Elder Law Prof Blog

Arizona Feature: "Arizona Seniors At Risk of Harm"

Appearing on the front page of the Sunday edition of the Arizona Republic (5.21.23),  the first paragraphs of an extended feature article point to the potential for harm to residents and the consequences of staff shortages or inattention at Arizona facilicities caring for residents with dementia. Two women in their 90s  are residents of an elegantly appointed assisted living facility-- but as the article begins they are covered in blood -- and the investigation of what happened there is hampered by the inability of anyone to give clear explanations. 

The feature, based on the newspaper's review of "thousands of pages of police and state regulatory reports," offers multiple reasons for such injuries in "senior living" facilities, including a lack of clear reporting rules and the absence of investigation by state agencies, especially for facilities licsenced for "assisted living" as opposed to "nursing home" care.  From the  feature:

In memory care units, anything can become a weapon -- toilet plungers, shoehorns, electric razors, TV remotes, metal trash grabbers and walking canes. Hundreds of vulnerable seniors, particularly those with dementia, contend with violence at the end of their lives in the very places that promise to keep them safe. 

 

Shortages of staff-- brought on by companies looking to maximize profits or stave off financial losses -- lead to more harm. Assisted living facilities can keep resident clashes underwraps [in Arizona] because regulartors don't make facilities report incidents to their state licensing agency.  Federally regulated nursing homes have to report but little attention is paid to the problem.

 

The Arizona Republic combed through thousands of pages of policce and state regulatory reports to find more than 200 clashes at senior living facilities from mid-2019 to mid-2022. Residents punched, hit, pushed, kicked, poked scratched, bit, elbowed or spat on other residents or employees.

Experts consulted by the Arizona Republic noted that one "key [to reducing problems] is tailoring a [resident's] care plan to each resident's needs, equipped with activities that bring their lives a sense of purpose."  Further, "[a]ssisted living facilities commonly get in trouble for having inadequate, delayed or out-of-date plans for residents that outline their need or for failing to follow those plans."

The article cautions that if a problem is not tracked, "it doesn't exist":

The Arizona Department of Health Services licenses facilities and is responsible for investigating complaints but assisted living centers don't have to report nonfatal injuries to the agency.  

 

That's not normal.  Most states require facilities to report to their licensing agency when residents get hurt, according to The Republic's review of state laws.

The feature suggests that "Arizona lawmakers and regulators have prioritized the needs of assisted living and nursing home companies over their residents," comparizing Arizona to  "[a]t least 17 states [that] require assisted living facilities to get inspected about once a year, with a few even requiring two inspections per year. " 

For the full Arizona Republic feature published in its print version on May 21, 2023, look for  "Arizona seniors at risk of harm: Facilities experiencing staff shortage, residents with dementia enable violence," by reporters Caitlin McGlade, Melina Walling and Sahana Jayaraman. The extended Sunday feature appears to follow several shorter articles available online in May from the same reporting team. 

Signficant Article from NY Times

This is one of the most important and comprehensive articles I've read on dementia, consent, elder abuse, and guardianship.  

The Mother Who Changed: A Story of Dementia was published on May 9, 2023.  I plan to assign it to my students.  I hope you read it.

Loss of the Ability to Evaluate Risk vs "Winning the Sweepstakes"

When I was a child, my grandfather had an ongoing relationship with Readers' Digest.  Not just their magazine or their condensed books, but with the company itself. He was always convinced he had won their latest sweepstakes and his big-dollar prize was just around the corner.  It was a bit of a family legend.  

Recently an older friend, who had celebrated a 90th birthday a few months back, called to ask for help in filling out forms for the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes.  Over the years my friend had purchased various items from PCH, including a set of solar lights that never worked properly.   The odds of actually "winning" the PCH sweepstakes are astronomically high.  My friend thought buying something would increase the odds of winning no matter how often I explained over the years that was not true.  Sometimes new "stuff" would appear in the mail, along with a corresponding bill for the "order."  It was hard to know whether my friend had actually ordered the items.

This time, my friend was thrilled to explain the long-awaited victory was almost here -- as the latest mailing "guaranteed" the check would be arriving by mail and all that was needed was timely confirmation by return mail of a willingness to accept the prize.  Two envelopes were provided to help in "claiming" the victory.  

I walked patiently through the colorful documents with my friend, pointing out all my examples of clever language.   I showed my friend a copy of a case, Harris v.  Publishers Clearing House, an unofficially reported  federal decision from 2016, that described another person who also thought he had won for the exact same reasons as my friend. The prize never came. He was suing -- without the benefit of an attorney --  for breach of contract, fraud, and alleged violations of Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act, 39 U.S.C. Section 2001 et seq.  But the judge ruled against him, dismissing the case with prejudice while explaining the language in the letters "merely informed the plaintiff that he had a chance to win. . . . "  

My friend seemed to understand what I was saying.  My friend asked my opinion -- "what should we do?"  I suggested we tear up the letters and throw them in the trash.  My friend put the documents -- untorn -- in the waste can.  We talked about the fact that continuing to participate with this company was wasting money, and was also an example of "feeding the troll," encouraging the company to keep sending those "too-good-to-be-true" letters to other people.   We  ended our discussion with a good hug.

The next morning I stopped by to drop off newspapers and a fresh donut.  As I waited for my friend, I saw the top of two "official" envelopes addressed to Publishers Clearing House peeking out of the top of the home's mail box for pick up -- with fresh stamps.   I couldn't help but sigh.  

Here is a link to a science-based discussion about early assessment of cognitive impairment, and the importance of histories provided by a reliable informant or care partner for diagnostic assessment.  Victimization in scams is one of several behavioral examples listed in the article that can point to changes in cognition, associated with the loss of the ability to evaluate risk or odds of winning. 

Isn't it sad that it might be easier to diagnose cognitive impairment than to get a ruling finding deceptive trade practices?  

Justice Department Expands Strike Force to Protect Older Americans from Fraud

The U.S. Justice Department issued a press release yesterday, announcing the expansion of its Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force.  The Strike Force was organized in 2019, involving the Justice Department's Consumer Protection Bureau,  U.S. Attorneys Offices, the FBI, Homeland Security, and -- I was interested to see -- the United States Postal Inspection Service

I've actually worked with the Postal Inspector on an elder fraud case.   A woman in her 90s was mailing an unusually fat envelope and asked a friend to give her a ride to a local branch of the post office.  The friend, knowing the woman was quite frail when walking unassisted, offered to get the postage, or to accompany her, but the older woman, who the friend thought seemed unsure of herself, declined.  The friend thought about this, was alerted by what struck her as unusual behavior, and called the woman's daughter and explained what had just  happened. 

The daughter had dismissed a home caregiver recently after learning the caregiver was asking her mother for -- and receiving --  two  or more "pay checks" per week, as well as asking for additional cash that seemed to disappear in mysterious ways.  The daughter went to the post office with a copy of a certified Power of Attorney, granted to her by her mother several years before she was diagnosed with multiple conditions, including cognitive issues, following a stroke.  In fact the reason the caregiver had been hired was precisely because the mother was vulnerable and sometimes confused. 

The Post Office at first seemed to be reluctant to take action, but the daughter was able to describe the envelope and also to provide the name of the former employee who had already been fully paid for his work, and had signed a receipt to that effect. The Post Office's worker agreed to search, but when the daughter departed, it seemed unlikely any action would be taken.  That is, it seemed unlikely until the next day, when a representative of the Postal Inspector set up an appointment.  Having identified and been given the daughter/agent's permission to open the envelope, the federal authorities found several hundred dollars in the envelope that was, indeed, addressed to the former worker.  The officers interviewed the mother and then went to see the suspect, who claimed it was merely an additional paycheck that was "owed."  He  claimed the mother was fully supportive of giving him cash, but he was unable to explain the receipt he'd signed, the burner phones he had used to call the woman, nor the many "payments" he'd received in the last 60 days, payments that the daughter had since documented as more than tripling his agreed wage rate during that period. 

I'm the daughter; my 90+ mother was the person defrauded.  (She has since passed away, so I feel more able to tell this story.)  I learned the Postal Service already understood such a fact pattern very well.  Even at that time, several years ago, the official investigating the facts told us that similar transactions happened all too often.  It is good to see, with this latest press release, that the U.S. Justice Department is coordinating authorities on enhanced fraud prevention and recovery efforts in support of elder justice.  

My thanks to Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Amy Gaudion at Penn State Dickinson Law, who shared the Justice Department notice with me, and whose own research focuses on national security and privacy issues.  

Widener Univ. Commonwealth Law School's Clinical Students to Serve as Monitors in Pennsylvania Guardianship Program

Mary Catherine Scott, Director of the Central Pennsylvania Law Clinic at Widener University Commonwealth Campus, has recently partnered with Dauphin County Orphans' Court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to expand her clinical students' opportunities for service. Law students will now have roles as monitors in guardianship cases, seeking to maximize the interests of protected persons.  The Pro Bono Guardianship Monitoring Program was begun in central Pennsylvania by the Honorable Todd Hoover, and is now overseen by Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Engle, involving as many as 400 active cases.  The monitor program is another component of the Pennsylvania courts' enhanced protections for older persons and other persons found to be in need of certain assistance.  Pennsylvania also has a state-wide Guardianship Tracking System. 

This is another example of expanding services to older adults in Pennsylvania, an outgrowth of the Elder Justice Consortium, supported by representatives of all nine law schools in Pennsylvania.    

Register Now-Webinar on Guardianship Systems & Practices

The National Center on Law & Elder Rights has announced a webinar on Thursday September 22, 2022 at 3 eastern on Strengthening Rights & Ensuring Accountability in Guardianship Systems & Practice.   Here's a description

Improvements to state court adult guardianship systems can include the promotion of less restrictive options, strengthening rights, and ensuring accountability. Making significant changes in practice and systems requires the commitment of many parties, including courts and the legal, aging, and disability communities.

Join us for Part 1 of this training series to learn about models and promising practices to reform guardianship being implemented by three “highest state court” recipients of the ACL Elder Justice Innovations Guardianship Improvement grant program (Maryland, Minnesota, and Oregon).

This training will also preview Part Two of this series, which will focus on strategies for legal advocacy for proposed protected persons and protected persons.  

Presenters will share strategies they are implementing to:

1. Address diversion from, alternatives to, and revocation of guardianship;
2. Redress occurrence and risk of abuse, neglect, and exploitation in guardianship; and
3. Enhance the fairness, effectiveness, timeliness, safety, and integrity of adult guardianship or conservatorship proceedings.

Speakers:

• Hilary Dalin, Office of Elder Justice and Adult Protective Services, Administration on Aging Administration for Community Living
• Nisa C. Subasinghe, Maryland Judiciary
• Jamie Majerus, Minnesota Judicial Branch
• Christian Hale, Oregon Judicial Department
• Jeffrey Petty, Oregon Judicial Department
• Jessica Brock, Indiana Legal Services

Closed captioning will be available on this webcast. A link with access to the captions will be shared through GoToWebinar’s chat box shortly before the webcast start time.

This training will be presented in a WEBCAST format to accommodate more participants. Due to the high volume of participants, computer audio will be the only option to listen to the presentation. No telephone call-in number will be provided. Please plan accordingly. Thank you. 

This webcast will be recorded and available on our website shortly after the presentation. The recording and training materials will also be emailed to all registrants within a few days after the training.

The webcast will take place on Thursday, September 22, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. P.T./3:00 p.m. ET and will run for 75 minutes.

To register, click here.

