8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Harris County Department of Education
6300 Irvington Blvd.
Houston, TX 77022
Questions?
Contact
eunice.adejo@dfps.texas.gov
-or-
daniel.bernal@dfps.texas.gov
The Region VI Adult Protective Services Board is excited to host our 15th Annual Conference. Join us for a day of training, networking, and exchanging ideas to benefit vulnerable adults. Our workshops will cover topics such as the following:
Breakfast and lunch will be served to all attendees and sponsors.
Ends May 19, 2024
May 20, 2024 to June 7, 2024
Paid Day of Event On-Site
In appreciation of your sponsorship, all sponsors who donate $250 or more will receive:
Businesses and organizations that choose to support this conference as a Partner or higher may receive, based on their donation:
Project Manager
Diana Driver has a Bachelor’s of Science from Texas Woman’s University and a Master of Public Health from UTHealth School of Public Health. Diana has extensive experience managing public health programs and grants. In her most recent role, Diana spent five years managing and expanding a large federal grant program called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education. Now, Diana serves as a Project Manager for Adult Protective Services at the Texas Department of Family Protective Services leading strategic efforts to improve and expand Adult Protective Services partner network. Diana’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-driver-mph-557224135.
Mental Health Peace Officer
Greg has 31 years of experience as a law enforcement officer in Harris County. He is a licensed Mental Health Peace officer and works daily with persons with mental health disabilities.
Assistant Attorney General
Lesleigh Morton is an Assistant Attorney General with the Texas Office of Attorney General – Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (OAG-MFCU). She prosecutes cases involving provider Medicaid fraud, as well as abuse, neglect, and exploitation at Medicaid-funded facilities such as group homes, boarding homes, and nursing homes. She previously served as an Assistant District Attorney with the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office for over thirteen years. She graduated from Texas Christian University in 2006 with a double major in Criminal Justice and Psychology and from South Texas College of Law in 2009.
Officer of Schools Safety and Security
Jeremy Foster has over thirty years of safety and security experience and twenty years of educational experience. Jeremy was a Chief Instructor for a nationally renowned violence prevention and personal safety program called Counter Attack-tics. Counter Attactics has instructed police organizations, major corporations, hospitals, and educational agencies in violence prevention and personal safety. Jeremy was the former Emergency Manager for Alief and is now the School Safety and Security Center Officer for the Harris County Department of Education. Jeremy presents various topics to school districts, such as gang and violence prevention, personal safety, verbal judo/de-escalation training, and drug prevention. He has a degree in Criminal Justice and is working towards a Doctorate in Emergency Management Schools Safety and Security.
Managing Attorney
Paul Zambie is Managing Attorney of the Legal Hotline for Texans at Texas Legal Services Center in Austin. He currently works with TODDs, POAs and Medicaid Eligibility and previously worked in litigation and immigration. He earned his degrees from U.T. Austin and South Texas College of Law.
Chief Prosecutor, Financial Crimes & Elder Abuse Montgomery County D.A. Office
Nancy Hebert is the Chief Prosecutor for the Financial Crimes & Forfeiture and Elder Abuse Division. Nancy has been with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office for nearly twenty-one years. Prior to the D.A.’s Office, Nancy was a Plaintiff lawyer for eight years handling primarily maritime, toxic tort, and aviation cases. Nancy began the MDT-Elder Abuse program with Montgomery County team partners to facilitate joint investigations and improve prosecutions against those who exploit and abuse vulnerable adults. Nancy is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
APS Supervisor of Exploitation Unit
Deanna Bordelon has been with Adult Protective Services for almost 8 years. Her career with APS started as an APS Specialist, later moving up to APS Supervisor where she remained for two and half years. In 2023 she was promoted to the Complex Evidence Driven Exploitation Unit.
Associate Professor UTHealth, Houston McGovern Medical School
Jason Burnett, PhD is an associate professor and gerontologist. His work focuses on improving the lives of older adults, especially those experiencing elder mistreatment and/or self-neglect.
