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Click here to download the full application submitted by BCBS and HCSC

What:
Insurance Commissioner Monica J. Lindeen announced plans for a second public hearing on the proposed acquisition of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana (BCBS) by Chicago-based Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC). A previous hearing on February 12 gave the public an opportunity to weigh in on the proposal, which converts Montana's largest non-profit health insurer to a for-profit subsidiary of the nation's fourth largest health insurance company. Former Montana Supreme Court Justice W. William Leaphart will serve as the hearing examiner.

At the March 12 hearing, representatives from BCBS and HCSC will make their case that the proposed acquisition is in the public's interest and in compliance with state law. Both the Commissioner and the Attorney General will have an opportunity to call expert witnesses to evaluate the proposal.
When:
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
9:00 am Mountain Where:
Montana Supreme Court
215 N. Sanders, 4th Floor
Helena, MT 59601 Contact:
The public is encouraged to submit comments in person at the March 12 hearing or in writing. Written comment should be sent to:

Jesse Laslovich
Chief Legal Counsel
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
840 Helena Avenue
Helena, MT 59601

Click here to download the flier for this event
What:
You are invited to a Public Hearing on the State Plans for Montana Vocational Rehabilitation/Blind and Low Vision Services (MVR/BLV) and The Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC). When:
Friday, March 22, 2013
3:00 pm - 4:15 pm Mountain Where:
Billings           
MSU-Billings, 1500 University Drive, Education Building, Room 158
Bozeman
Montana State University, Eng. Phys. Science Building-South 7th and Grant, Room 126
Butte       
Montana Tech, 1300 West Park Street, ELCB Room 225   
Great Falls       
Great Falls College of Technology, 2100 16th Avenue South, Room B-133       
Havre
MSU-Northern, 300 11th Street West, Hagner Science Center, Room 202
Helena
Old Livestock Building, 1310 East Lockey, Rooms 105 and 107.
Kalispell
Flathead Valley Community College, 777Grandview Dr., Learning Resource Ctr. Rm. 120
Miles City
Miles City Community College, 2715 Dickenson Street, Room 313
Missoula
University of Montana, Corner of Arthur and Eddy, Galagher Building - Room 104   There will be a call-in line available during the time of the hearing.  Participants on the call-in line will have the opportunity to make comments. 
Call-in information is:
Call-in number:  406-449-7478 Conference ID:  85946#

Restraint and Seclusion: Hear Our Stories (working title) from Dan Habib on Vimeo. This is a new film by Dan Habib, Filmmaker at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. In the film, Jino Medina, Brianna Hammon, Helena Stephenson and Peyton Goddard describe the restraint and seclusion they experienced while students in public schools, and the devastating physical and emotional injuries they suffered as a result. And Carolyn Medina and Wil Beaudoin describe how the restraint and seclusion their children endured had an impact on them as parents.

The film (27 minutes) is available free to the public through StopHurtingKids.com for training, professional development and public awareness. Restraint and Seclusion: Hear Our Stories was produced through a partnership of the National Center on Trauma Informed Care, TASH and the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability. Support for this film comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). More information...

Download the flyer for this event

What:
Department of Public Health and Human Services will hold a public hearing in Room 207 of the Department of Public Health and Human Services Building, 111 North Sanders, at Helena, Montana, to consider the matter of the amendment of ARM 37.87.1313 pertaining to 1915(i) home and community-based services (HCBS) state plan program for youth with serious emotional disturbance.

When:
Wednesday November 6, 2013,
1:30 pm Mountain

Where:
Department of Public Health and Human Services Building, Room 207
111 North Sanders
Helena, MT 59601