Pennsylvania EJC Meets with Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices

Representatives from all 9 Pennsylvania law schools (deans!) and from the recently formed Elder Justice Consortium (pictured here) met this week with the Justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Our thanks to Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law for hosting the meeting at its Kline Institute of Trial Advocacy in Center City, Philadelphia.  The afternoon of conversation focused on future work needed to provide stronger, critical support for older Pennsylvanians through advice, advocacy and education. As summarized by the Consortium's chair, Kate Norton of Duquesne Law, a key goal is to inspire students and to establish a commitment to elder justice.    

Our discussion was robust, with lots of questions about funding sources and alternative educational modules for teaching elder justice, including direct service clinics and projects, as well as experiential education, modular courses, and collaborative programming.  An example? Widener University Commonwealth Law School's clinical professor Mary Catherine Scott, who is the director of the Commonwealth campus' Central Pennsylvania Law Clinic highlighted her clinic students' latest outreach, working with the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas in its Pro Bono Guardianship Monitor Program.  Student are assigned to individual matters and will interview older adults who are under formal orders, as well as talking with other parties or interested persons, thereby providing additional eyes and ears for the court in assuring accountability for Court-appointed guardians. 

We look forward to the future!

 

A Model for Other States? Pennsylvania's Law Schools form Consortium in Active Support of Elder Justice

Faculty members representing all nine law schools in Pennsylvania have joined together in a unique effort.  The inspiration was communications initiated by jurists in the Pennsylvania Courts, especially Supreme Court Justice Debra Todd, promoting the need for sound legal advice and representation for older persons. The purpose of Pennsylvania academics' new Elder Justice Consortium is to identify, examine, and seek to alleviate challenges and difficulties facing diverse older populations across the Commonwealth. 

This mission will include support for direct legal services for older adults, sometimes through law school clinics or service projects, as well as "pop-up" outreach and educational modules that focus on older adults in underserved communities and regions.  

Duquesne University School of Law Assistant Professor Katherine L.W. Norton, who also serves as the director of clinical legal education programs at her school, is serving as the inaugural chair of the Consortium.  During the summer of 2022,  more than fourteen faculty members met regularly to identify ways that law schools can effectively increase our support and commitment to "elder justice."  Professor Norton reports the group invited guest speakers from IOLTA (Interest on Lawyer's Trust Accounts) and the SeniorLAW Center in Philadelphia to share their ideas on funding and needs, as well as seeking a legislative update on guardianship law reforms from Patrick Cawley, an Elder Law attorney from central Pennsylvania who earlier served as counsel for an influential committee in the Pennsylvania Senate.  Members of the consortium also exploring joining an amicus team in a case to be argued before the United States Supreme Court in November. The case addresses whether residents of nursing homes have the right to enforce key provisions of the federal Nursing Home Reform Amendments (OBRA 1987) via direct suit under Title 42, United States Code, Section 1983.  

The Consortium's next step will be for the Deans of the nine law schools to meet in September 2022 in Philadelphia with representatives of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and other interested parties to discuss programming options and priorities for action with the support of our law schools.  Stay tuned, and let us know whether Law Schools in your state have similar teams on behalf of older people.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and CMS Jointly Caution Nursing Homes and Their Debt Collectors on Their Practices

Today, my Conflict of Laws class and I watched a live-streamed hearing involving "choice of law": "state" (about contracts) versus "federal law" (prohibiting practices affecting contracts)  The context is a bit dramatic and definitely overdue for action.

On the same day as the public hearing, which was hosted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for panelists to identify concerns about certain debt collection practices used by nursing homes against the family members and others, CFPB and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a "notification letter."  The letter, dated September 8, 2022 and addressed to "Nursing Facilities and Debt Collectors," details improper practices under federal law, such as asking "third parties" to sign documents that, in effect, serve as  personal guarantees of payment of nursing homes.  Without those guarantees, the nursing home may deny admission or continued care.  However, the third parties are often family members or even mere "friends," who may be trying to help get care, but who have little knowledge of the resident's personal finances or eligibility for Medicare or Medicaid, and who may not understand the risks of "agreeing" to sign the contracts.  

