A lot of thought and discussion has taken place recently as the Forum planning team works to navigate our challenging environment. The health and safety of our colleagues, constituents, and friends is paramount in our decision to move the 2021 Forum for Excellence to a fully virtual event. Although we are disappointed we will not see each other in person, we are pivoting to focus on the positive aspects of the virtual event.

The virtual Forum for Excellence will be FREE! We are in the process of issuing refunds for those who had already registered. If you have already registered, you DO NOT need to register again. Existing registrations will be transferred to the Whova app.

Postsecondary Perkins Administrator Meeting - 10:00 am - 3:00 pm (with breaks)

Adult Educators Administrators Meeting - 1:00pm - 3:30 pm

If you made a reservation in the Forum room block at the Marriott, you should have already been notified that your reservation has been cancelled. If you have not received notification, please feel free to reach out to the hotel at (309) 862-9000. If you encounter an issue, please contact icsps@ilstu.edu.

Jennifer Mishory from the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE). OCTAE provides national leadership to strengthen the role of community colleges in expanding access to postsecondary education for youth and adults and advancing workforce development. Jennifer will discuss the priorities of OCTAE and the vision for adult education and CTE in the context of our changing economic landscape.

Eboni Zamani-Gallaher, PhD, Raina Dyer-Barr, PhD, and Marci Rockey, PhD from the Office for Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL). The mission of OCCRL is to use research and evaluation methods to improve policies, programs, and practices that enhance community college education and the transition to college for diverse learners at the state, national, and international levels. This session will focus on how institutions can engage workforce partners in equity.

Nathan Wilson, Ed.D, from the Illinois Community College Board and Brian Richard, PhD from Northern Illinois University will provide an overview of the Economic Impact of Illinois Community Colleges.

SAVE THE DATE for the 2021 Transitions Academy on November 2 & 3, 2021! This year’s academy will be virtual. More information on content and registration will be forthcoming.

This year's theme "America's Recovery: Powered by Inclusion" reflects the importance of ensuring people with disabilities have full access to employment and community involvement during the national recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic.

The USDOL Office of Disability Employment Policy has developed a wide range of ideas and resources to help you celebrate and generate awareness - not only in October, but throughout the year. Whether you're an educator, employer, or a member of an association or union - USDOL has a customized strategy to support you in your efforts to ensure people with disabilities have equal access to employment opportunities.

Start by downloading the 2021 poster - available in English and Spanish.

The IWIB Career Pathways for Target Populations Committee co-hosted a WIOA Wednesday Webinar with the Chicago-Cook Workforce Partnership on August 18, 2021, called “A Hire Calling: Re-entry Employment.” The webinar featured data, presented by Dr. Megan Alderden of DePaul University, regarding Mandatory Supervised Release, a panel discussion of employers who participate in second chance hiring, and a panel discussion of employees who have been hired through re-entry employment. The webinar ended with a call to action from local workforce representatives to get involved and learn more about re-entry employment.

 Jeff Horvath, Vice President – Supply Chain and Operation, TerraSource, LWIA 24

 Ed Wood, Vice President of Human Resources, Berner Food, LWIA 3

A link to the webinar presentation is here. Additional resources regarding the “A Hire Calling” event hosted in April by the Chicago-Cook Workforce Partnership can be found here.

UPCOMING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT