You are the Superhero of Data Quality. You are on the front lines every day, responding to different and sometimes dire needs from the people in our community, state, or across the country. They've called because they're out of options and they need your attention, empathy, and experience to help them take the next steps. And given all that, we are talking data quality? Yes! This session will help explain why it matters more than you might think, and will provide information and handouts to share with your colleagues back home.

Key Takeaways:

• Review some real-world examples of data quality: when it's great, or horribly wrong
• Exploring Community Information Exchanges: data quality on steroids
• Learn how APIs use your data in real-time
• Reporting: what you enter drives decisions but only if the data can be used
• Learn the call handling techniques that can improve data quality without sacrificing the human connection

There are (what feels like) countless articles, videos, and even websites that tell you they have a mythical and magical list of things you can do or practice that will make you resilient (I’ll wait here a minute while you google it to verify my claim). Although those lists can be helpful in their own way, they can also be misleading by making you think that if you have checked all the boxes on the list...you are indeed resilient, which is actually not true. 

George Bonano, professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University, has learned through his intense studies of grief that there is no best way to cope and that resilience is an outcome...not an aspect of character or even a skill you acquire. 

Using Bonano’s research (with a healthy mix of the Multi System Model of Resilience from some smart folks at Ryers University), we will explore more about how eating a bag of chips can be considered adaptive coping and how talking to friends about the problem can be maladaptive coping. We will further outline and explore a 3X3 model (see takeaways below for additional details) of recognizing and even cultivating resources in your life that can lead you to a resilient outcome every time... on the path and in the way that feels best to you.

Please make sure you have your phone handy and a paper and pen for drawing out the model for your reference and to add personal notes and reflection. I also highly recommend having a snack on hand you enjoy :) 

Key Takeaways:

• Understand what makes a coping mechanism adaptive or maladaptive (spoiler...it's not what you think)
• Outline the three mindsets linked to resilient outcomes that allow you to focus on the task at hand constructively.
• Outline “The Sequence” - 3 questions that help you determine what to do for yourself in a specific situation to get closer to a resilient outcome.
• Outline the three systems/layers of resilience (internal, coping and pursuits, external) and brainstorm a list of what resources you already have access to in those systems and which ones you could cultivate.
• Use the MSMR tool/app to scientifically and empirically evaluate the potential for your own resilient outcomes based on what resources in each system you have access to now.

Working with challenging calls can be one of the most difficult tasks required of us as Community Resource Specialists. The reasons a call may be challenging can vary; as such, different approaches and techniques will be more or less effective depending on your caller type. In this workshop, we will discuss various categories of challenging calls, discuss approaches to tackling the challenges presented, and role-play several scenarios.

Key Takeaways:

• Different reasons calls may present as challenging
• Various categories of challenging calls
• Techniques to de-escalate whenever possible
• Working with racist or abusive callers
• When it’s time to let a caller go, and how to do so

Our communities are becoming more open and diverse, with countless community members, clients, and staff identifying within the LGBTQ+ umbrella. But are our practices, both in and out of the workplace, helping create inclusive spaces? Now is the time to make sure we’re equipped to cultivate safe, welcoming, and inclusive environments for all diverse gender identities. In this training, we'll explore introductory definitions around LGBTQ+ identities, as well as pronouns and how to create inclusive workspaces for both staff and clients: what are gender-neutral pronouns, and how do I use them? What if I accidentally misgender a client or coworker? Why is it important to use expansive & inclusive language? All of these questions will be covered in this training, which seeks to provide an open space for vital conversations on gender inclusivity in the workplace and beyond.

Key Takeaways:

• Understand basic LGBTQ+ and gender terminology and how it applies to our workplace 
• Understand how to use gendered and gender-neutral pronouns
• Understand how to "correct" yourself if you accidentally misgender a client or coworker
• Understand the importance of creating a safe and diverse workplace.

Have you ever wondered why we perform active listening as de-escalation in a crisis and why this is effective? This presentation will outline what happens in the brain when a person is in a crisis state and why active listening can restore neocortical functioning. The presenter will discuss the evolution of a crisis state and the changes in the brain during the build-up to a crisis when a person is in an active crisis state. The presenter will review how to practice active listening with a caller and how this technique de-escalates and restores the brain to its "resting" state. Active listening builds rapport, establishes trust, and returns the caller to a state of de-escalation and rest. Learn why this tool should be the foundation of crisis call work!

Key Takeaways:

• Develop an understanding of crisis theory and model of a crisis state
• Understand what is occurring in the neocortical functioning of the brain in the development of a crisis state, active crisis state, and de-escalation of a crisis state
• Demonstrate how to utilize "active listening" tools
• Understand how active listening both builds rapport and de-escalates crisis callers and why this is a foundational tool

Using the 211 LA County Taxonomy of Human Services to index or search for services can seem overwhelming. We’re here to show you the basics of using the Taxonomy effectively so your resource database will help connect people to the services they need.

Key Takeaways:

• Effectively use the 211 LA County Taxonomy to index resource data
• Create efficient resource searches for Community Resource Specialists and the general public
• How to find answers to your Taxonomy questions after the conference is over