I began writing about this problem years ago in a series of articles.  In "The Responsible Thing to Do About Responsible Party Provisions in Nursing Home Agreements," I focused on misleading attempts to have someone agree to be a "responsible party" for purposes of the resident being admitted, without the signer's full understanding that the signature may be construed by state courts as a promise to pay if the resident cannot pay personally or does not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid payments.  See also "Traps for the Unwary in Nursing Home Agreements."

Recent studies conducted under the auspices of Kaiser Family Foundation (at KHN) provide additional examples of the hardships on families and friends. Unfortunately, the problems with attempts to hold third-parties liable for costs of nursing home care have become more intense with Covid-19 crises affecting long-term care.  Indeed, one of the pandemic-influenced contracting practices that adds to the problem is use of "on-line signing processes" for these contracts.  As family members were often not even present during the admission's process, nursing homes are increasingly turning to e-signatures. The swift moving electronic process for initials and virtual signatures all too easily flies by without any true reading, much less understanding, of the documents and with close to zero likelihood the signers will be able to ask questions (such as "Do I have to sign this?" or "What happens if I don't sign this?") and gain accurate answers.  Nursing homes deserve to be paid for their care -- but the right way to do this is to involve people who can help the families apply for benefits under Medicare or Medicaid, and who won't insist on private pay if the resident's resources are too low to support such pay.   

In my experience, thoughtfully-managed, well-run nursing homes definitely exist.  They get sound business and legal advice and know that is more cost effective to help families through the process than sue them when the documents are not understood.  Experienced elder law attorneys, including specialists in Legal Services offices, can help too.  But while reading the KHN report linked above, too often I was seeing "default judgments" involved here -- and in those instances, that usually means a lack of informed agreement on the part of signers or that the admission processes are otherwise not working properly.   

Manager of Supportive Services Agency Charged With Financial Exploitation

Tennessee Bureau of Investigations issued a press release, Columbia Woman Charged with Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Individuals. "At the request of Adult Protective Services, in August 2021, agents began an investigation into an allegation of financial exploitation of two  vulnerable adults. During the course of the investigation, agents developed information that identified ... the now-former manager of a service that provides support to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as the individual who used some of her clients’ finances on two dates in July 2021 for her own personal gain.

No Victim Blaming in Financial Fraud

A recent report from AARP and FINRA reminds us to not blame victims of financial frauds. The new report, Blame and Shame in the Context of Financial Fraud points out that "[t]The practice of victim blaming—assigning responsibility to the targets of a crime rather than to the perpetrators—is not a new practice in American society. But this project unearthed ample evidence that victim-blaming practices can shift, and that although often our words blame fraud victims, it isn’t necessarily our intent to hold them accountable." The report discusses why we blame victims, examined the "dimensions of victim blaming", and "reframing" our habit of blaming the victim.  The report gives 5 suggestions for shifting the focus of the conversation and concludes with opportunities for changing the focus.

New Videos from Center for Elders & Courts

The Center for Elders and the Courts has released some new videos you will want to view. First is the Probate Court staff video series which

Provides information and tools for probate court staff that wish to implement more rigorous conservatorship and guardianship monitoring. The series emphasizes important aspects of case management, report tracking, responses to potential fraud and abuse, and financial monitoring, including comparing assets, expenses and budgets over time and highlighting common problem areas to look out for. Intended for courts across the country and thus necessarily general in nature, the videos are particularly helpful to courts that currently lack local training resources. A separate series of videos for conservators helps them understand their role and how to prevent misuse of resources.

Next is a series for conservators.

