The first-of-its-kind Home Care Cooperative Conference has announced its agenda.

Home care worker cooperative members and developers from across the country will gather September 12 – 14, 2016 in Dulles, Virginia for the inaugural Home Care Cooperative Conference. Registration is open for this innovative conference, organized by the Cooperative Development Foundation and hosted at the headquarters of the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation.

While key to keeping seniors and the disabled out of nursing homes and hospitals, home care providers are some of the lowest paid workers in the United States. The cooperative model empowers workers and enhances their working conditions. The goal of this conference is to help existing and nascent home care cooperatives think in terms of systems and collaborations that can improve wages and job satisfaction as well as client care.

Program highlights include the state of the home care industry, best practices in recruitment and retention of caregivers, communicating the cooperative difference to clients and caregivers, and managing human resources issues. The agenda also includes breakout sessions designed for cooperative boards, managers and technical assistance providers.

The $250 conference registration fee includes access to all conference sessions, dinners and the Monuments by Night Tour of Washington, D.C. on September 13.

Conference attendees can reserve a room online in the CDF Room Block at the Courtyard Dulles Town Center. The last day to book at the group room are of $144 a night is Monday August 15th.  The hotel offers complimentary onsite parking. For attendees flying into Washington Dulles International Airport, an airport shuttle service—available upon request—is also complimentary. Please note: the hotel does not offer shuttle service from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Webinar: Demystifying lending to shared equity housing models

This week on Everything Co-op: Pat Thornton, Justin Franks and Rob McClinton interview Hall of Famer Vernon Oakes

The agenda at a glance:

Monday, September 12th

6:30pm

Welcome Dinner

Tuesday, September 13th

8:30 am – 9:00 am

Welcome

Judy Ziewacz President & CEO NCBA CLUSA Washington, DC

Leslie Mead Executive Director Cooperative Development Foundation Washington, DC

9:00 am – 10:00 am

Opportunities and Challenges for Home Care Worker Cooperatives

David Hammer, Executive Director, The ICA Group

10:00 am – 10:30 am

Break

10:30 am – 11:30 am

Becoming the Employer of Choice: Recruitment, Retention and Training

Jodi Sturgeon, President, Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute

11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Sector Roundtables and Lunch

• Board Roundtable
• Technical Assistance Roundtable
• Start-up Roundtable
12:00 noon – 1:00 pm Lunch

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Marketing Your Cooperative to Caregivers and Clients What Sets You Apart from Your Competitors: Marketing Cooperative Values

Jessica Ross, Managing Partner, Finn Partners

Katie Franklin, Vice President, Finn Partners

Guerrilla Marketing and Other Stealthy Approaches to Marketing on a Shoestring

Deborah Craig, Cooperative Developer Specialist, Northwest Cooperative Development Center

Workers to Owners: Membership Education Tools

Victoria Sprong, Caregiver Coordinator, Circle of Life Cooperative

3:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Break

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Managing Human Resource Issues in a Home Care Worker Cooperative

Joe Marraffino, Democracy at Work Network

6:00 pm

Dinner and Washington DC Monument Tour

Wednesday, September 14th

8:30 am – 10:30 am

Governance and Finance

Anne Reynolds, University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives

Margaret Lund, Co-opera Co.

10:30 am – 11:00 am

Break

11:00 am – 12:00 noon

Moving Forward Together: Program Wrap Up

Margaret Bau, Cooperative Specialist, USDA Rural Development

12:00 noon

Lunch

Thank you to our sponsors!