This National Adult Protective Services Association(NAPSA) Research to Practice (R2P) October Webinar will explore the findings of a study that investigated why nearly one-third of older adult abuse victims disengaged from a support service. What causes this drop-off? What can we do differently? We'll unpack the practical lessons learned and implications for working with and trying to retain clients in support services. Then, we’ll open the floor to a dynamic discussion about future research directions. I’ll share insights generated from the study and invite your input: What unanswered questions do you see in the context of Adult Protective Services? What kinds of research would truly support your work? How can we take this work forward?

Presenter: Jennifer Storey, PhD, is a Registered Forensic Psychologist and an Associate Professor in Forensic Psychology at the University of Kent (UK). Dr Storey’s published research focuses on the assessment and management of violence including older adult abuse, stalking, and intimate partner violence. This research has been funded by national and international organisations like the NIH, WHO and UK Home Office. Dr Storey is also the author of a violence risk assessment tool for the abuse of older people called the Harm to Older Persons Evaluation or HOPE which aids professional is assessing risk level and managing cases of older adult abuse. Dr Storey’s research has an applied focus and includes working closely with and training practitioners including judges, police, social workers, health and mental health professionals.

University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) Geriatric Medicine Community-Wide Grand Rounds

Speakers: from Lifespan of Greater Rochester- Paul Caccamise, LMSW, ACSW (Vice President of Programs), Dan Lyon, (Fraud and Scam Program Manager), Tracey Siebert-Konopko, LMSW (Director of Education, Training, and Research Initiatives)

Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the learner should be able to: describe the prevalence, incidence, and public health implications of elder abuse; identify local resources for survivors of elder mistreatment; and list the role of healthcare professionals in identifying elder mistreatment and referring patients for assistance and care.

Link: https://urmc.zoom.us/j/99743786411?pwd=36QHwEoZG5TrAK9RhuvoYLMhkdedk3.1

Meeting ID: 997 4378 6411

Passcode: 058052

For continuing education credit (CME, SW, LMFT, Psychology)
•	https://redcap.urmc.rochester.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=RPLXRR7R84WJXHWP 
•	Link active Wednesday 8:30am ET through Friday 5:00pm ET

This National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) R2P (Research to Practice) Journal Club session will discuss the timely and important topic of technology-facilitated abuse among older adults.

Speakers: David Burnes, PHD and Andie Macneil, MA MSW RSW

Americans lost nearly $13 billion to fraud in 2024. Imposter scams top the list of the type of fraud that’s most reported, with complex schemes involving government and business imposters increasingly draining people’s hard-earned savings. Join the American Banker Association (ABA) Foundation and experts from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for a discussion about the most common scams today, how they work and how to help your customers avoid them. The webinar will also offer tools to help protect your customers’ money, accounts and information.

The Upstate Elder Abuse Center at Lifespan’s NYS E-MDT Initiative Webinar Series

Tailored to professionals, this webinar provides an essential overview of fraud schemes, warning signs, and prevention strategies for scams involving cryptocurrency, bit coin, and artificial intelligence (AI). Discover the latest trends in these scams targeting older adults, as well as some methods to educate and assist those who are vulnerable to these high tech scams.

Presenter: Sheila Brewer-Montero, Fraud/Scam Prevention Coordinator Upstate Elder Abuse Center at Lifespan

The National Adult Protective Services (NAPSA) Monthly Scam Advice Forum

The September Forum will provide information on the four free national peer support programs for victims of transnational frauds, and in some cases for their family and caregivers. Learn more about each program and the groups they lead. They will also share their insights about working with those chronically revictimized from those leading or supervising these groups. Perspectives on what challenges and successes they are finding will be shared.

Michele Bovero will represent AARP. The AARP Fraud Victim Support group offers free emotional support sessions for people affected by fraud (victims and/or their loved ones). Trained peer facilitators conduct hour-long small group online sessions. Experiencing fraud can be devastating, but it does not have to define fraud victims or their loved ones. We offer between 6 and 7 sessions per week.