In this short five-part video series, [the National Center for State Courts] provides information and tools for those who are thinking about becoming a conservator or conservators who have already been appointed by a court. The series gives an overview of what conservatorships are, the conservator’s responsibilities and role in protecting assets, why courts monitor expenses, and which expenses are allowable. Intended for the public and courts across the country and thus necessarily general in nature, the videos are helpful as an additional training resource but do not replace specific requirements and guidelines set by the local court.

 

 

Oregon AG 6th Annual Elder Abuse Conference Announced

The 6th Annual Oregon AG Elder Abuse conference will be held October 20-21, 2022 in Bend, OR. Conference organizers are seeking proposals. Here is the info

Request for Presentations is NOW OPEN! Presenters at Attorney General Rosenblum’s Annual Elder Abuse Conference are the heart and the soul of this annual event. Each year over 20 professionals with expertise related to elder abuse are selected to present to nearly 200 attendees. If you would like to be a presenter at the 2022 conference, please complete the Request for Presentations by July 1, 2022 and submit it electronically to [email protected].

If you want to submit a proposal, remember the deadline is tomorrow!

National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life Webinar Series

It's been a few weeks since I blogged. There is just so much "bad" news these days, that I wanted to blog about more cheerful things.  Upcoming events that expand our knowledge, especialy free ones, seem to be a cheerful subject for today's post, so just as an FYI,  the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL) is offering a 5 part series for civil attorneys on abuse.

In this five-part webinar series for civil attorneys and legal advocates, attendees will learn about a range of topics related to civil remedies for abuse in later life.

Presented by the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL) and the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence (ABA CDSV) and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).

All webinars will be held from 1-2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. There is no cost to attend.

• ​Monday, July 11: Module 1: Abuse in Later Life Overview – This module explores forms of abuse in later life, common abuser tactics, and dynamics of power and control that exist in many abuse in later life cases.

• Monday, July 25: Module 2: Forming the Relationship with Your Client -This module discusses the importance of using a victim-centered approach to screening for abuse in later life and critical challenges to client communication, including accessibility and cultural barriers. The key concepts of privilege, confidentiality, and mandated reporting are also discussed.

• Monday, August 1: Module 3: Client Goal-setting and Non-litigation Responses – This module discusses the need for civil attorneys to listen to client priorities and goals to achieve desired outcomes. Engaging in multi-disciplinary collaboration and client advocacy are also reviewed.

• Monday, August 8: Module 4: Legal Resolutions and Remedies – This module identifies available civil legal remedies that serve both vulnerable and competent older victims.

• Monday, August 15: Module 5: Bringing the Case – Trial Skills – This module discusses the identification and preservation of evidence and testimony and helps viewers to understand methods to develop an effective elder abuse case theory and prepare witnesses for direct and cross-examination.

Click here to register for any/all of the webinars.

National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life Webinar Series

It's been a few weeks since I blogged. There is just so much "bad" news these days, that I wanted to blog about more cheerful things.  Upcoming events that expand our knowledge, especialy free ones, seem to be a cheerful subject for today's post, so just as an FYI,  the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL) is offering a 5 part series for civil attorneys on abuse.

In this five-part webinar series for civil attorneys and legal advocates, attendees will learn about a range of topics related to civil remedies for abuse in later life.

Presented by the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL) and the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence (ABA CDSV) and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).

All webinars will be held from 1-2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. There is no cost to attend.

• ​Monday, July 11: Module 1: Abuse in Later Life Overview – This module explores forms of abuse in later life, common abuser tactics, and dynamics of power and control that exist in many abuse in later life cases.

• Monday, July 25: Module 2: Forming the Relationship with Your Client -This module discusses the importance of using a victim-centered approach to screening for abuse in later life and critical challenges to client communication, including accessibility and cultural barriers. The key concepts of privilege, confidentiality, and mandated reporting are also discussed.

• Monday, August 1: Module 3: Client Goal-setting and Non-litigation Responses – This module discusses the need for civil attorneys to listen to client priorities and goals to achieve desired outcomes. Engaging in multi-disciplinary collaboration and client advocacy are also reviewed.