Webinar: From Research to Real Life-Increasing Visibility and Use of Family-to-Family Centers December 3, 2012-1pm (Mountain)
Call-in: 866/214-9397, Pin: 5058724774
Webinar Link: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/familyvoices/join?id=24R5TP&role=attend
The Family Voices National Center for Family and Professional Partnerships is hosting this webinar presented by Suzanne M. Bronheim, PhD of Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development. Suzanne will share findings from a 2010 research partnership with three Family-to-Family Health Information Centers (F2F HICs) to better understand how Hispanic/Latino families' and African American families' utilization of F2F HICs might be increased. This research project is based on a social marketing theory that suggests that people try new things if that "innovation" fits with their values and experience, seems to have an advantage over other approaches, is easy to use, can be tried and dropped if they don't like it and if others they know and trust are also aware of it and have used it. The project has used this framework to study how Hispanic/Latino and African American families prefer to receive information and how they view the F2F HICs as a resource. In addition, this project has studied similar issues for the social networks of families to learn how they view and access F2F HICs. Suzanne will be joined by staff of the F2F HICs that partnered in this project to share lessons learned and suggestions of how other F2F HICs can use this framework.  

"What: The purpose of the hearing is to allow people with disabilities to share their comments and suggestions regarding vocational rehabilitation and independent living services provided by the state. The comments will help both programs evaluate their services in an effort to best meet the needs of their consumers. Of particular interest for this year's public hearing will be comments on: * The draft of the Vocational Rehabilitation strategic plan * The use of IL funding from the following sources: Part B, General Funds, and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act * The draft of the State Plan for Independent Living When: 3:00-4:30pm Mountain"

What:
The Montana Office of Public Instruction is happy to announce that a series of DVD Video Conferences and other interpreter training materials from Boys Town and Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) are now available to be checked-out by interpreters, teachers of the deaf and other people with interest in the education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

How to borrow the DVDs:
The OPI library loans materials to other libraries and not to individual borrowers. To borrow the DVDs, please contact your local school or public library to request any of the titles below. The EIPA Video Conference series will be circulated as a set (4 DVDs) for each year. The interpreting series (2 DVDs) will be cataloged as elementary and secondary. Because OPI will be granting renewal credits and needs verification of circulation, the Resource Center will send a letter on OPI letterhead to the borrowing library with the DVD(s) verifying the DVD title(s) was checked out. The borrowing library will fill in the patron's name and give the letter to the patron with the loaned DVD(s). It will be the patron's responsibility to present the letter to OPI for Renewal Units (CEUs). The videos will be loaned on a "first-come, first-served" basis for a period of 2 weeks. Renewals after the two-week period will be granted if there is no waiting list.

Available DVD Titles:

    EIPA Video Conference DVD from November 17, 2012 - Techniques for comprehending fingerspelling and non-manual information.
    EIPA Video Conference DVD from January 12, 2013 - Language clarity techniques in discourse:  looking at the language expansion features.
    EIPA Video Conference DVD from March 2, 2013 - Ethical decision making:  what do I do now?
    EIPA Video Conference DVD from May 4, 2013 - Space & classifier

View the flyer for this event

What:
We all have had those moments when we are unsure that our interpretation has a clear visual scaffold to support student comprehension. We will focus on strategies for effective listening, planning, and delivering a more organized interpretation. Participants will discuss and practice various strategies for using space in an effective manner.

When:
Saturday, April 5, 2014
9:00 am - 1:00 pm Mountain

Where:
Montana School for the Deaf and Blind
3911 Central Ave.
Great Falls, MT 59405

Cost:
The Montana Office of Public Instruction is happy to announce that it will sponsor all four (4) video conferences.

Register for this event:
If you want to register to attend on-location at the School for the Deaf and Blind, please send your name, address, phone number, E-mail address and the name of the video conference(s) you want to attend to Francisco J. Román at froman@mt.gov, 444-1373 (fax) or by mail at Office of Public Instruction, PO Box 202501, Helena, MT 59620

View the flyer for this event

What:
The use of process time has a direct impact on the effectiveness of equivalence of an interpretation. We will provide you with an overview of the models of interpreting developed by the leaders in the field. Participants will discover how they are currently using process time. Then we will lead you through a series of activities to increase working memory and to practice using "whole thought" processing.

When:
Saturday, February 8, 2014
9:00 am - 1:00 pm Mountain

Where:
Montana School for the Deaf and Blind
3911 Central Ave.
Great Falls, MT 59405

Cost:
The Montana Office of Public Instruction is happy to announce that it will sponsor all four (4) video conferences.

