All past conferences
June 27–29, 2023 · Crowne Plaza, Knoxville
The 2023 program
Three days on the progress made and the path forward, with P.O.S.T. credit, 6 general and 7.5 dual CLE hours, and 12 social work CEUs including 7.5 ethics.
Tuesday
June 27 · ethics day11:00 – 4:00Registration open
1:00 – 4:15The ethics of elder and vulnerable adult abuse2 partsRandy Nichols · Tammy Hicks · Bill Reeves · Carolyn Levy Gilliam
Part 1 · 1:00 – 2:30
Randy Nichols, former District Attorney General, Knox County · Tammy Hicks, Assistant District Attorney, Knox County
The ethical issues every profession hits eventually — doctors, lawyers, social workers, officers, bankers — worked through the codified rules and hypothetical situations.
Part 2 · 2:45 – 4:15
Plus Bill Reeves, Wise and Reeves · Carolyn Levy Gilliam, McDonald, Levy & Taylor
The same questions from the private attorney's chair: conflicts that arise as competence declines, and the options once an elder can no longer decide for themselves.
Wednesday
June 287:00 – 8:30Registration and continental breakfast · exhibits from 8:00 · welcome from Aaron Bradley, Paul Greenwood and Tracy Armstrong
8:30 – 9:30General session — federal investigation and prosecutionPhilip Gentile, US Postal Inspection Service · Paul Greenwood · James Dunn, TN Commission on Aging and Disability · Mac D. Heavener III, Assistant U.S. Attorney
How federal elder abuse and financial exploitation cases are investigated and prosecuted, and how local agencies make referrals for federal review.
9:45 – 10:45Workshops4 concurrentTennessee elder abuse laws · a bank's perspective · situational awareness · conservatorship basics
Overview of Tennessee elder abuse laws
Tammy Hicks, Knox County Assistant District Attorney
A walk through the Elderly and Vulnerable Adult Protection Act of 2018, with the investigatory and prosecution points that decide these cases.
Elder abuse: a bank's perspective
Cheryl Hartsell, SVP / COO, First Community Bank of the Hartland
Situational awareness
Danny Fay, TBI Special Agent
Conservatorship basics, laws and common questions
Bill Reeves · Lynette Edwards, ETHRA / ETAAAD Public Guardianship · Ryan Hicks, TN Commission on Aging and Disability
11:00 – 12:00Workshops3 concurrentFraud prosecution · group home registry legislation · safe hospital discharge
Financial exploitation and fraud prosecution
Bill Bright, Knox County Assistant District Attorney
How early communication between EMS, the medical examiner, hospital doctors, law enforcement and the DA's office produced a conviction.
Overview of the new group home registry legislation
James Dunn · Marcia McShane, TN Commission on Aging and Disability
Why unlicensed residential facilities flourish in parts of the state, and the steps Tennessee has taken to protect the people living in them.
Patient abandonment and safe hospital discharge
Annette Mendola · Diana Goad · Melissa McDonald, University of Tennessee Medical Center
12:15 – 1:45Lunch general session — stress management in the real world
Dr. Farris Jordan, Psychologist
Dr. Farris Jordan, Psychologist
2:00 – 3:00Workshops4 concurrentCyber crimes · APS legislative change · the dying process · a detective's perspective
Cyber crimes basics
Nick Christian, TBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge
Adult Protective Services: legislative and programmatic changes
Rebekah Parkhurst, Deputy General Counsel, TN Department of Human Services
Public Chapter 277 brought financial abuse into the definition of domestic abuse and changed what APS can investigate. What that meant for program operations.
The dying process — identifying neglect and care options at end of life
Kathy Cherry, APS Nurse · Steve Yeatts · Roger Hill, Gentiva Hospice
To protect and serve, a detective's perspective
Captain James Hatler, Martin Police Department
3:15 – 4:00Wrap up and adjourn · program shout-outs, open mic and door prize drawing
Thursday
June 298:30 – 9:30General session — the TBI Resource Center updateDavid Rausch, TBI · Greg Gonzales, TN Department of Financial Institutions · Charme P. Allen, District Attorney General, Knox County · Amy Heaslet · Kim Bohannon · John Byer
The case made to the General Assembly for a statewide elder justice resource centre, staffed by trained law enforcement, that any bank or credit union in Tennessee could call when they see suspicious activity.
9:45 – 10:45Workshops4 concurrentMail fraud · national APS perspective · multi-disciplinary teams · AARP national response
Mail fraud and money order scams
Philip Gentile, US Postal Inspection Service
National Adult Protective Services perspective
Bill Benson, National Policy Advisor, NAPSA
The funding landscape for state and local APS, the Social Services Block Grant, and reauthorisation of the Elder Justice Act.
The real power of collaboration: multi-disciplinary teams
Lance Robertson, former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging · John Byer
AARP — national response to elder abuse and financial exploitation
Paul Greenwood · Mia McNeal, AARP Tennessee State Director
11:00 – 12:00Workshops3 concurrentFelony murder conviction · case review · legal services
Adult abuse and neglect — a felony murder conviction
Bob Edwards · Jonathon Edwards, Assistant District Attorneys, Roane County
Case review — strategy, solutions and collaboration
Tracy Armstrong, ETAAAD · Angie Moorehead, NWTAAAD · Evan Ebuna, CREST, ETAAAD
Legal services: access to justice
Laura Brown, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands
12:15 – 1:45Lunch general session — the national elder justice updateBob Blancato · Bill Benson · Lance Robertson · Paul Greenwood · James Dunn
Elder justice funding and policy development, collaboration between federal departments and Congress, model state programs, and Tennessee's own plans to coordinate services for older adults.
2:00 – 3:00Workshops4 concurrentCollaborative response to exploitation · advocacy and the Hatch Act · psychology of scams · communicating with IDD
Working together — a collaborative response to financial exploitation
Commissioner Greg Gonzales · Amy Heaslet · Kim Bohannon · Jon Fernander, Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union · Susan Haley, SmartBank
Advocacy strategy — what the Hatch Act really means
Bob Blancato, National Coordinator, Elder Justice Coalition
The psychology of why scams and frauds succeed
Dr. Farris Jordan, Psychologist
Communicating with individuals with IDD, mental health issues, or in crisis
Michelle Bagby, Clinical Director, Tennessee START Assessment & Stabilization Teams
3:15 – 4:00Wrap up and adjourn · call to action, next steps and door prize drawing