Mr. Gard is to be considered a SINGLE SOURCE PROVIDER for this particular type of instructional presentation on Human Services Interviewing Techniques.  We are unable to locate any other training program that matches his credentials, work experience and training ability. Mr. Gard is able to uniquely tailor this training in a very specific manner as he is personally and professionally familiar with the types of problems our staff face, and subsequently is particularly suited to address our issues.  He has worked at the local office level in delivering benefits, at the state level as a fraud investigator and at the federal level in program oversight.

We are unaware of any existing comparable generic or specific training by vendors and we are unable to locate existing or future comparable training  by any State or Federal agency. This presentation is in accordance with mandates for corrective action and error reduction initiatives, as well as mandates to improve morale, reduce stress, and increase retention of key staff.

The supportive documentation for these mandates can be found in the _____________’ in personnel’s compilation of Recommendation’s for the reform of Civil Service, in the Human Resource Development Chapter; in the State Plan of operations; and in the         Statewide Training Plan.

TIM GARD, CSP

Eligibility Technician:  Montana Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, Kalispell, Montana.  State employee.  As a  past eligibility caseworker with the Montana Department of Human services.  He has years of experience in performing eligibility determinations by interviewing applicants for assistance.   He also has first hand experience in eligibility for the food stamp program, TANIF programs, Medicaid and General Assistance programs. On his own time, he later developed and shared training programs on such topics as "How to Deal with Welfare Fraud Personally and Professionally", "Interviewing Techniques" and "Field Interviews/Homevisits".

Eligibility Investigator, Montana Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, Kalispell, Montana.  State employee.  Responsible to investigate and pursue welfare fraud cases for both civil and criminal resolution.  Trained new investigators statewide. When Montana implemented an investigator program, Tim became one of the first Eligibility Investigators in the state.  He later was the primary field trainer for new investigators and wrote both the field interviews and home visit sections for the state training manuals.  He was invited to lecture and train at state and national conferences on fraud investigation, stress reduction through humor and team development in social services environments at the the request of USDA FNS.  As one of the first front end investigators in the United States Tim developed forms and procedures that are still in use in the state

Management Evaluation Reviewer, United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Denver Colorado.   Performed management evaluation reviews of the food stamp program at a federal level for Utah, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Iowa, North and South Dakota.   Tim  moved to Denver, Colorado to join the staff of USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) as a food stamp program reviewer. While with FNS, he continued to lecture and consult on interviewing, stress reduction through humor, team development and self-esteem at local and national conferences.  He also served on interagency task forces on welfare reform, electronic benefit transfer systems and federal income tax refund offset programs

CERTIFIED SPEAKING PROFESSIONAL:  Mr. Gard has been awarded the certified speaking professional designation.  This prestigious status is the highest earned designation of the National Speakers Association and is currently held by less than 8 percent of all speakers worldwide. He has been a full time professional speaker since 1994 performing over 100 events annually world wide from Sioux City to Singapore.

REFERENCES: Tim provides keynotes, presentations, and training for a variety of local, state, and national organizations.  His clients have included American Public Welfare Association, National Eligibility Workers Association, United Council on Welfare Fraud, Public Service Company of Colorado, Ball Aerospace, Colorado Credit Union League, U.S. Department of Energy, First Data Corp., First Interstate Bank of Denver, Colorado National Bank, Amoco Production Company, National Park Service, U S WEST, Universities of Colorado and Wyoming, TCI Cable, United Way, UNIPAC Service Corp., U.S. Navy, Idaho Power, IRS, PacifiCorp, National Eligibility Workers Association and numerous other city, county, state, federal, private industry, and professional organizations.

AWARDS /CERTIFICATION: Recipient of recognition awards from the Indiana Chapter of International Association of Personnel in Employment Security, The National Eligibility Workers Association, The State of Florida, The Wyoming Department of Family Services, The Social Security Administration, The United States Naval Reserve, Fitzsimons Hospital, State of Arkansas, U. S. Department of Agriculture and many others.