May 2007

Web Site: www.NDCSW.org
Lantern
North Dakota Conference of Social Welfare, Inc., -- P.O. Box 2209, Minot, ND 58702-2209
MAY 2007
President's Report
The year is progressing quickly. The 2007 legislative
session is a memory. Social welfare related directors, lobbyists, advocates and other interested parties now find
themselves with extra time in their days! Too quickly, that
time will be devoured by the issues and pressures of ‘normal workdays’ as we all scurry about to improve life for
the people in North Dakota.
September will be a great time to take a breather from
the pressures created by balancing home, work and community. The fall conference is September 19 - 21. 2007.
Mark these dates on your calendar and allow Minot to
educate, entertain and bring some balance into your lives.
As the host city, Minot always has a flavor of community
involvement and Minot pride is evident in the donations
and price reductions offered by city merchants. Each of
us is truly a guest when in Minot.
The Program Committee has an outstanding agenda
planned with a total of 12.75 social work credits available.
Two Wednesday afternoon sessions will be available. Children of Incarcerated Parents will be held from 1:00 PM to
4:00 PM. The cost of this session is included in the full registration and available at a separate cost of $30.00 if you are
unable to attend the entire conference. A session entitled
Taking Care of Ourselves & Come on Down is scheduled
from 2:00 to 4:30 PM on Wednesday afternoon. Designed
for administrative professionals in all areas, it is included in
the full registration and is available separately for $20.00.
I look forward to seeing each of you this fall and encourage you to bring a co-worker that is new to the social welfare
arena or has not had the opportunity to experience the flavor
of this valuable organization.
"Everyone of us gets through the tough times because
somebody is there, standing in the gap to close it for us".
Every Day is a Winding Road
The 2007 Program Committee is off to an exciting
start. We have a team of 12 committee members who
have put enormous effort into designing a program that
will have in-depth content and something to offer for everyone. The Program Committee was directly involved in
a few of the overall goals for the 2007 Conference including increasing membership, securing at least 10.5
CEUs, applying for CEUs in multiple disciplines and recruiting at least one committee member who has never
served on a committee in the past. The program committee is pleased to report that we are offering 12.75 CEUs
for the Fall 2007 Conference in Minot. We are applying
to 4 additional boards for CEUs and have initiated discussion with the Wraparound Re-certification program to
access credits. We have 6 committee members who have
never been on a NDCSW committee and some have
never attended the conference before. The six new committee members bring with them new energy, new ideas
and a desire to rekindle the spirit of NDCSW. The Program Committee is expanding advertising for the conference with the expectation that attendance will increase.
The 2007 NDCSW Conference “Every Day is a
Winding Road” will be held in Minot at the Grand International Inn. The conference begins with two pre-conference sessions starting on Wednesday afternoon. Track
A will consist of a workshop specifically designed for Administrative Professionals in all areas. Donna Marsland,
a public speaker and former educator, will begin at 2 pm
with a session titled “Don’t Eat the Burnt Toast and Other
Life Lessons” which will take a look at how we tend to
take care of others and not always ourselves. She uses
humor get away from being too hard on ourselves. In the
second session, public speaker Sue Hamilton will use
her high energy to entertain and create enthusiasm in
her own version of “Come On Down”. This fun interactive
session set in a game show atmosphere will look at complex issues of daily life. You may even win some prizes!!!
Track B will provide a unique opportunity to address
the needs of Children of Incarcerated Parents. Ann
Adalist-Estrin, Director of the National Resource Center
on Children and Families of the Incarcerated, comes to
us from Pennsylvania. Ann has authored an extensive
list of articles and books regarding mentoring and responding to Children of Incarcerated Parents. Ann will
focus on Ages and Stages of children and adolescents
when they are present for their parent’s arrest, when their
parent is in prison and when their parent is re-entering
the community. Ann will further describe the Children’s
Bill of Rights.
Wednesday evening is going to provide humor with
content. Bruce Christopher, a psychologist, humorist and
keynote speaker, will be opening the conference and pro-
vide the general session on Thursday morning. His theme
is “Laugh ‘til you cry. Learn ‘til you change.” Bruce’s first
session will discuss leadership issues and is tilted “It’s
Hard To Lead The Charge If You Think You Look Funny
On A Horse!” The following morning his session is titled
“Bambi VS. Godzilla” and involves working with difficult
people in any setting. He is an international and Fortune
500 speaker and we are very excited to have the opportunity to bring Bruce Christopher to you.
