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Rosewood clients participate in state conference
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Members of the Rosewood Miracle Workers AKTION Club hold a megaphone that reads: Rosewood Voices. Each advocacy group in attendance was asked to bring a megaphone created by their respective groups to use in the opening ceremonies. From left to right in the photo are: Jennifer Stoddard (sponsor), Robin Bethel, Karla Franklin, Dustin Alkire, Cheryl Mendenhall, Peggy Scott, Darren Brown and Paula Fellers (sponsor). - photo by COURTESY PHOTO

Six members of Rosewood Services’ AKTION Club, along with two sponsors, participated in the Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas (SACK) Conference at the end of July in Topeka.
Attending the Conference for Kansans with Disabilities were Rosewood Miracle Workers Robin Bethel, Karla Franklin, Dustin Alkire, Cheryl Mendenhall, Peggy Scott and Darren Brown. Sponsors who attended were Jennifer Stoddard and Paula Fellers.
The SACK conference, held July 27-29 at the Capital Plaza Hotel, was an opportunity for people with developmental disabilities to meet, share and learn from each other and experts in the field. Participants of this year’s annual conference had opportunity to choose from 15 workshops during five breakout sessions.
At the start of the conference, participants heard from keynote speaker Dr. Wendy Parent-Johnson, assistant director at the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities. She is a leader in the field of supported and customized employment. She was active in Employment First legislation and has been appointed by Gov. Sam Brownback to serve on the Employment First Commission.
“The conference provided an excellent opportunity for us to network with other groups and gain knowledge about statewide advocacy efforts,” said Stoddard. SACK does a wonderful job scheduling speakers and planning a positive, memorable experience. We were fortunate to be able to attend.”
Miracle Worker members were awarded grants from Rosewood’s Roots & Wings Foundation, which paid for their conference entry fee and the expense of their trip.
Among the varied workshops offered, Rosewood attendees took part in sessions that explored Employee First initiatives and employment preparation.
Several Rosewood conference goers attended KanCare sessions to learn about how pending changes for Medicaid will affect client services and the providers of services.
They discovered how to become actively involved in their futures by learning more about pending managed care services for the developmentally disabled and how they can be heard at the state level about the changes, which directly affect them.  Subsequently, the name of this year’s state SACK Conference was “Voices Heard.”