REGISTER REQUIRED: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KgyqQG-fRtu5kj_KFwaf6g#/registration
Reporting elder mistreatment is critical to identifying and resolving cases of abuse but several barriers, including inadequate communication between Adult Protective Services (APS) and reporters, discourage consistent reporting. Without feedback from APS, reporters are left uncertain if their concerns were valid. At the same time, APS must consider the legality, ethics, and feasibility of sharing information with reporters. To help address these challenges, we conducted a two-year research study to better understand the barriers and facilitators to APS-reporter communication. This study included a national environmental scan of APS feedback policies and practices followed by a detailed case study in Massachusetts of recent policy changes affecting APS-reporter communication. In this webinar, we will share our research findings, resultant recommendations for improving APS-reporter communication, and Oklahoma’s approach to implementing these recommended strategies. Implications for how this work relates to newly proposed APS regulations will also be discussed.
PRESENTERS INCLUDE:
Kristin Lees Haggerty is a public health researcher focusing on the design, testing, and dissemination of innovations to improve health care for older adults. Dr. Lees Haggerty’s work focuses on prevention and remediation of elder mistreatment and improving access to comprehensive dementia care. Dr. Lees Haggerty is Project Director for the National Collaboratory to Address Elder Mistreatment and Associate Director of the National Dementia Care Collaborative.
Olanike Ojelabi is an Associate Project Director specializing in public health and policy research. She is an expert in generating ideas and strategies to improve identifying, reporting, and responding to elder mistreatment. She co-leads projects focused on strengthening health care and adult protective systems to better support older adults’ well-being, including Pathways to Safety, a National Institute of Justice-sponsored initiative.
Randi Campetti is a Research Assistant with extensive experience in research, evaluation, project coordination, and technical assistance. She is highly skilled in writing and editing, collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, developing technical assistance tools and resources, and planning and implementing project events.
Kathy Greenlee is the Senior Director for Elder Justice Programs at ADvancing States, the national membership association of state agencies on aging, disability, and Medicaid home- and community-based services. From 2009 to 2016, Ms. Greenlee served as U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging, a position to which she was appointed by President Barack Obama. Prior to leaving for Washington, she worked in the Kansas government for 18 years. She was the Kansas Secretary for Aging for Governor Kathleen Sebelius and served as the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. Currently, she is the Board Chair for the National Council on Aging. She earned a BS in Business Administration from the University of Kansas and holds a JD from the University of Kansas School of Law.
Akiles Ceron is the Adult Protective Services (APS) Program Director for the City and County of San Francisco, CA. He earned his Master’s in Social Work from California State University Long Beach. He has been a public servant for 22 years, working in various capacities within the APS program. He has been an instructor for three APS Regional Training Academies, training on Working with the Self-Neglecting Client and on Elder and Dependent Adult Financial Abuse. He has participated in the California Welfare Directors Association’s Protective Services Operations Committee, and its Consistency Workgroup since 2010. The workgroup develops and maintains the CWDA’s APS guidelines to supplement regulations, and has developed guidance on Consistency in Case Documentation, Consistency in Findings, and Consistency in Outcomes in APS. Additionally, he has served in the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) Executive Board as Secretary since 2017.
Reza Zeinalpour is the Deputy Director of the Community Living, Aging, and Protective Services of Oklahoma Department of Human Services and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. He focuses teams on strategic alignment, culture change, and coaching and development of teams and individuals. Prior to starting with OKDHS, Reza was the Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) lead for the 552 Air Control Wing which with over 4,000 Airmen. Reza’s personal mission is to enable purpose driven people to be successful in their purpose driven work.