Thursday mid-morning and early afternoon will be
filled with some incredible concurrent sessions. Sue
Hamilton will be presenting “Who are You ?? Your Telephone Personality” which looks at how consumers perceive the agency you work for by your basic telephone
skills. Bruce Reeves, a professor at the University of North
Dakota will present on the topic of adolescent sexuality
specific to gay, lesbian and bisexual adolescents. Tim
Teig and Captain Aaron Krenz are involved with a program called “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” where they train
communities to work with soldiers returning from Iraq and
their families. The specific issues with reintegration from
war affect not only the soldier and their family but also
their community, place of employment, schools, etc. Dave
Ellingson, Director of Quentin Burdick Job Corps Center
will discuss their specific program that can assist adolescents working towards independent living. Janelle
Regimbal, social worker from Grand Forks, addresses a
topic called “Sandwich Generation”. Her topic involves
the multi-generational situation many adults find themselves in today where they are taking care of a younger
and older generations of family members.
Our final speaker for the closing session on Friday
morning is well known to many in rural and farming areas. We are pleased to present to you Val Farmer, a psychologist formerly from Fargo now living in Missouri. He
has been a newspaper columnist since 1984 and a weekly
guest on the national radio call-in program “AgriTalk News
Network”. Dr. Farmer’s specialty is family relationships
and rural mental health where he writes newspaper columns that are distributed through the United States and
Canada. Dr. farmer will be doing a concurrent session on
Thursday afternoon titled “Maintaining a Healthy Marriage
in a High Stress Profession’. The topic for Friday morning’s
closing session will be on stress in farm and rural families.
As you can see we have a full schedule for all conference participants. We set out to design a program that
would be interesting and fun, but also incorporate in-depth
content to the sessions. By providing the high quality sessions from both in-state and out-of-state speakers, we
anticipate a tremendous program for all who attend the
2007 NDCSW Conference.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
1:00 - 5:00
4 CEU's
General Workshop
Ann Adalist-Estrin (Pennysylvania) — Children of Incarcerated Parents
2:00 - 4:30
NO CEU's
General Workshop for Administrative Professionals
Donna Marsland (Minot) — Don't Eat The Burnt Toast And Other Life
Lessons
Sue Hamilton (Minot) — Come On Down
7:00 - 9:00
Open Session
7:45 - 9:00
1.75 CEU's
Keynote Speaker — Bruce Christopher (Minneapolis) — It's Hard To Lead
The Charge If you Think You Look Funny On A Horse
Thursday, September 20, 2007
8:15 - 10:00
1.75 CEU's
General Session
Bruce Christopher (Minneapolis) — Bambi vs. Godzilla
Breakout Sessions
10:30 - 12:00
1.5 CEU's
Sue Hamilton (Minot) — What's Your Telephone Personality?
Bruce Reeves (Minnesota) — Adolescent Sexuality
Tim Teig (Fargo) and Cpt. Aaron Krenz (Minnesota)
Beyond the Yellow Ribbon
Dave Ellington (Minot) — Job Corps Path To Independent Living
1:30 - 3:00
1.5 CEU's
Val Farmer (Missouri) — Healthy Marriage in High Stress Profession
Janelle Regimbal (Grand Forks) — Sandwich Generation
Tim Teig (Fargo & Capt. Aaron Krenz) (Minnesota)
Beyond the Yellow Ribbon
Friday, September 21, 2007
8:30 - 10:30
General Session
2 CEU's
Val Farmer (Missouri) — Farm Family Relationships And Stress
Total CEU's = 12.75
Local Arrangements
The Local Arrangement Committee has been planning an exciting adventure for participants of the 2007 Fall Conference - “Every Day Is A Winding Road”.
Wednesday night entertainment will be NDCSW’s own version of “Deal Or No Deal”. Every Conference participant will have
a chance to be "the contestant" and every participant will have a
chance to win prizes. The banker is getting ready to make a deal
and the lovely ladies are getting ready to open their cases. The
Grand International Inn will be providing a wine and cheese social.
