2026 WEAAD Conference Handouts

10:15am-11:15am: Breakout sessions                                    

1. Early Legal Risk Identification: Strengthening Safety for Older Adults – Rachael Funk, Jennifer Bueno, Mary Ann Rivers, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS)
   • Early Legal Risk Identification Slide Deck
   • 2026 Questionnaire Handout
   • 2026 Spanish-Questionnaire Handout
2. Tips and Techniques for Interviews with Older and Vulnerable Adults: Lessons from Cornerhouse – Michelle Harris, Cornerhouse
   • Handout: Interviewing Lessons from CornerHouse
3. Financial Exploitation Track: Elder Financial Exploitation Interventions: From Teller to the Department of Commerce   – Amy Benson, TruStone Financial Credit Union, Tara Ambrose, MN Department of Commerce
   • Senior-Fraud Interventions Slide Deck
4. Learning the Lessons of Supported Decision Making in Action – Anita Raymond, CESDM; John Kantke, Hennepin County Adult Representation Services; Megan Thomas, Rice County; Ryan Boosinger, LSS
   • No Handouts
5. New to the Field Track: Person Centered Advocacy for Older and Vulnerable Adults: An Introduction– MEJC Advocacy Team Members
   • MEJC Victim Services for WEAAD Slide Deck

1:15pm-2:15pm: Breakout sessions                                        

1. Tools of Supported Decision Making – Katie Hestness, LSS
   • Tools of SDM Slide Deck
2. Enhancing Elder Protection through Tribal Nation Collaboration – Peggy Jo Archer, International Association for Indigenous Aging 
3. Financial Exploitation Track: Uncovering Financial Exploitation:  Law Enforcement Strategies & the Power of Search Warrants and Subpoenas – Lt. Mike Murphy
   • Uncovering Financial Exploitation Slide Deck
4. Part 1: How We Got Here: White Supremacy, Structural Racism, and Elder Vulnerability – Donte Curtis and Dana Page, PhD
   • White Supremacy Culture
5. New to the Feild Track: Understanding Adult Protection in Minnesota: Roles, Responsibilities, and Guiding Principles – Andrea Anderson, Kelli Klien, and Peter Larson, MN Department of Human Services Aging and Disability Services
   • Understanding Adult Protection in Minnesota: Roles, Responsibilities, and Guiding Principles Slide Deck

2:30pm-3:30pm: Breakout sessions                                        

1. Supporting the Mental Health and Social Well-being of Rural Older Adults – Carrie Henning-Smith, PhD
   • Well-Being of Rural Older Adults Slide Deck
   • Policy Brief: Variation in Elder Abuse State Statutes by Rurality
   • Policy Brief: Triad Program Perspectives on Rural Elder Abuse
2. From Principle to Practice: Integrating Culturally Informed Approaches in Adult Protection– Lindsey Brekke and Peter Larson, MN Department of Human Services Aging and Disability Services
   • From Principle to Practice Slide Deck
3. Financial Exploitation Track: Prosecution Strategies in Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adult Cases – Susan Crumb and Amy Reed-Hall
   • FEVA Proof and Pretrial Preparation Slide Deck
4. Part 2: From (A)wareness to (B)ehavior: Dismantling White Supremacy in Elder Services Practice – Donte Curtis and Dana Page, PhD
   • White Supremacy Culture
5. New to the Field Track: Guardians of Dignity: The Who, What and How of the LTC Ombudsman – Linda Sauve, Jane Brink, and Paula Wieczorek (Regional Ombudsman Supervisors with OOLTC) 
   • Guardians of Dignity Slide Deck