Omaha, NE

'Focused Conversation,' the foundation of the Institute of Cultural Affairs' Technology of Participation Group Facilitation Methods, is a tool for creating productive conversations within groups, using the natural sequences inherent in the human thought process. Participants will receive coaching and learn how to construct, facilitate and participate in a focused conversation.

Invited Speaker: Kay Edwards PhD, MS 
Collegiate Professor and Program Director 
Health Care Administration, Graduate School 
University of Maryland University College

Strong negotiation skills are an essential MCH professional asset for implementing programs and policies. During this workshop, participants will learn new techniques to improve their effectiveness in negotiations and conflict resolution.

Invited Speakers: 
Michael D. Kogan, PhD Director, Office of Data and Program Development 
HRSA / Maternal and Child Health Bureau

Laurin Kasehagen, PhD, MA 
Senior CDC MCH Epidemiologist / Assignee to CityMatCH, 
Adjunct Assistant Professor in Pediatrics 
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Local level data and web-based tools are a cornerstone for MCH practice and policy making. This workshop will explore the advantages and disadvantages of these instruments. Participants will work through a series of exercises/case studies, demonstrating the utility and limitations of several widely available tools.

Does your organization have the tools and resources necessary to help people in your community move out of poverty? What are the opportunities to partner with community members to create a dialog for overcoming challenges and build on their strengths? This session will provide tools for examining your organization, policies, and practices to ensure more successful outcomes.

Invited Speaker: Don Owens 
Director of Public Affairs 
National Association for the Education of Young Children

How can we successfully advocate on behalf of women and children in the political arena? How can we package our message for policy makers and elected offi cials in order to persuade them to support an MCH health agenda? This session offers practical tools and strategies for successfully framing important "maternal and child health" messages for a variety of audiences.

Lack of male involvement in a child's life has been linked with higher rates of poverty, teen pregnancy, suicide, incarceration and drug abuse, poor school performance and higher drop-out rates. Too often, this legacy of fatherlessness passes from one generation to the next. This session will discuss strategies to engage, support and encourage men to be involved fathers.

Mapping data is a concrete way for public health to understand neighborhood differences and the relationships between health outcomes and neighborhood indicators such as education, public transportation, parks, and dedicated resources. This session will highlight how one urban city has mapped out data related to child health and development and how those maps have been useful to local public health professionals.

Numerous studies have found that comprehensive education about sexuality - programs that teach teens about both abstinence and contraception/disease prevention - is an effective strategy to help young people delay initiation of sexual intercourse. The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) has developed a Community Action Kit. This kit offers tools to enhance knowledge concerning sexuality education, build support within states and communities, help implement sound policies, and institute effective comprehensive sexuality education programs.

Differences in adult health are thought to be partially rooted in the early conditions of life and class disparities. What are the long-term impacts of poverty, stress, and discrimination? Can "diseases of civilization" be linked with accumulated disadvantage over a lifetime? How do the differences vary by gender? How can local health departments take current research fi ndings and create programs that address these disparities?

Mental health problems in children may present a lifetime of human, social and economic burdens. Increased attention on children's mental health care, presents a major public health challenge. Focusing on the life-course perspective, this session will address the impact of poor mental health on youth development.

Invited Speaker: Mario Drummonds, MS, LCSW, MBA 
Executive Director Northern Manhattan (NY) Perinatal Partnership

What can the business world teach public health experts - and everyone else - about how to improve people's health? This session will highlight successful strategies implemented in the Northern Manhattan Perinatal Project (a Healthy Start grantee) to improve maternal and child health through a business model approach.

The use of health care services by undocumented persons living in the U.S. and the eligibility for public fi nancing of these and other services has fueled national debates. These debates have raised questions regarding the "burdens" of fi nancing, rates/types of utilization, the impacts upon the safety net, and public health’s ability to provide evidencebased, culturally competent care. This session looks at the most recent evidence and experiences, asks key questions and introduces cutting-edge strategies to address a population in great need of health care.

TBA