Jessica Grove will represent Give an Hour. Give an Hour is a national mental health organization offering clinical and nonclinical support to survivors and loved ones of those impacted by human made trauma. Since 2021, their Financial Fraud program offers weekly virtual peer support groups for survivors as well as loved ones and their nationwide network for licensed mental health professionals offers clinical support matching.

Kim Casci-Palangio will represent FightCybercrime.org. Their peer support program helps romance related fraud scam survivors through the healing process of loss and embarrassment, while teaching them cybercrime awareness and education. This 10 week program was built to support the participants’ mental well-being and decreasing rates of revictimization with aftercare support also provided. A licensed counselor is also part of facilitating each meeting.

Justin McCabe will represent the Fraud Awareness Network through Lifespan of NY. Lifespan provides information, guidance and more than thirty various services to older adults and their caregivers including financial counseling. They provide an ongoing weekly peer to peer program for fraud survivors nationally age 60 and over.

National webinar on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) financial education curriculum, Money Smart for Older Adults (MSOA). The MSOA program raises awareness among older adults and their caregivers on how to prevent fraud, scams, and elder financial exploitation.

Since 2013, stakeholders at nonprofits, state and local governments, and the private sector have used MSOA to teach advocates and older consumers about elder financial exploitation. Webinar participants will learn from the FDIC, CFPB and SEC about approaches to engage others in their communities to prevent fraud and scams.

The Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center (OVCTTAC) will present an online Expert Q&A discussion with Arlene Vassell and Elizabeth Vermilyea, Ph.D. on "Strengthening Our Own Support Systems: Promoting Positive Culture Instead of Cancel Culture."

 Studies show that approximately 30 percent of employees experience workplace bullying at some point in their careers, leading to increased stress, anxiety, depression, and decreased job satisfaction. Factors like bullying and cancel culture can have severe consequences for organizations, leading to a toxic work environment that affects team morale, cohesion, and trust. The essential importance of addressing bullying and toxic stress in victim services is to ensure the well-being of both staff and clients. Are you interested in understanding how to address the impact of bullying to empower your team and maintain well-being in high stress environments? Do you have questions about how to promote constructive dialogue when navigating challenging conversations?

You are invited to a free educational webinar presented by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s Office for Older Americans and Office of Servicemember Affairs. 

CFPB staff will discuss the most common scam types affecting military consumers, share tips for how older veterans, servicemembers, and their families can protect themselves from these scams, and highlight free resources from CFPB that can help.

This installment of Monroe County Office for the Aging’s (MCOFA’s) Diversity Dialogues will focus on Indian culture and be offered via Zoom.

See September 9th event (Day 1) for more information and registration link.

An education program presented by the Alzheimer’s Association

Join the Alzheimer’s Association for the latest updates on Research into Alzheimer's disease. Get the facts and learn about next steps, including information on: treatments for early-stage Alzheimer's Disease; updates on U.S. Pointer Study and Part the Cloud Research; role of blood tests to detect Alzheimer's Disease; and local research on caregiver support strategies

Speakers include Dr. Maria Quiñones-Cordero, Associate Director Hubard Center for Nursing, University of Rochester, and Erica Salamida, NENY Director of Community Outreach and ALZ Research Champion

Join Commit to Connect for the 2025 National Summit to Increase Social Connections, a two-day virtual event focused on this year’s theme: “Scaling and Replicating Effective Social Connection Programs.”

The event will bring together local, state, and national leaders from across sectors to grow the social connections of older adults and people with disabilities. Participants will gain insights into innovative programs, promising practices, and resources that promote social connection, as well as strategies and mechanisms to grow, replicate, and scale social connection programs nationwide.

Registration is free but required. This event will include CART captioning and ASL interpretation. Contact info@committoconnect.org with any questions.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) Office for Older Americans is offering a new webinar on protecting older adults from financial exploitation:

Mild cognitive impairment, which often goes undiagnosed in older adults, can adversely affect financial decision-making, leaving vulnerable adults at risk for financial exploitation. Financial exploitation is the most common form of elder abuse, and the research suggests a change in financial management and skills may be an early indicator of cognitive decline. Although a person may be able to perform simple tasks such as writing checks or paying bills, they may have difficulty with more complex tasks such as balancing a checkbook or managing investments. 

