Event Keynote
Kathy Greenlee, Greenlee Global Consulting
After a 25 year career in public service, Kathy has developed a deep expertise in the areas of aging, long-term care, disability, elder abuse, health care and community service innovation, and LGBT health. Her goal is to engage with local, regional, national, and international partners to advance programs, policies and system reforms aimed at improving people’s lives. She is particularly attuned to the relationships between health, independence, and security.
Breakout Sessions
The Role of Community Corrections in Elder Abuse Cases
Neglect, emotional abuse, psychological violence, physical assault and financial exploitation against elders. And now the perpetrator is out of jail or prison. What supervision conditions should be in place? What are the reporting requirements when abuse is suspected? Who needs to be informed? What is elder abuse anyway? This session will provide information regarding the definition of elder abuse, give insight into how to identify when it occurs, discuss mandatory reporting requirements, and provide insight into how community corrections can prevent elder abuse during the course of their supervision through case planning, field observations, and victim disclosures.
Presenters: Shelly Carlson, MPP, Criminal Justice Systems Manager, Minnesota Elder Justice Center
Benefits of Self-Determination in Addressing Vulnerability
Though we often think of guardianship as the ultimate protection against, and response to, maltreatment of vulnerable adults, the reality is that this could be a false sense of security. This session will discuss how supportive decision making structures can help reduce risk and address vulnerabilities associated with maltreatment.
Presenters: Anita Raymond, LISW, CMC| Program Manager, Center for Excellence in Supported Decision Making / Protective Services, Volunteers of America – Minnesota
Investigating Financial Exploitation Cases 101
Investigator Tracy Allen and Senior Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Susan Crumb of the Complex Crimes Unit of the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office will walk through the investigation of a financial exploitation case. They will discuss how to identify witnesses who should be interviewed, where to look for medical and financial evidence, and options for charging financial cases with vulnerable adult victims.
Presenters: Tracy Allen, Investigator, Hennepin County Attorney’s Office; Susan Crumb, Senior Assistant, Hennepin County Attorney’s Office
What Do We Do? A Collaborative Presentation of Adult Maltreatment Lead Investigative Agencies
Have you ever wondered how different agencies contribute to protecting vulnerable adults in our communities, licensed programs, and services? Join us for an overview of the adult maltreatment investigative process facilitated by staff members from DHS Office of Inspector General Licensing Division, Minnesota Department of Health Regulation Division, and DHS Adult Protection Unit. The session will identify “Prioritization Guidelines” for investigations, explain the investigative process, and outline how Lead Investigative Agencies coordinate with partners during intake and investigation for the protection of vulnerable adults.
Presenters: Lindsey Krueger, Interim Director, Minnesota Department of Health; Maggie Hanson, Intake Supervisor, Department of Human Services Licensing, Office of the Inspector General; Mary McGurran, Adult Protection Supervisor/Aging and Adult Services, MN Department of Human Services
Policy Perspectives: Elder Justice Issues and the 2019 Minnesota Legislative Session
Join Minnesota Elder Justice Center’s Policy Director Sean Burke for a re-cap of the 2019 Legislative Session. Find out what happened regarding issues of vulnerable adult protection in long term care facilities; changes to Minnesota’s Adult Protection system and Vulnerable Adult Act; elder abuse prevention; and more.
Presenter: Sean Burke, JD, Public Policy Director, Minnesota Elder Justice Center
Strategies for Removing the Perpetrator from the Elder’s Home
This breakout session focuses on the increasingly common problem of removing a perpetrator of elder abuse from the elder’s home, particularly when the perpetrator is an adult family member. The facilitator will lead a discussion about the barriers that elder victims of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation face as they seek safety, and will explore the legal options available to elder victims in Minnesota. The session will conclude with a review of the presenter’s research on legal strategies deployed throughout the rest of the country to remove perpetrators of elder abuse from the home of the elder.
Presenter: Amanda Vickstrom, Executive Director, Minnesota Elder Justice Center
Alphabet Soup: Common Legal Tools and Rules for Assigning Fiduciaries
POA, Rep. Payee, PR, TTEE, Guard/Con – if these abbreviations are familiar to you – or if they’re not – join me at this session to explore common tools used to appoint fiduciaries. These powerful appointments allow one person to manage financial resources for another, and while they can be abused, there are good strategies we can use to create oversight and make these tools safer for clients, residents and family members. We’ll discuss these strategies and other rules related to these most common fiduciary tools.
Presenter: Marit Peterson, JD, Program Director, Minnesota Elder Justice Center
Faith Communities: Responding to the Call
Faith Communities provide strong social supports and networks for many of the most vulnerable in our communities and have developed innovative strategies to remain engaged with their members in need. Many faith networks are directly engaged in service provision to older or vulnerable adults, and as such, are a critical community resource in identifying needs for safety and sharing messages of abuse prevention and nonviolence. This session will explore some of the innovative approaches and underlying philosophies shared by faith communities in preventing and responding to abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.
Presenters: Pastor Mari Strong, Chaplain, The Fountains at Hosanna Senior Living; Rabbi Lynn C. Liberman, BCC, Community Chaplain of Jewish Family Service of St Paul and Staff Chaplain, Legacy Health East Hospice; Facilitated by Marit Peterson, JD, Program Director, Minnesota Elder Justice Center
Now You See it: Advances in Screening for Elder Abuse and Exploitation
Research on the incidence and prevalence of elder maltreatment customarily comes with a caveat that victimization is largely unreported. The full scope of the problem lies beneath the surface. The reasons for limited reporting are many, including fear of reprisal, being unaware of how and where to report, and intentional failure to report by observers. Therefore, relying solely on reported experience falls short, not only for research, but for identifying cases, responding to victims, and preventing further harm. This session will describe screening tools that have been developed and tested to help social workers, health care professionals, and financial professionals ask the right questions, assess maltreatment, and offer protection from further harm.
Presenter: Iris C. Freeman, Founding Chair, Board of Directors, Minnesota Elder Justice Center and Adjunct Professor, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Elder Law and Chronic Care Certificate Course
Gay and Grey: To Improve the Quality of Live for LGBT Older Adults (2-part session)
This is a two part session to give participants strategies and tools to support LGBT older adults who seek their services. These sessions will explore scenarios and potential ethical dilemmas while working with LGBT older adults. Attendees will learn strategies, resources and tools to serve the LGBT aging population in your program services.
Part 1: Understanding the Lived Experience of LGBT Older Adults
Part 2: Ethical Considerations
Presenters: Marsha Berry, JustUs Health; Robert F. Rodè, Voigt, Rodè & Boxeth LLC; Jane Danner, Volunteers of America; Megan Mueller, Community Education Coordinator, JustUs Health.
Trying to do the Right Thing: How Non-Perpetrator Family Members Experience Intervening in Elder Family Financial Exploitation
This session shares findings from a UMN study of non-perpetrator family members focused on understanding the realities of elder family financial exploitation (EFFE). Given that EFFE is widely, unrecognized and unreported, it is important to understand what “trying to do the right thing” is like for family members who chose to intervene. Participants will learn about the wide range of formal and informal systems family member’s reached out to for help and support, perceptions of if and how systems encountered were working, and perceived positive and negative outcomes of intervening. Implications for supporting family member’s as potential reporters, and as secondary victims will be discussed.
Presenter: Marlene S. Stum, PhD. Professor, Family Economics & Gerontology, Family Social Science, University of Minnesota.