Everyone is invited to stay after the opening session and enjoy
good food and creative entertainment.
Thursday at noon, Minot’s Quentin Burdick Job Corps Center
will be providing, at no cost to the conference participants, transportation, lunch, and a tour of the Job Corp Center. Lunch consists
of a full service menu including a salad bar, fry line, two entrées,
dessert, and beverage.
Choice entertainment will be provided prior to the Thursday
evening awards banquet with the Magic City Campus String Ensemble. Also providing entertainment during the banquet will be
the Minot’s finest Nodakords Barbershop Quartet Chorus. The
dance on Thursday evening will feature the band Feedback. They
will entertain us with not only current rock and roll tunes, but also
songs of the 50’s and 60’s like “I love Rock and Roll” and “Proud
Mary.”
The Friday morning Awards Brunch will feature the mellow
sounds of Justin Johnson on his soprano saxophone.
The block of rooms at the Grand International Inn is full. If you
have not yet made accommodations for the Conference, rooms
are available at the Super Eight, 701-852-1817, Guest Lodge, 701852-5600, or the Select Inn, 701-852-3411, which are all located
on North Hill near the Conference headquarters.
Conference members or potential attendees may contact CoChairs Dan Richter or Cleo Berven at Ward County Social Services, 701-857-0700 or 701-857-0701, or by e-mail at
[email protected]. Individuals needing accommodations are requested to contact the local arrangements committee as soon as
possible.
We hope to see all of you at the Fall Conference in Minot, at
the Grand International Inn, September 19, 20, and 21, 2007.
Dan Richter & Cleo Berven
Co-Chairs
Local Arrangements Committee
News from the Research, Planning and Legislative Committee...
The RP&L Committee met weekly, every Friday at noon,
during the legislative session. Each week we had 10 – 20
people from various agencies and lobbying groups in
attendance. Tom Tupa, the bill tracker for NDCSW, led the
meeting reviewing that legislative week and previewing the
House and Senate calendars for the upcoming week. The
strength of this committee was its diverse membership and
the experience and knowledge of the members. Each
member had their own areas of interest and was looked to
as the “authority” on certain pieces of legislation.
Many different bills were of interest to the committee;
however, the Department of Human Services budget bill
(SB2012) was the one everyone kept a close eye on because
so many social welfare needs are covered in the
Department’s budget. This bill made its way through the
policy committees of both houses and passed the Senate
with a $1.8 billion appropriation. Amendments by both the
majority and minority parties floated around. Once the bill
passed in both houses, it was referred to a Conference
Committee for resolution. Senator Tom Fischer chaired this
committee, with Representative Chet Pollert leading the
Republicans on the House side. Other senators on the
conference committee included Senators Tim Mattern and
Ralph Kilzer, while other House members included
Representatives Larry Bellew and Ralph Metcalf. This
committee met until the last week of the session and the bill
finally passed through both houses on Tuesday April 24th.
Highlights of this bill are still being sorted out; however the
following are a few of the items of interest to social welfare:
• The ADL (activity of daily living) added to the SPED
program was eliminated and funding replaced.
• $100 increase in the fee paid to counties for child
abuse and neglect assessments.
• A 4% increase 7/1/07 and a 5% increase 7/1/08 for all
Medicaid providers.
• Continuing eligibility of Medicaid for children.
• An increase in the percentage of income for 133% of
poverty for all children ages 6 – 19 if federal law
permits.
• Extension of the TANF Pro Work child care assistance
from three months to six months.
• QSP rate increases
Other bills of interest include:
• Child Support becomes state administered effective
July 1, 2007. Touted as a “property tax relief” bill, this
will transfer about $5.3 million in costs from the
counties to the state in the upcoming biennium and a
projected $9 million in costs from the counties to the
state in the 2009-211 biennium.
• Early Childhood licensing quality improvement rating
system and incentives provided for child care providers
to access training.
• Opt out of the Merit System bill allows any county that
wishes to move toward creating a Merit System.