Advances in the neuroscience of cognition and aging can help family members and professionals recognize the signs of poor monetary management and take steps to respond to and prevent the financial risks associated with early cognitive decline. Those research findings can be used to inform the work of law enforcement, adult protective services, financial institutions, clinicians, and other service providers. They are also relevant to older adults, themselves, who can be empowered to take steps to protect their financial well-being.

The webinar will feature presentations by:

• Dr. Nancy Hoffman, geriatric neuropsychologist: As an expert and practitioner specializing in the neuropsychological assessment of cognition in older adults, Ms. Hoffman will share insights into cognitive capacity and how it relates to vulnerability to financial exploitation of older adults.

• Lisa Schifferle, CFPB’s Office for Older Americans: Ms. Schifferle will share resources for people considering a financial caregiver for a loved one experiencing cognitive decline.

The National Adult Protective Services (NAPSA) Monthly Scam Advice Forum

In August, guest presenters will share their insights into the challenges of working with those chronically revictimized and discuss suggested intervention strategies that can be helpful to their families and professionals who work with them. 

This is one of two parts focusing on those chronically revictimized.

Speakers:

Dr. Jennifer Lawrence is the lead clinician for the Peer Support Group at Fight Cybercrime. She has experience working in a variety of settings including health care, hospitals, institutes of higher education, community-based mental health agencies, state and government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. She is an experienced clinician who is trained in multiple treatment modalities and is also a trainer for various mental health and suicide prevention and intervention workshops. Having presented on the topic of mental health and wellness, the neurobiology of trauma, de-escalation techniques, resiliency and burnout prevention, and cybercrimes and romance scams, Jen is passionate about providing low-barrier engagement around mental health and wellbeing topics.

Dr. Anthony Pratkanis’s research on fraud was the first research to document: the effectiveness of reverse boiler rooms for fraud prevention; the most effective prevention messages and measures; the weapon in a fraud crime is social influence including a detailed analysis of persuasion used in con crimes; anyone can be a victim of a fraud (there is no victim profile or victim-deficit); fraud criminals often tailor their pitch to fit the victim; life stresses increase fraud vulnerability; financial literacy increases the risk of victimization; among other findings. His current focus is on (a) the modus operandi of confidence grifters and (b) the nature of chronic re-victimization along with the best intervention strategies

The National Adult Protective Services (NAPSA) R2P August Webinar

In 2021, IDOA added a two-day simulation training to the Adult Protection Services (APS) Certification training. Trainees engage in simulations of typical APS caseworker encounters with clients. Simulation training is thought to help adult protection caseworkers transfer the learning from the classroom to practice and increase caseworkers’ competence and confidence in their work. A two-year program evaluation was conducted between 2022 and 2003 to collect trainees’ experience through an online survey. Both quantitative and qualitative data sources indicated the positive impact of the simulation training on trainees’ confidence during the training and after the training. The program evaluation suggests that the simulation training makes a valued and effective contribution to IDoA’s Certification training of APS caseworkers.

PRESENTERS INCLUDE: Yu-Ling Chiu is a Senior Research Specialist and Research Assistant Professor at the Children and Family Research Center in the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana– Champaign. Claudia Kemple is a Training Specialist in the Office of Adult Protective Services at the Illinois Department on Aging.

Presented by Justice in Aging

The webinar will provide a high-level overview of major issues facing older immigrants in 2025. This webinar will also provide advocates with information regarding the recent sharing of private Medicaid information to immigration officials, the narrowing of immigrant eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid, and the erosion of protected areas from immigration enforcement.

Presenters will discuss: • Who older immigrants are; • Developments in immigration policies impacting older adults; and • General guidance for advocates who work with older immigrants with resources from Justice in Aging and our partners.

Who Should Participate: Advocates for and professionals working with older immigrants and other aging and disability stakeholders.

Presenters: • Denny Chan, Managing Director, Equity Advocacy, Justice in Aging • Tiffany Huyenh-Cho, Director, California Medicare & Medicaid Advocacy, Justice in Aging • Sahar Takshi, Senior Attorney, Equity Advocacy, Justice in Aging

The Weinberg Center for Elder Justice and Westchester County's Elder Abuse Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) invite you to this educational program, offered via Zoom.

