In this practical, hands-on workshop, presenters from Congreso de Latinos Unidos, a multiservice organization in Philadelphia, will share their homegrown Human-Centered Design Toolkit and information about innovative design tools that participants can take back to their organizations for thoughtful service design and delivery.

Congreso has been using human-centered design (HCD) as an innovative framework for its service design process, reimagining human services for its largely Latino population. Specializing in “last mile innovation,” Congreso uses its design toolkit to empower staff at the end-user client level to redesign their programs to generate data-rich insights, leading to improved experience and outcomes for participants. Staff and leaders are empowered to thoughtfully advocate for their teams and communities.

In building the design toolkit, Congreso tested more than 75 HCD tools and methods used throughout the private sector to determine which techniques translate and have the greatest impact in the social services field. In doing so, Congreso has learned a great deal about how to bring practical design and social innovation techniques into program teams, providing professional development opportunities for staff via “design labs” and building the organization’s culture and acumen around using design for increased impact and advocacy.

In this session, participants will learn about Congreso’s human-centered design journey, see the design toolkit firsthand and participate in mini design labs to gain hands-on experience of putting design practices into action.

Congreso will walk participants through each tool in the design toolkit, provide tips for use, and give everyone a chance to experience the tools in action. Presenters will guide participants in applying the tools to real-life design challenges in their programs so that they gain experience in using HCD to rethink challenges and explore new ideas.

Learning Objectives

Presenters

Brendan Conlin
Chief Program Officer
Congreso de Latinos Unidos

Jamie Hughes
Vice President of Programmatic Development
Congreso de Latinos Unidos

This session is reserved for only the CEO or executive director of human and social services organizations.

The human services sector stands at a breaking point. Funding cuts, regulatory uncertainty, and mounting workforce and operational pressures are converging into an existential crisis—one that threatens not only programs, but missions themselves. As CEOs, your leadership will determine whether your organization weathers this storm or becomes defined by it.

This closed-door executive briefing, led by Social Current’s Senior Director of Government Affairs, Blair Abelle-Kiser, Ph.D., will deliver a candid assessment of the policy landscape under the new administration, unpack what’s at stake for your organization, and make the case for why advocacy can no longer remain a side function. CEOs will leave with concrete strategies for aligning their boards, staff, and partners around a unified advocacy vision—and clear pathways to engage through Social Current’s collective mobilization efforts.

Learning Objectives

    Presenter

    Blair Abelle-Kiser
    Senior Director of Government Affairs
    Social Current

    The human services sector is facing an existential crisis, with devastating funding cuts, regulatory uncertainty, and rising operational barriers threatening essential programs. Millions of individuals and families rely on these services, yet recent policy shifts have placed them at risk. This public policy briefing will dig into the most pressing challenges, their real-world impacts, and the urgent actions needed to protect the sector. Join Social Current’s Senior Director of Government Affairs Blair Abelle-Kiser, Ph.D., for a crucial discussion on navigating this turbulent landscape and mobilizing for change.

    Learning Objectives

    Presenters

    Blair Abelle-Kiser
    Senior Director of Government Affairs
    Social Current

    Across New Hampshire, older adults and persons with disabilities were going without meals, bathing, social contact and, tragically, they were dying alone. The cause of this crisis was a significant caregiver workforce shortage, a direct result of New Hampshire’s underfunded Choices for Independence (CFI) program – caregivers were grossly underpaid. According to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (NHFPI), the CFI program had a structural deficit of $153 million from fiscal years 2011 to 2021.

    Providers could not recruit and retain workers and cover costs. In response, Ascentria Care Alliance, In-Home Care worked with partner agencies to fund and launch The Care Paradox. The initiative put human faces to the problem and called upon legislators to increase funding for CFI to stabilize the program. With the support of the New Hampshire Hospital Association, New Hampshire Health Care Association, and others, an historic rate increase was passed, stabilizing the CFI program.

    In this presentation we will illustrate the power of courageous leadership and advocacy demonstrated through the power of storytelling.

    Learning Objectives

    Presenters

    Christine Tappan
    Chief, Community Services & Advancement
    Ascentria Care Alliance

    Amy Moore
    Director of In-Home Care
    Ascentria Care Alliance

    In this session, Children’s Institute will share how fathers, advocacy staff, and program leaders partnered to change the narrative of father involvement and well-being through state and local policy change focused on racial, social, and economic justice. Participants will gain advocacy strategies to create community-driven policy change in their own communities.

