Nationally-renowned speaker, trainer and advocate Marsha Rose Katz will present "Alternatives to Guardianship" on Monday, December 3rd, from 1-2:30 PM (MDT). There is no cost to participate in the training, and you can "attend" from the comfort of your own office or home. You will need access to a telephone (to dial a toll-free number for the audio portion) and to the Internet (so you can access the Web site and view Ms. Katz's slideshow). For more information or to register, please view the attached document. Registrations are due by 5:00 PM on Wednesday, November 28, 2007. Watch for Thier upcoming E-News newsletter to see the other exciting Web conferences we have planned, and to read about their newest transition project, the Montana Transition Training, Information and Resource Center (MT-TIRC).

In the words of presenter Marsha Katz: “There is no question asked more often by the parents of a child with a disability than, ‘What will happen to my son or daughter when I am no longer around?’ The combination of love, fear and concern as a child approaches adulthood often has parents questioning whether or not they should pursue legal guardianship. This parental inner struggle is made even more difficult by the lack of information available regarding what a guardianship can and can’t do. In fact, most people have many misconceptions about what a guardianship really is... and isn’t. This Web conference will offer parents, teachers and support providers information they don’t typically receive about guardianship. In addition, it will offer students and families alternatives that can allow families to remain respectfully involved in their children’s lives as they transition into adulthood.”

Topics to be covered include:
 Realities and myths of guardianship
 Tools such as the “Release of Information,” “Advocacy Authorization,” and “Medical Power of Attorney”
 The benefits of using “person-centered planning”
 How to answer the “what if?” questions that inevitably arise
 A discussion of the possibilities for typical supports, available to everyone, or disability-specific supports that can serve as alternatives to guardianship

Web conference attendance may be used to help meet Office of Public Instruction Renewal Unit requirements. There is no cost to participate in this training session thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities and the Montana Council on Developmental Disabilities.

Presenter: Marsha Rose Katz - Marsha is a Project Director at the University of Montana Rural Institute, and author of an advocacy manual on Supplemental Security Income (SSI)/Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), entitled Don’t Look for Logic. She is also a member of the Social Security Advisory Board.

Marsha has worked in disability rights for over 25 years, and came to Montana in late 1998 after serving as Vice President of the Association for Community Advocacy in Michigan. She is an experienced trainer in all aspects of SSI, SSDI, assisting people with disabilities to start their own businesses, and alternatives to guardianship. Her additional interests include disability law and policy, persons with cognitive disabilities in the criminal justice system, parents with disabilities, and fetal alcohol syndrome/fetal alcohol effects. Marsha is active nationally with both ADAPT and Not Dead Yet.

Registrations are due by 5:00 PM on Wednesday, November 28, 2007.