About the 2026 Scaling Up Conference
October 22nd & 23rd, 2026, from 8:30am – 5:00pm
Marriott East Lansing at University Place
300 M.A.C. Ave, East Lansing, MI 48823
East Michigan’s Scaling Up Conference is for current AFC owners and operators looking to improve their current organization, or open new locations.
Care Provider Solutions and Enriched Living are proud to announce this year’s 2 day Scaling Up Conference with multiple breakout session choices and an after conference mixer sponsored by Guardian Pharmacy!
Join us as we teach and train adult foster care (AFC) owners and operators how to scale up their operations through resources, connections, and best industry practices.
Join us to learn, connect, grow, and have FUN!
You’re invited to join our NEW and IMPROVED Michigan Scaling Up Conference on Thursday October 22 and Friday, October 23 with an AFTER CONFERENCE MIXER sponsored by Guardian Pharmacy!
Learn the roadmap to transform your AFC success. Save wasted time, increase facility income, reduce frustration, and win AMAZING prizes.
Whether you want to improve your current organization or open one, or more, new locations, we will show you how to streamline your staffing, audit, resident, and licensing procedures.
Drastically reduce your stress and re-discover the joy of caring for your residents, staff, and yourself!
The Regular Way
The Best WayEast Michigan’s Scaling Up Conference elevated AFC operators to the next level and boosts AFC owners confidence!
Care Provider Solutions and Enriched Living are proud to announce this year’s only 2 day Scaling Up Conference with multiple breakout session choices and an after conference mixer!
Join us as we teach and train adult foster care (AFC) owners and operators how to scale up their operations through resources, connections, and best industry practices.
Join us to learn, grow, connect, and have FUN!
Keynote Speakers
Nadine Carlson
Co-Founder and Consultant for Care Provider Solutions
My passion is to help owners and operators reduce the stress associated with running and operating Specialized Licensed Adult Foster Care homes. I understand running an AFC home and providing care can be overwhelming. My 12 years of experience running award-winning homes and 3 years of AFC consulting have given me an in-depth understanding of many common issues AFC residential assisted living homes face.
It is my privilege to partner with Enriched Living and other industry experts to help AFC owners grow and collaborate at the Scaling up Conference. This event is fun and filled with the tools to prevent burnout and eliminate the fake-it-until-you-make-it syndrome. It is so valuable to have many AFC Owners supporting each other, sharing resources and encouragement.
Laurie Labie
Executive Director of Enriched Living & Breakout Session Presenter
Enriched Living was founded in 2017 with the mission of making premium care accessible to all and to create warm and welcoming homes for adults with disabilities.
She and her team create communities of support for their residents through advocacy, education, and activities. They foster hope for vulnerable adults and their families by offering premium care and opportunities for growth.
Through Scaling Up and her collaboration with Care Provider Solutions, she uses her skills to mentor and teach. We share some of what we and other industry experts have learned over the many years of being in the business. This helps the attendees avoid wasting time figuring it out on their own.
Welcome to our 2026 Scaling Up conference speakers!
Jay Calewarts
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA)
Division Director for AFC Licensing
AFC licensing Q&A with updates.
Robert Moser
Guardian Pharmacy
Robby Moser is a healthcare professional with Guardian Pharmacy of Michigan, which operates two pharmacies across the state serving the entire state of Michigan. He specializes in long-term care medication management, ensuring safe and reliable pharmacy services that enhance the quality of life for residents and families. A graduate of Yale University, Robby also toured nationally as a Broadway trumpet player, bringing creativity and discipline to his professional journey. His passion for continuous improvement and commitment to excellence make him a trusted voice in advancing long-term care practices.
Chad Veldkamp
At CLEAR, they simplify the complexity of construction for adult foster care facilities design and drafting, new construction, remodeling and more.
Marie Labie
As Vice President and Senior Loan Officer at Northpointe Bank, Maria helps homebuyers navigate important financial decisions with confidence. She creates tailored solutions that align with each client’s unique goals, whether purchasing an investment property, an out-of-state second home, or a first home. Maria is especially passionate about working with self-employed borrowers, carefully reviewing complex tax returns, and finding creative ways to include improvement funds in a purchase loan. Her focus is on providing a clear plan and a stress-free experience every step of the way.
Mary Sumners
Kennari Consulting, Vice President
Mary’s areas of expertise include annual giving strategies, capital campaign management, and board and volunteer committee support. Mary is especially passionate about helping nonprofit boards become more inclusive and intentional in representing the communities they serve. She has received a certificate of nonprofit board consulting from BoardSource, which has given her greater insight into how nonprofit boards can best support their organizations.