About the Presentation: Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) is an end-of-life option for terminally ill, mentally competent adults that is legal in 12 jurisdictions. New York is on the cusp of becoming the 13th state to legalize MAID, with the bill awaiting Governor Hochul’s signature. This CLE reviews the legal history of MAID in the US from the first ballot initiative in 1988 to cases now pending before the Third and Ninth Circuits. Professor Pope illuminates how MAID laws differ from state to state, and where the New York law falls on this continuum. He demystifies the law’s eligibility criteria and safeguards. He addresses common themes from opponents, including that MAID fails to protect vulnerable adults and that patients may be coerced into requesting MAID.

About the Presenter: Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, PhD, HEC-C is a foremost expert on medical law and clinical ethics. He focuses on patient rights and healthcare decision making, especially at the end of life. A fellow of the Hastings Center and previously both a Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Health Law, Policy, and Ethics, and a visiting scholar with the Brocher Foundation in Switzerland; Pope is now a Professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota. While Professor Pope serves in a range of consulting capacities, he has been particularly influential through extensive high-impact scholarship. Ranked among the Top 20 most-cited health law scholars, Pope has over 300 publications in medical, law, and bioethics journals. His books include: • The Right to Die: The Law of End-of-Life Decision Making and • Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking: A Compassionate, Widely Available Option for Hastening Death. His Medical Futility Blog has received over 5 million pageviews. And he writes for both UPTODATE and The Merck Manual. Particularly notable among Professor Pope’s publications are policy guidance statements on ethics in critical care for major professional medical societies, and clinical practice guidelines on topics such as brain death and medical aid in dying. Apart from scholarship, Pope has been a legal consultant and expert witness in court cases involving end-of-life treatment.

Join The National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence and the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence for a 2-part webinar series that will highlight valuable tools and strategies for addressing elder abuse and safety in AANHPI communities.

Session 2: Community Care for AANHPI Elders and Caregivers Date: August 14, 202511 a.m. (PST) / 12 p.m. (MST) / 1 p.m. (CST) / 2 p.m. (EST) for 60 mins

This session will explore culturally grounded, strengths-based approaches to supporting AANHPI elders facing domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, neglect, and other forms of harm. Panelists will share their practices for care and offer guidance on how to support elders and their family caregivers who navigate complex relationships that may be marked by past or current harms, unhealed relationships, and generational trauma.

Presented by End Violence Against Women (EVAW)

Even with increased training and awareness, many professionals still struggle with interviewing sexual assault victims in a way that balances investigative goals with a trauma-informed approach. Whether you’re a law enforcement officer, healthcare provider, advocate, or part of a multidisciplinary team, conducting an effective interview is critical, and often challenging. This practical, strategy-driven session moves beyond theory and offers tools you can apply immediately. Participants will explore why sexual assault victim interviews often go wrong and how trauma affects memory and communication. They will also learn how to build trust, avoid common missteps, and gather more accurate case information. With a focus on techniques that work in any setting (urban, rural, or suburban), this session is grounded in real-world experience and designed to improve outcomes for both victims and investigations.

Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be better able to: build rapport and establish trust from the very first interaction and ask effective, non-leading questions that elicit detailed and reliable information; recognize and respond to trauma symptoms without compromising the interview process; avoid common interviewing pitfalls that can retraumatize victims or weaken case integrity.

$49 or with subscription

The 2025 Office of Victim Services (OVS) Conference has 3 webinar offerings, which will lead up to the main event! This is the third webinar.

Webinars are free of charge, and open to all OVS-funded advocates and allied professionals. You do not need to be registered for the OVS Conference to attend these free events. Registration for each webinar is required.

