Conference Tracks
Human & Social Services
Examine growing gaps, needs in demand, and access to resources within Iowa communities.
How can services like housing, mental health, child welfare, and social support improve to best support communities across Iowa?
SESSION 1
A world without social service providers
What would it look like if social service providers disappeared? How would our communities look differently without the services of social service providers?
October 01, 2026 at 9:00AM
SESSION 2
Access Under Pressure: Social Services in an Age of Polarization
As political polarization reshapes debates over eligibility, funding, and the role of government itself, access to essential social services increasingly depends on where a person lives and which political currents are strongest there. This panel examines how polarization affects access to services.
October 01, 2025 at 10:00AM
SESSION 3
AI and Child Safety
With accessibility to AI tools becoming more prevalent, what is being done to protect children from negative impacts of AI? We’ll talk about new laws meant to provide guard rails to kids or make sure kids know when they’re interacting with AI. But AI can be helpful too, we’ll also discuss how AI tools can be used to more quickly detect things like child abuse.
October 01, 2025 at 11:00AM
SESSION 4
Poverty in Iowa
While 10% of Iowa households live below the federal poverty level, another 25% are considered ALICE (asset limited, income constrained and employed). What – both individually and at community levels – can help assist those who are working, but struggling to make ends meet?
October 01, 2025 at 1:00PM
SESSION 5
Mental and behavioral healthcare in Iowa
Iowa’s new behavioral health system has now been active for more than a year. What has changed, and what gaps remain, for behavioral and mental health care in the state? How have funding changes and quick deadlines affected the people doing the on-the-ground work of providing behavioral health services? This session will take a look at the continuing changes in the system and what has and hasn’t gone well as adjustments have been made.
October 01, 2025 at 2:00PM
SESSION 6
Iowa nice: How community members have stepped up during impossible times
When the federal government shut down at the end of 2025, nonprofits — especially food providers — took a big hit. Outside of the shutdown, these last few years were already unmatched in terms of financial difficulty for social services organizations across Iowa and the country. Iowa’s nonprofits have kept going, though, in part because of the overwhelming support from community members, who have responded to these difficulties with a huge increase in donations of money and time. Ending the day on a high note, panelists in this session will share success stories from the past year, and discuss the societal benefits of volunteering and how people can continue to get involved.
October 01, 2025 at 3:00PM