Register for this event:
If you want to register to attend on-location at the School for the Deaf and Blind, please send your name, address, phone number, E-mail address and the name of the video conference(s) you want to attend to Francisco J. Román at froman@mt.gov, 444-1373 (fax) or by mail at Office of Public Instruction, PO Box 202501, Helena, MT 59620

View the flyer for this event

What:
This video conference will focus on the skills necessary to effectively interpret for child signers. We will discuss techniques to enhance comprehension skills and techniques to facilitate delivery of an equivalent message. We will look at child signers of all ages across the K-12 setting. The training will incorporate some lecture, some small group work and some large group discussions. The goal of this training is to introduce you to a variety of practice strategies that you can incorporate as part of your professional development plan.

When:
Saturday, October 12, 2013
9:00 am - 1:00 pm Mountain

Where:
Montana School for the Deaf and Blind
3911 Central Ave.
Great Falls, MT 59405

Cost:
The Montana Office of Public Instruction is happy to announce that it will sponsor all four (4) video conferences.

Register for this event:
If you want to register to attend on-location at the School for the Deaf and Blind, please send your name, address, phone number, E-mail address and the name of the video conference(s) you want to attend to Francisco J. Román at froman@mt.gov, 444-1373 (fax) or by mail at Office of Public Instruction, PO Box 202501, Helena, MT 59620

*UPDATE* Due to overwhelming interest in Dr. Temple Grandin's upcoming visit on March 5, her evening talk locations have been moved to the Wilson School Auditorium, 404 W. Main Street, Bozeman, MT.  
 
What:
Hear Temple Grandin, PhD, speak on autism. Dr. Grandin will be hosted by MSU's Department of Animal & Range Sciences, and her autism talk is co-sponsored by the Montana INBRE and COBRE Programs. Dr. Grandin obtained her B.A. at Frankin Pierce College and her M.S. in Animal Science at Arizona State University. Dr. Grandin received her Ph.D in Animal Science from the University of Illinois in 1989. Today she teaches courses on livestock behaviour and facility design at Colorado State University and consults with the livestock industry on facility design, livestock handling, and animal welfare. She has appeared on television shows such as 20/20, 48 Hours, CNN Larry King Live, PrimeTime Live, 60 Minutes, the Today Show, and many shows in other countries. She has been featured in People Magazine, the New York Times, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Time Magazine, the New York Times book review, and Discover magazine. In 2010, Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people. When:
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
8:00 pm - 9:30 pm Mountain Where:
Wilson School Auditorium
404 W. Main Street
Bozeman, MT 59715 Cost:
As before, the talks are free and open to the public. Tickets will no longer be required for either the animal science talk beginning at 6:00 PM, or the autism talk beginning at 8:00 PM.

Click here to watch this event What:
A presentation from leading autism authority Catherine Lord, PhD, who is helping to change the way autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed and treated. If you'll be joining us in person, please register in advance.  Hear from leading autism authority Catherine Lord, PhD, who is helping transform the way autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed and treated. Lecture is open to the public.

For more information, please email autismlecture@seattlechildrens.org. When:
Friday, June 8th, 2012
3:00 - 4:30pm Mountain

Register for this event
Course # 3238 - 6 OPI Renewal Units

What:
When upper elementary or secondary students fail written assessments, teachers often assume it's because they lack specific content knowledge. But what if it's simply because they cannot read the multisyllabic words? All reading consists of three components: word identification, vocabulary, and comprehension. Word identification is often overlooked and can be the root of students' failure. Hear about new evidence-based data on prefixes, suffixes, and Greek roots occurring most often in content-area words that supports a shared responsibility for strengthening students' literacy skills. Discover quick, formative assessments for upper elementary and secondary teachers that measure students' ability to use knowledge of syllable types, syllable division patterns, and common morphemes (e.g., prefixes, suffixes, Greek roots) to decode multisyllabic words. The CORE Teaching Reading Sourcebook, a comprehensive resource in teaching research based reading instruction, is used during the session as a resource in helping teachers improve instruction in multisyllabic word instruction.

When:
Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013
8:30 am - 3:30 pm Mountain

Where:
Bozeman Public Library
626 E. Main
Bozeman, MT

Cost:
No cost