Property tax relief was a hot topic among legislators and
constituents. HB 1051 was the property tax relief bill that
placed caps on levies by taxing district. The “caps” part of
this bill was opposed by city and county officials because it
would have “tied the hands” of local government to respond
to foreseen and unforeseen needs. The property tax cap
started out at 3.5%, was amended to 5% and eventually,
this bill was defeated and some of its components were
amended into SB 2032. Legislators came into the session
committed to make property tax relief a priority and the final
result was a compromise between many factions.
Those interested in the issues raised by the Shared
Parenting initiated measure that failed in the general election
last year may be interested in two House resolutions. HR
3004 was to study child custody, visitation and child support
to determine if the state should pursue non-adversarial
alternatives. This study resolution was adopted by the House
but failed in the Senate. HR 3008 calls for a study on the
issues of fairness, equity, and best interest of children as
they relate to issues of child custody and visitation. This
study resolution was adopted by both the House and the
Senate.
In addition to tracking legislation, the RP&L Committee
spent time at a recent meeting looking a couple of issues
that afflict many organizations; leadership development and
mentorship. The leadership question came up when
someone on the committee asked, “Where are the young
people?” There was much discussion on this question and
the consensus was to bring this issue to the attention of the
NDCSW Executive Board and for each member of the RP&L
committee to look at mentoring opportunities within their
organizations.
The status and outcome of bills can be checked on the
Legislative web site at: www.legis.nd.gov/
Submitted by: Shari Doe, Chair
Research, Planning and Legislative
Committee
SISTER DONNA JEAN CHAPUT MEMORIAL AWARD
The North Dakota Conference of Social Welfare is
pleased to announce the establishment of the Sister Donna
Jean Chaput Memorial
Award. Sister Donna Jean,
who was an integral part of
the NDCSW for many years,
passed away February 2,
2002. The award recipient
will receive $250 in the form
of a donation to the charity
of their choice. The annual
Sister Donna Jean Chaput
Memorial Award will be presented to an individual
whose work ethic is reflected
in the criteria listed below:
1) The individual must be someone who has been directly involved in the delivery of “social welfare-related services” for 5 years or more in North Dakota.
2) The individual has integrated spiritual values into the
delivery of these services.
3) The individual should be someone who has exhibited
high personal and professional standards.
4) The individual should be someone who has exhibited
a commitment to work collaboratively with other staff/agencies in the provision of services.
5) Nominees may come from pastoral care workers,
parish nurses or ministry staff, Salvation Army staff, hospice
staff, cancer program staff, social workers, lay persons, volunteers, medical staff, nursing home employees, etc.
Nominations must be submitted to the Awards Committee Chairperson by 9-1-07 at the address listed below:
Joann Jochim, Co-Chair
NDCSW Awards Committee
Morton County Social Services
200 2nd Ave NW
Mandan ND 58554-3124
[email protected]
(701) 667-3395
NDCSW Nominations for Ruth Meiers Award
The NDCSW annually selects a recipient of the Ruth
Meiers Award. This award was established in honor of the
late Lt. Governor Ruth Meiers. This award is to recognize an
individual who has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to the disadvantaged in North Dakota.
Criteria for the award is:
1. The individual must be a resident of the State of North
Dakota.
2. The individual must have made an outstanding contribution in addressing human needs.
3. The contribution will have had a definable positive impact
on the lives of the people.
4. The contribution may have been on a local, regional or
state level.
Nominations must include a written summary of the individual achievement and the effect of those achievements on
behalf of the disadvantaged.
Nominations should be mailed by July 31, 2007 to
Marlene Cook, PO Box 553, Killdeer, North Dakota 58640.
Membership
Well, here we are, approaching the fall conference. Have
you paid your membership yet? If not, perhaps, this is the
month to pay it.
So often, we think of NDCSW as only a conference to
go to once a year. We need to remember that NDCSW is an
organization that works all year round. Remember, it supports all the works of the NDCSW, such as education of
members through the Lantern, and representation of the
membership through activities such as lobbying.
We hope to see you in Minot in September, but even
more, we hope to see your name on the membership list
showing your support for the mission of the North Dakota
Conference of Social Welfare:
“Our mission is to unite and support members as they
work to enrich and enhance the quality of life for the people
of North Dakota.”
We are also in the process of updating membership
records. If you have had a name, address or e-mail change,
please notify Deb W. Membership Chairperson, ND Confer-
ence of Social Welfare - Morton County Social Services, 200
2nd Ave NW, Mandan, ND 58554-3124 or [email protected].
