9 - 10 a.m. | Registration - Open Networking
10 - 10:15 a.m. | Welcome & Opening Remarks
Dave Yost, Ohio Attorney General
Judith Brachman, Elder Abuse Commission Chair
10:15 - 11:45 a.m. | Morning Plenary Session| Translating Trauma-Informed Research to Benefit Your Work
Shelly L. Jackson, Ph.D., Consultant, Elder Justice Initiative, US Department of Justice
Trauma-informed approaches have been widely embraced by many professions but are much less familiar to elder justice professionals. In this session, attendees will learn about the research on trauma (and resiliency) generally, and how trauma and elder abuse intersect. Subsequently, attendees will be briefly introduced to the concept of trauma-informed approaches and the implications for the practice of elder justice professionals, inclusive of the research on Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) and the importance of self-care, and then learn the strengths and challenges of a trauma-informed approach based on evaluations (in contexts other than elder abuse e.g., law enforcement). The applicability of trauma-informed approaches to interdisciplinary teams will be briefly reviewed. The session will end with a case scenario, based on Martinez et al. (2022), to demonstrate how a victim-centered, trauma-informed approach resulted in an outcome that was satisfactory for the older victim but may make many attendees uncomfortable.
11:45 a.m. -12:45 p.m. | Lunch - Provided
12:45 - 2:15 p.m.| Concurrent Afternoon Workshops
Workshop One: Trauma-Informed Victim Services for Older Adults
Presenters:
Katherine Yoder, Executive Director
Adonna Wilson-Baney, Training and Outreach Specialist, Adult Advocacy Centers
This session focuses on the impacts of trauma and how it impacts people with disabilities specifically older adults. This session will discuss data and statistics surrounding victimization of older adults, current best practices when serving older adult crime victims, and look at new direct service practices for the older adult population. Presenters will review many ways in which trauma can impact elder abuse victims’ lives. Therefore, making the trauma informed response the right, ethical, and just approach to utilize in elder justice programs, trainings, and services state-wide.
Workshop Two: Trauma-Informed Care: Opportunities for Policy to Drive Practice
Moderator:
Amy Rohling McGee, President, Health Policy Institute of Ohio
This interactive panel discussion will explore opportunities to integrate Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) principles and strategies into public and private policies across systems at the state and local levels. We will hear from four organizations about how they explored targeted efforts within their organization to implement TIC elements in order to maximize consumer voices, restructure their organizations and communities, put elder abuse on the public agenda, generate a sense of collective responsibility, and boost support for systemic solutions to prevent and respond to elder abuse effectively.
Workshop Three: Understanding Elder Abuse and Domestic Violence in Later Life and Supporting Victims with Trauma-Informed Responses
Presenters:
Denise Kontras, Membership and Program Coordinator, Ohio Domestic Violence Network
In this workshop, you will learn about the prevalence and intersectionality of elder abuse and domestic violence. Topics include the dynamics of coercive control and family violence, tactics of abusers, warning signs and risk factors for elder abuse, and barriers to leaving for older victims. Many myths and misconceptions about family violence can prevent accurate assessment or effective case planning. You’ll learn about trauma-informed responses and best practices for safety planning and supporting victims. In addition, you’ll gain knowledge about domestic violence programming and resources in your area.
Workshop Four: Exploring Why Researching Trauma-Informed Responses for Older Adults Matters
Moderators:
Amy Restorick Roberts, PhD, MSSA, LSW, Department of Family Science & Social Work, College of Education, Health & Society, Miami University
Ronan Factora, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Geriatric Medicine
In this session we will explore the concepts of trauma and how it relates to elder maltreatment research. This will be an interactive workshop utilizing a questions and answer panel discussion specifically focused on how trauma in older adults can be recognized and measured. Panelists will discuss examples of available research that has focused in the area of trauma and persons harmed by elder abuse; explore additional research needs focused on elder justice remedies, interventions and best practices. This session will explore how Ohio can learned from past lessons, identified pitfalls in order to generate ideas to map out Ohio's next steps and future research needs to benefit elder justice professionals and older Ohioans they serve.
2:15 - 2:30 p.m.| Break - Open Networking
2:30 - 3:45 p.m.| Afternoon Plenary Session - Control, Connection and Meaning: Trauma Competent Care
Kim Kehl, Project Manager, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
The number of Ohioans, ages 60 and older is expected to increase by 33% between 2010 and 2030. With this demographic change, communities must strengthen their efforts to protect older adults from abuse, neglect and exploitation and understand the unique ways older adults respond to and heal from trauma. Due to ageism, physical limitations, loss of spouse/partner, peers, family members and various other complex factors, older adults are often isolated from their communities. Loneliness and isolation can negatively affect older adults’ physical and mental health and significantly increase the risk of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. For some older adults, in-home visitors are their only connections with their larger communities. Therefore, it is very important that professionals and volunteers who visit older adults in their homes have a basic understanding of elder abuse, neglect, and trauma. This plenary will provide an overview on trauma in older and vulnerable adults and on the benefits of a trauma-informed approach to meeting the needs of those adults.
3:45 - 4:15 p.m.| Next Steps - Promising Practices in Responding to Elder Abuse
Amy Restorick Roberts, PhD, MSSA, LSW, Department of Family Science & Social Work
College of Education, Health & Society, Miami University
Ronan Factora, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Geriatric Medicine
In this session, we will consider next steps specifically on trauma-informed responses to older victims of abuse by highlighting and summarizing the conference and workshops. We will explore how the Commission and its partners can push for increase elder abuse research, maximize elder abuse victims’ outcomes, and promote concrete trauma-informed responses that appear promising when serving older adults that have experienced harm.
4:15 - 4:30 p.m.| Closing Remarks