Carolynne VanderVeen
Clinical Supervisor IDD Behavioral Health Easterseals Disability & Community Services
Carolynne VanderVeen is a Licensed Master Social Worker with nine years of dedicated service at Easterseals MORC. She currently serves as a Clinical Supervisor in the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Behavioral Health department, where she leads with compassion and a commitment to excellence. Carolynne is deeply passionate about fostering a Culture of Gentleness, a philosophy that guides her work in supporting individuals with IDD and shaping trauma-informed, person-centered care practices. Her experience, leadership, and heartfelt approach make her a powerful advocate for dignity, respect, and meaningful connection in behavioral health services.
What You’ll Learn
Thursday, October 22nd
Friday, October 23rd
It doesn’t have to be this hard!
Whether you are experienced or new to owning an AFC, this conference is for you if…
Breakout Session Presenters
Community of Mental Health Panel
AFC owners with a specialized certification to serve the mentally ill and developmentally disabled sometimes find the CMH terminology confusing and best practices when working with a CMH frustrating and not clear.
Our panel of CMH experts, Traci Smith from MCCMH, Tony Maniscalco from Network 180, Rhea Freitag from Summit Pointe and Connie Swain from GHS are joining together to answer questions and provide insight on some of the most frequently asked questions:
Dementia Training
We welcome Suzy, certified Dementia Practitioner and owner of SilverTree Memory Partners to Scaling Up.
Her interest in dementia care stems from spending time with her grandfather as he progressed through the stages of dementia. Finding ways to connect with him took on many forms, from playing pool to having simple conversations. As his care needs changed so did my approaches for communication, planning our activities and maintaining safety within his environment.
Learn from Suzy as she teaches:
Communication and Leadership Skill Training
We welcome Amy Leep, owner of Comply and Co-Coach at Care Provider Solutions.
With over 20 years of experience in AFC/HFA and Skilled Nursing, Amy Leep is passionate about collaborating with leaders and team members to implement processes and policies that foster a successful and supportive environment.
As part of her ongoing commitment to providing the best care and support, she will teach effective communication and leadership skills to help create a supportive atmosphere, build trust and ensure we meet the needs of those we care for in a respectful and compassionate manner.
Event Location sponsor
Platinum sponsor
Gold sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Frequently Asked Questions
We heard the suggestions and are applying them to this Scaling Up Conference.
Our new and improved format has coffee, topics to address the pain points of many providers, and an after conference mixer!
Science shows it takes the average person 2-7 time to hear the same message before taking action. Join us again because “repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishement.” Zig Ziglar
Care Provider Solutions courses are for any soon to be or existing, AFC Owner, CFO, AFC Director of Operations, Director of Admissions, or House Facility Manager operating one or more adult foster care facilities.
Have you ever said, “I have too many things to work on, I don’t have time to go to this event”
Consider the quote from Albert Einstein, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Scaling Up can provide a resource roadmap to getting your life back.
If you value learning and continuous improvement for both you and your staff, this course will benefit your organization.
If you’re like most adult foster care home owners, you started your business because you wanted to…
But now that your business is up and running, you’re stuck in an endless cycle of tasks.
The “big dream” feels more like a big burden that keeps you up at night.
How can you start enjoying the fruits of your labor – instead of just “laboring” all the time?
Well… you know how to open and run AFC homes, but is it enough to accomplish your goals and continuously improve?
That’s what Scaling Up is designed to help you do.
Whether you are new to the adult foster care industry or are an experienced owner/operator, we can help. We know the frustration of not having enough time in a day to get everything done.
Your time is short and precious. Let us shorten the learning curve so you experience more financial success sooner. For experienced owners/operators, let us save a valuable resource, time, to maximize your financial success.
Conveniently located in East Lansing. Come join us at
300 M.A.C. Ave
East Lansing, MI 48823
Breakfast/Coffee and lunch are included with your ticket for every day of the event.
Also included with your ticket is entry to the AFTER CONFERENCE MIXER on Thursday, October 22 (sponsored by Guardian Pharmacy).
Comprehensive sessions covering every aspect to save time, avoid hassles, improve resident interactions for private pay and CMH focused Adult Foster Care Homes in Michigan
Save wasted time and reduce frustration with training to attract employees that fit your organization’s culture, tips to onboard employees for success, audit techniques, HCBS compliance tips and much, much more!
Regain hope and energy by learning strategies, systems, and processes from marketing to fill open beds, to successful resident admissions with sufficient reimbursement rates to pay yourself, cover overhead, even make a profit AND MORE!
Testimonials
Hear what participating residential assisted living homes have to say about how Scaling Up has elevated them to the next level and boosted AFC owners confidence.