Come Join Us!
NORTH DAKOTA CONFERENCE OF SOCIAL WELFARE
Sister Donna Jean Chaput Memorial Award
Nominee Criteria & Application Form
NAME OF NOMINEE : _________________________________________________________________________
CURRENT ADDRESS : ________________________________________________________________________
1)
The individual must be someone who has been directly involved in the delivery of “social welfare-related services”
for 5 years or more in North Dakota.
Position Held by Nominee: ______________________
Length of Service: _____________________________
Place of Residence:_____________________________ Length of time in North Dakota:__________
2)
The individual has integrated spiritual values into the delivery of these services.
How have spiritual values been integrated into the delivery of services? Please be specific.
3)
The individual should be someone who has exhibited high personal and professional standards.
Describe in detail how nominee has exhibited high personal and professional standards.
4)
The individual should be someone who has exhibited a commitment to work collaboratively with other staff/
agencies in the provision of services.
Describe in detail how nominee has exhibited a commitment to work collaboratively with other staff/
agencies in the provision of services.
5)
Nominees may come from pastoral care workers, parish nurses or ministry staff, Salvation Army staff, hospice
staff, cancer program staff, social workers, lay persons, volunteers, medical staff, nursing home employees, etc.
Please list detailed information regarding nominee’s employment/volunteer history.
6) Other Comments: (Why you feel candidate is worthy of this honor, comments, references, etc.)
Person submitting nomination:
NAME: ____________________________________ PHONE #: ___________________________________________
ADDRESS: _____________________________________________________________________________________
NOMINATIONS
We are looking for good people, willing to put in some
hard work and effort (plus have a little fun), that would be
interested in running for three board positions and one president elect position!!! If you think you may be one of those
people, please contact Linda Jaeger, Nominations Chair,
(701)235-4457 Ext 403 or [email protected]
If you are interested in serving on a committee, please
contact any of the Board Members or Committee chairs listed.
Hard working people who are interested in being a Conference member are always in demand!
Introducing
Linda Brew
North Dakota Conference
of Social Welfare, Inc.
2006 -2007 Directory
Executive Committee and
Committee Chairs
President: ......................................................... Joan Ehrhardt
President Elect: ...................................................... Del Hager
Past President: ................................................. Marlene Cook
Executive Secretary: ............................................... Pat Hinsz
Executive Committee Members: ....................... Linda Brew
Deb DeWitz
Kate Hanson
Barb Holes-Dickson
Cathy Meyer
John Mogren
Bobby Smith
Committee Chairs:
Awards Co-Chairs: ........................................... Joann Jochim
Jan Austfjord
Budget & Finance: ........................................... Lois Reierson
Constitution & Bylaws: ................................ Brenda Peterson
Education Co-Chairs: .................................. Diane Mortenson
Donelle Mogard
Fund Raising Co-Chairs: ................................... Marella Krein
Connie Teets
Local Arrangements Co-Chairs: ......................... Cleo Berven
Dan Richter
Manual Update Co-Chairs: ................................ Cleo Berven
Lee Helmers
Membership: ........................................................ Deb Weigel
Nominations: ..................................................... Linda Jaeger
Program Co-Chairs: .......................................... Tammy Ness
Robert Sanderson
Public Relations/Publicity Co-Chairs: ................. Lee Helmers
Melissa Bliss
Registration Co-Chairs: ................................. Danelle Klaman
Connie Zieske
Research Planning & Legislative: .......................... Shari Doe
Resolutions: ................................................ Brenda Peterson
Time & Place: .................................................... Sheryl Pfliger
Web Site: ...................................................... Brenda Heilman
SPECIAL COMMITTEES:
History: ............................................................ Kathi Nygaard
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for
allowing me the opportunity to serve on the Executive Board
of the North Dakota Conference of Social Welfare. Last year,
I was asked to serve for a short time upon Joyce Praus’ death.
It gave me the time to be a part of this group and knew I
wanted to continue. I have been a part of the conference for
over 25 years and have chaired various committees. I feel
this past experience will allow me to bring a little history to
the board but, also some new ideas and a lot of enthusiasm.