• Monday, August 8: Module 4: Legal Resolutions and Remedies – This module identifies available civil legal remedies that serve both vulnerable and competent older victims.

• Monday, August 15: Module 5: Bringing the Case – Trial Skills – This module discusses the identification and preservation of evidence and testimony and helps viewers to understand methods to develop an effective elder abuse case theory and prepare witnesses for direct and cross-examination.

Click here to register for any/all of the webinars.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2022

Tomorrow is the day-World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2022. Lots of activities are happening in observation of the day.  Here are just a couple.  Register for the 8th Global Summit here. Or check out the Connecticut program, "On World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15, Danbury Age Well Community Council presents a panel of experts to identify, prevent, and address financial exploitation of older adults in our community." To register for this Connecticut zoom program, click here. (Thanks to Judge Yamin (one of the speakers) for alerting me to the Connecticut program).  What are you doing to observe the day?

Webinar on Person-Centered Decision-making as Alternative to Guardianship

Here's one more webinar to close out this week.  Pathways to Person-Centered Decision-Making and Alternatives to Guardianship is scheduled for June 21 at 3 eastern. Here is the description:

Person-centered practice is grounded in the idea that people with disabilities are the decision makers in their own lives. Supporting people to make choices is a priority for person-centered systems. Too often people with disabilities are appointed guardians. When people have guardians, their ability to make choices may be significantly constrained in the name of keeping them safe.

This webinar will explore how disability systems are expanding alternatives to guardianship, such as supported decision-making where people choose supporters to help them make important decisions in their lives. Current efforts across the country and internationally to implement supported decision-making and other alternatives provide an historic opportunity to help people take control of their lives. In this webinar, national experts, state representatives, advocates, and people with lived experience of disability from Colorado, Georgia, and Wisconsin, will outline strategies for systems and a new NCAPPS resource to expand supported decision making so that more people can benefit from these alternatives to guardianship.

To register, click here.

 

FDIC & CFPB Upcoming Webinar

Mark your calendars for a June 15  3 p.m. eastern webinar from the FDIC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for a webinar on  learning about ways to fight elder financial exploitation by using "Money Smart for Older Adults." Click here to register. If you aren't familiar with the FDIC's Money Smart program, click here to learn more.

 

 

FBI & Others Offer Elder Justice Initiative Webinars

With World Elder Abuse Awareness Day fast approaching, I'm getting several emails about various educational opportunities during the month of June. Several agencies have partnered to offer a health care fraud webinar series.  The upcoming webinars include Elder Justice: A Case Study of Abuse/Neglect  on June 15, Elder Justice: A Case Study in Health Care Fraud on June 22, and Elder Justice: A Q&A about health care fraud, abuse, and neglect on June 29.  The webinars are all free and open to everyone.

Call for Papers: Journal of Elder Policy Issue on Technology as an Underutilized Late-Life Resource

Distinguished Professor and Editor-in-Chief Eva Kahana at Case Western University has advised us of the the most recent "call for papers" for her Journal of Elder Policy.  As most of us who work in law and aging recognize, our field is inherently cross-disciplinary and that is why it is so nice to hear from the sociology field when it is seeking new articles.  The focus for the upcoming issue is Technology: An Underutilized Late-Life Resource.  

The journal, which is peer reviewed, is seeking papers that address policy challenges and implications related to technology use and older adults. They welcome both empirical and conceptual papers from diverse disciplines and have a preference for pieces that employ policy approaches. 

Topics may include but are not limited to:

• Internet use/access
• Digital exclusion/inclusiveness
• Interventions using digital platforms
• Intergenerational learning
• E-Health Literacy
• Cultural influences on technology use in later life
• Digital monitoring of frail older adults
• Digital data collection
• Scams/Fraud

Now the important part: 

Abstracts due by August 15, 2022 (500 words)
Full papers due by October 31, 2022 (8,000-10,000 words)