Speaker: Nikki Patin, Founder, Executive Producer, Surviving the Mic

In 2014, Nikki Patin decided that she was tired of asking public performance spaces and their producers to hold space for the work of survivors of sexual violence. Starting as 10 week workshop series for spoken word artists who identified as Black, woman and survivors of sexual violence, Surviving the Mic (StM) evolved into a groundbreaking survivor-led open mic and workshop series. Surviving the Mic: How to Make A Brave Space will, highlight the differences between holding safe space and brave space; break down the StM Alignments (a set of survivor-led, co-created agreements that were designed with brave space as the intended outcome), with the opportunity for participants to begin envisioning their own brave spaces; facilitate a discussion with participants on how to center survivors and their artistic work, including best practices for building collaboration between cultural and educational organizations and clinical and social service providers to best support survivor artists. The StM Brave Space Experience will then immerse participants in building and engaging their own brave space with a mini writing workshop and reading salon, as well as a performance by Nikki Patin. As a result of this session, attendees will gain insight into a survivor-led model for holding brave, artistic space. 

The 2025 Office of Victim Services (OVS) Conference has 3 webinar offerings, which will lead up to the main event! This is the second webinar.

Webinars are free of charge, and open to all OVS-funded advocates and allied professionals. You do not need to be registered for the OVS Conference to attend these free events. Registration for each webinar is required.

Speaker: Shirin Mazdeyasna, Trauma Therapist, REACH Center of MHACG

Creative arts therapy offers a powerful and innovative approach to trauma recovery, providing individuals with a non-verbal medium to process and heal from the emotional and psychological wounds caused by abuse and crime. This presentation explores the role of art therapy in facilitating the recovery of survivors, particularly in the context of a rape crisis center. Drawing from personal experience as an art therapist working with adult survivors of sexual violence, the presentation will delve into the various ways art therapy can foster emotional expression, support the processing of traumatic memories, and empower clients to regain a sense of safety and agency.

As a result of this session, attendees will: gain practical insights into how rape crisis centers function, gain practical insights into what art therapy is and how it's used in this context, examine the use of art in trauma therapy in three different ways and different levels of skills.

To mark Internet Safety Month in June, the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV) is rolling out a new interactive training webinar: Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence 101. This 90-minute course will help participants better understand and respond to digital and online threats and abuse.

Older adults reported to the FTC that they lost more than $2.3 billion to fraud in 2024. Newer versions of imposter scams are increasingly draining people’s hard-earned savings. Join experts from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), FINRA, the American Bankers Association Foundation, and the University of Minnesota for a one-hour panel discussion about scam trends impacting older adults and how to spot and avoid them.

Learn more about: the latest imposter scam trends; free tools to help protect consumers’ life savings; resources to combat against scams.

Opening remarks: Jennifer Leach, Associate Director of the FTC’s Division of Consumer and Business Education.

Moderator: Gema de las Heras, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC’s Division of Consumer and Business Education.

Panelists: Marti DeLiema, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota School of Social Work; Alicia Goldin, Associate General Counsel for Regulatory Practice & Policy, FINRA Foundation; Patty Hsue, Attorney, Division of Marketing Practices, FTC; Sam Kunjukunju, Vice President, Consumer Education, American Bankers Association Foundation.

Details to join the roundtable on July 31, 2025, at 1-2pm ET:

URL: https://ftc.zoomgov.com/j/1618920218?pwd=ZiFpJfQmUZbC0z2VYlNvmq6f8bCP7r.1

ID: 161 892 0218, Passcode: 975240

By phone: +1 646 828 7666 US (New York); +1 669 216 1590 US (San Jose); 833 568 8864 or 833 435 1820 US Toll-free

Join National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) as they present the results from the first APS Retention Survey administered in February 2024 by the National APS Training Center (NATC) in partnership with Purdue University. The survey developed by the field, for all-levels of current APS professionals, asked the question, “Why Have You Stayed in APS?”. By probing the following areas - demographics, education and training, individual factors, organizational factors, and open-ended retention questions – the survey yielded rich quantitative and qualitative results. 

Due to a lack of recruitment and retention research specific to the APS field, the data from this survey serves as an important guide and resource for future analysis and publications, including two upcoming manuscripts. Additionally, the survey and its data are integral components of the new NATC APS Recruitment & Retention Educational Tool, a capstone project freely accessible to APS programs and partners via the NAPSA website https://www.napsa-now.org/recruitment-and-retention/

After the workshop, participants will be able to: Describe the methodology and inputs for the first national APS retention survey. Identify the primary findings from the data. Discuss next steps and how you can use the survey data and NATC resources in your program.