I began working at Grant County in 1980 and have been
with Stark County Social Services since 1988 as an Administrative Staff Officer. I live in Manning with my husband,
Lynn, and have 4 children and 4 grandchildren that keep me
very busy. I look forward to the next 3 years and encourage
others to get involved with the Conference. It has enriched
my life and I know it will yours.
Scholarship News from
the Education Committee
Our deadline for the NDCSW student scholarships was
March 31, 2007. We are in the process of reviewing the
applications and arrangements will be made with the winners to attend our fall conference in Minot on September 1921, 2007. The applicants that are selected will receive a
$500 scholarship, plaque, motel room for one night, small
mileage stipend, NDCSW membership for one year and their
meals provided. We are excited for our 2007 conference
and are looking forward to meeting all the applicants that will
be selected.
Donelle Mogard & Diane Mortenson, Co-Chairs
NDCSW Education Committee
Fund Raising
This year’s conference theme is ‘Every Day is a Winding Road’, so let’s wind up for the long road ahead to support the
NDCSW by buying and selling the raffle tickets for 2007!! Congratulations to the lucky winners of last years raffle drawing,
who were:
Bose Radio
- Joan Ehrhardt
Best Buy $150 gift certificate
- Cathy Meyer
Quilt
- Edith Christenson
Quilt rack
- Kendra Casavant
Framed print
- Barb Holes-Dickson
$50 in cash
- Addie Burgard
The prizes for this year’s raffle will be:
15" LCD HDTV Flat Screen
7" Portable DVD Player
2008 Medora Tickets
$50.00 Cash Prize
For sellers: The tickets will come 11 to a book, so when you sell 10, YOU get the 11th one free!!! To get your raffle tickets
email Connie Teets ([email protected]). Whoever sells the most tickets this year will receive a prize (to be announced at the
time of drawing) and if we have a tie, then we will give two!!! Go get ‘em and good luck!!!
For buyers: Tickets available NOW from NDCSW board members and chairmen!!!
These are the items that we have for sale at this time:
Briefcases — $8.00
Lunchbox — $5.00
Wind Jackets — $15.00
Blankets
— $23.00
Hooded Sweatshirts — $23.00
We have added two new colors for the hooded sweatshirts, gray and black, AND they are also available for men!!! You can
use the order form in this newsletter to place your order. Please send your payment, made out to NDCSW, along with this
form to: Connie Teets, c/o Ward County Social Services, PO Box 2209, Minot, ND 58702-2209.
All proceeds go towards scholarships, so please support NDCSW by buying and selling raffle tickets.
Order Form for NDCSW Items
NAME________________________________________
AGENCY______________________________________
PHONE NUMBER_______________________________
L16230 Zipper Hood Sweatshirts
Cost: $23.00
BANANA
PINK
LIGHT
BLUE
GRAY
BLACK
Small
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
Medium
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
Large
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
X Large
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
2X Large
_______
Sizes
_______
Men’s __________
Fleece Blankets - $23.00
(Purple, Gray, Green, Red)
Black, Blue) ______________
(Mark the item and color.)
_______
_______
_______
NDCSW SERVICE AWARD
From now through June 29, 2007, the North Dakota Conference of Social Welfare Awards Committee
will be accepting nominations for potential award recipients (employees, board members, co-works, acquaintance, self-nominated, etc). NDCSW Service
Awards will be present at the Awards Brunch on September 21, 2007 at the Grand International Inn in Minot,
ND.
Eligibility criteria for a 10, 20, 30, 40 (or even 50)
year award is based on accumulated years of service
in the field of social, accumulated years of Conference
membership and a paid Conference membership or the
current year. (see table below for breakdown)
Ladies __________
Wind Jackets - $15.00
(Black, Blue, & Red)
_______________
Briefcases - $8.00
Lunchbox - $5.00
(Red & Blue)
_______________
Please make payments to NDCSW and send with this order form to:
Ward County Social Services
Attn: Connie Teets
PO Box 2209
Minot, ND 58702-2209
DEADLINE FOR ORDERS: June 30, 2007 to have items in time for conference.
Items may also be ordered at Conference. If you have any questions, please call
Connie Teets at 701-857-0749.
Required Accumulated Years Required Accumulated Years
in Social Service Field
of Conference Membership
Paid Conference Membership
For Current Year (2007)
10 Years
2 Years
20 Years
5 Years
Must be Paid by 09/01/07
Must be Paid by 09/01/07
30 Years
10 Years
Must be Paid by 09/01/07
40 Years
15 Years
Must be Paid by 09/01/07
Questions should be addressed to Joann Jochim
(701) 667-3395. [email protected] or Jan Austfjord,
(701) 265-8441. [email protected]
Nomination can be found on the conference
website at www.ndcsw.org
Taking That Winding Road....There and
Back Again
A Member’s View of this Year’s
Conference Theme
“It’s a dangerous business, going out your door. You
step onto the road and if you don’t keep your feet, there is
no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
Lord of the Rings fans, such as myself, will recognize
this line from the Fellowship of the Ring. Frodo’s uncle,
Bilbo, admonishes him to keep his wits about him as he
travels through life, as there is no telling what twists and
turns his path may take and he needs to be ready for
anything. His story may be part of a much celebrated
fantasy tale, but like many fantasies, it speaks great truths
about the realities in life.
On September 25, 2006, our family discovered how
important it was to keep our feet in the wake of unexpected and unwelcome circumstances. My 11 year old
daughter, Erin, had been feeling ill for three weeks and
we had been seeing the doctor weekly. When we went
out our door that day, we had no idea the road would
eventually lead us to Mayo Clinic. Erin was very pale and
feeling poorly and by late morning, she had to be seen by
her pediatrician. He immediately admitted her to our local hospital and after doing some preliminary tests, he
told us that her kidneys were failing and she could need
dialysis. He arranged for her to be flown immediately to
Fargo for further evaluation and treatment. Within hours
I found myself on a medi-flight with my critically ill daughter. My husband was on the road to Fargo and our youngest, whose sixth birthday was that very day, was staying
at her grandparents. How did this happen? This was not
a road I had planned to take that day or any day. After
two days of multiple tests, we were informed that Erin
had Wegener’s Granulomatosis, an autoimmune disease
that normally occurs in adults four to five times her age.
Her antibodies are overzealous and had been attacking
her kidneys, lungs and sinuses. Her kidneys were functioning at only 20%, there was blood in her lungs and she
was very anemic. The hospital staff felt it was best to
send us via medi-flight to Mayo Clinic for treatment. Treatment began immediately, which included some very aggressive medication that would mean weight gain, hair
loss, among other side effects. Seemed a fair trade for
functioning kidneys and remission of this disease. 10 days
after our adventure started, Erin was released from the
hospital. Six months later, she has regained full use of
her kidneys, her lungs are clear, and her doctor says she
is in remission.
Before all of this, I had often wondered how parents
managed to cope when their children are critically ill. I
could hardly imagine where the strength came from. I
now know that it comes from within...it comes from the
love and care of others...and it comes from above. Of
course, our lives have been changed. We have stared
into the face of fear and now know what it feels like. Erin
has lost some of that sense of invincibility and will have
to be ever watchful for signs of flare-ups, as this condition never goes away. However, in many ways, our lives
have not changed. We still love, laugh, live. Erin still
dances, gets good grades, plays with her friends. As
devastating as this was to our family, we look forward to
the future, not in fear, but with hope and confidence, having found that we have greater strength than we ever
imagined. Every day we step out on that winding road,
we are mindful to keep our feet and are grateful for those
who walk that road alongside us.
“The road goes ever on and on down from the door
where it began. Now far ahead the road is gone and I
must follow, if I can.” ~ LOTR~
Melissa Bliss
Kidneys, Clinics and Courage
By Erin Bliss, age 11
Adjustable Beds
Scary things about me being said
Watching daytime TV
People keep poking me
Days go by
And they don’t know why
I’m here
It’s unclear
10 days later
I felt so much greater
I liked my docs
I’m so glad I still have my locks.
"Every Day is
A Winding Road"
North Dakota Conference of
Social Welfare
Fall Conference
September 19, 20, 21, 2007
Grand International Inn
Minot, ND
For more information regarding the North Dakota
Conference of Social Welfare and the Fall Conference,
log on to NDCSW.org
Registration Form
Registration Form
Register early for a special
Winding Road Journey