    For over 20 years, Children’s Institute’s Project Fatherhood has provided parenting support to 15,000 men in caregiving roles in Los Angeles. The organization does this through an integrated network of activities that promote effective and nurturing parenting, relationship-building skills, and economic stability. Fathers are integral to families and provide a strong foundation for educational success and emotional well-being, which builds pathways to economic mobility and lifelong health. Healthy fathers can be an encouraging presence in their children’s lives and lead to increased positive childhood and family outcomes. However, the disparities and systemic inequities that fathers of color experience require meaningful and targeted investments.

    In understanding that community-centered solutions are the best policies, Children’s Institute’s Government Relations & Advocacy and Project Fatherhood teams cultivated a network of elected officials to champion father well-being and amplify a new narrative about fathers. The effort declared June Fatherhood Well-Being Month through House Resolution 36 and included local advocacy that engaged over 100 fathers, community partners, and government agencies.

    In this workshop, Children’s Institute will share how centering and organizing power through lived experience creates meaningful community-driven policy change. We will share our advocacy journey and facilitate participants through a strategizing exercise for their own work.

    Learning Objectives

    Presenters

    Terry Kim
    Director of Government Relations & Advocacy
    Children’s Institute

    Keith Parker
    Community Innovations Program Manager
    Children’s Institute

    Kelsey Gordon
    Government Relations & Advocacy Associate
    Children’s Institute

    Jonathan Vasquez
    Government Relations & Advocacy Assistant
    Children’s Institute

    Congreso de Latinos Unidos, a multi-service organization in Philadelphia, is using human-centered design (HCD) to engage funders and policymakers in the service design process—reimagining human services for its largely Latino population. Specializing in “last mile innovation,” Congreso uses its homegrown design toolkit to empower staff at the end-user client level to redesign their programs to generate data-rich insights leading to:

    Congreso’s incorporation of design has created a powerful “feedback loop” between policymakers, funders and Congreso’s clients, ensuring the design of services is equitable and human centered. In taking ownership of the full feedback circuit, Congreso has positioned itself as a key link between policymakers and the end-user experience, ensuring future policies, funding, and service contracts account for the nuanced needs of its target population and greatly enhancing the impact and value that government funding seeks to provide.

    As a recipient of multiple government funding streams, Congreso recognizes the disconnect between how services are conceived at the policy level and the actual experience of staff and clients in those programs. Often, services conceived of at the policy level don’t fully account for the nuanced experiences of the end-users, causing attrition, low utilization, and inefficient outcomes. Congreso uses HCD tools to shift this paradigm by bringing the two together, leading to improved client experience and outcomes, increased staff empowerment to influence change and the ability to perform data-driven funder advocacy to influence how policies and RFPs are crafted and implemented. 

    This session will cover how Congreso utilizes HCD techniques to understand and improve upon the client experience in its programs, including investigating pain points, inefficiencies, and inequities, and how staff leverage those insights to influence change at the funding/policy level.

    This session will cover: 

    Learning Objectives

    Presenters

    Brendan Conlin
    Chief Program Officer
    Congreso de Latinos Unidos

    Jamie Hughes
    Vice President of Programmatic Development
    Congreso de Latinos Unidos

    This is the second session of a two-part advocacy training during SPARK 2023. This training will equip participants with the information and skills to effectively participate in Social Current’s Hill Day, immediately following the conference, Oct. 18. This session is required for those participating in Hill Day, and all SPARK 2023 participants are invited to join.

    This second training session will focus on advanced advocacy strategies, equipping participants with the skills to navigate policymaking and advocate for their causes.

    The session will cover the following topics:

    This training overlaps with Session D Workshops and part of lunch.

    View Part 1 of the training.

    Presenters

    Blair Abelle-Kiser
    Senior Director of Government Affairs
    Social Current

    Derry Kiernan
    Field Mobilization & Policy Manager
    Social Current

    This is the first session of a two-part advocacy training during SPARK 2023. This training will equip participants with the information and skills to effectively participate in Social Current’s Hill Day, immediately following the conference, Oct. 18. This session is required for those participating in Hill Day, and all SPARK 2023 participants are invited to join.

    In this first training session, participants will learn the fundamental aspects of effective advocacy and develop a strong foundation for future advocacy efforts.

    The session will focus on the following key topics:

    This training overlaps with Session B Workshops.

    View Part 2 of the training.

    Presenters

    Blair Abelle-Kiser
    Senior Director of Government Affairs
    Social Current

    Derry Kiernan
    Field Mobilization & Policy Manager
    Social Current