April 2008
From the Executive Director

IARP is currently engaged in many projects with the goal of serving you better.

IARP recently rolled out a new program for membership discounts for companies with 10 or more members. Congratulations to The Directions Group in South Carolina for being the first company to take advantage of this offer. The new program allows you to participate in this discount even if you already have several members renewing at different times. You sign up 10 or more members, getting a graduated discount, and it simply extends each member’s dues year by 12 months. Go to the website to learn more.

Congratulations to the new members of the International Board of Directors, other newly elected officers on the SCRB Board, Forensic Board, CM Board, DM Board, and IALCP Board. Congratulations also to the award winners. (See other article for more information on this.)

In other news, IARP has some great new programs to announce! IARP now has group rates for members with Marsh Insurance for not just professional liability insurance, but also has available medical insurance (for your family or your staff), dental insurance, long-term care insurance, and pet insurance. That’s five kinds of insurance for you to participate in through IARP. Go to https://www.personal-plans.com/iarp/welcome.do for more information.

At this time, IARP staff, leaders, and volunteers are preparing for the IARP Annual Conference and Life Care Planning Summit. We are excited to be co-hosting the Summit with the Foundation for Life Care Planning Research. At this time, we expect about 250 people at the event. If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time. The room block is no longer available through the hotel, but if you still need a room, IARP staff may be able to assist you. Call Marcie Pallante at 847-657-6964 x: 3013. This conference in LA will be a celebration of our theme, “Leadership.”

While we prepare for this year’s conference, we are also planning for the Forensic Conference in Florida this fall (October 30-November 1, 2008) and we are planning for 2009.  We are considering for 2009 hosting a spring conference focusing with two tracks, Case Management and Disability Management, i.e. a CM/DM Conference. We are still deciding if this is a good fit for our members, it has not been finalized yet. We would be looking at a two-day event in a warm location like Texas or Arizona in February or March. Expenses for conference registration and hotel costs would be kept to a minimum. Please email Debbie Witt at debbiew@tcag.com and let us know your thoughts on this idea. Would you attend the IARP 2009 CM/DM Conference? Why or why not?  The board will vote on this issue in two weeks, so be sure to share your thoughts now.

Speaking of section membership benefits, are you participating in IARP’s five member listserves? IARP has listserves for case management, disability management, forensic, life care planning, and social security vocational experts. You must be a member to participate on these listserve and for CM, DM, forensic, and life care planning, you must be a member of that section. Contact Janice Wangman at janicew@tcag.com to sign up or with questions.

There is so much going on with IARP!  As always, please feel free to contact me with any ideas or suggestions you have to enhance your membership experience.