UHD Assistant Professor of Social Work
Dr. Angela M. Goins is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at UHD. She teaching a variety of courses on aging and social work in the Social Work Program in the College of Public Service. She also is the Director of the Service, Teaching, Aging, and Research (S.T.A.R.) Lab which promotes issues for older adults and also offers volunteer opportunities for UHD students to work with older adults in the community. Before Dr. Goins was in academia, she worked with Adult Protective Services for nineteen and a half years including her time as an APS investigator and as an APS Supervisor. Mr. Steven Villano, co-presenter, also works at UHD and is the Director of the Center for Public Service and Community Research.
CRRC Program Manager at Michael E DeBakey VA Hospital / Community Resource and Referral Center
Emily Winfield is a Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work and a Licensed Clinical Social Work Supervisor with twenty years of experience working within the social service field. She spent 11 years working with Texas Department Family Protective Service, seven years conducting mobile psychiatric assessments for various behavioral health hospitals. In addition, she has spent nine years with Michael E DeBakey Veteran Affairs Hospital working with Homeless Veterans and serves as an Adjunct Professor for University of Houston Graduate Social Work students.
| Topic | Speaker | Description |
| Texas APS Partnering to Protect Initiative | Diana Driver | Overview of the Partnering to Protect Model, the first of its kind in APS nationally, and the Partnering to Protect initiative focused on developing and maintaining stronger relationships between APS and critical partners. Learning Objectives: -Understand purpose behind tools and resources developed to support -The Partnering to Protect strategy |
| How to Identify Illegal Boarding Homes | Greg Lowry | Attendees will learn how to identify illegal boarding homes in the city of Houston as well as unincorporated Harris County. Learning Objectives: -Identify laws pertaining to illegal boarding homes. |
| Panel Discussion: Challenges of Prosecuting a Case | Lesleigh Morton Nancy Hebert | Topics Discussed: -Misperception that elder neglect and exploitation are civil matters rather than recognition that they may be criminal conduct. -Isolation of older persons in the community. -Inadequate community resources to address the needs of victims and perpetrators |
| Be Aware and Be Prepared. Situational Awareness Training | Jeremy Foster | This course will equip participants with essential knowledge and skills to ensure personal safety in various environments, including schools and homes. It emphasizes the importance of situational awareness and preparedness to avoid or respond to potential dangers effectively. Learning Objectives: -Techniques for enhancing situational awareness to identify and avoid potential threats -Protective actions to prevent or mitigate harm in unsafe situations -The “7 Rules of Survival” to minimize the risk of becoming a victim of a crime. -Strategies for promoting safety for oneself and others in school and home settings |
| End of Life Planning. Is a will really the best way to go? | Paul Zambie | The presentation will cover low income strategies to avoid Probate and protect against Medicaid Estate Recovery Learning Objectives: -Ways to obtain end of life planning documents for low income persons. -Develop the skills needed to prevent, detect, and report fraud through lecture -Ability to differentiate between Medicare fraud, error, and abuse through lecture |
| Financial Exploitation of Our Most Vulnerable Population | Deanna Bordelon | How to make an APS report Legislative Authority of APS Understanding APS investigations Recognize elder financial exploitation trends and collaborative efforts. Learning Objectives: -To educate community partners on how Exploitation Investigations are completed. -Review data based on the current metrics for the state with exploitation. |
| Aging Well Together: A Social Prescription | Jason Burnett | We will discuss the role of social connection in the health and well-being of older adults and provide evidence-based interventions and approaches that can be included in socially prescribing social connection. Learning Objectives: -Attendees will be able to state ways to evaluate social isolation and loneliness. -Attendees will be able to describe social prescribing and ways to engage in social prescribing the meet older adults needs. -Attendees will be able to define the underlying principles that differentiate social isolation from loneliness. |
| Partnering to Protect | Dr. Angela M. Goins | Partnering to Protect: How Universities and university-based programs can partner with Adult Protective Services and the community to promote advocacy for older adults and offer engaging volunteer opportunities Universities are a vital partner when it comes to mitigating elder abuse in the community. Through education and exposure to Adult Protective Services, students learn how they can be a part of addressing and mitigating abuse, neglect, and exploitation in their communities. The University of Houston-Downtown’s Service, Teaching, Aging and Research (S.T.A.R.) Lab has been successful in providing not only student volunteer opportunities to assist APS clients (drives), but also has helped promote student knowledge of employment opportunities at APS. This workshop will offer ways that Universities can partner with APS and other community agencies to ensure protection and attention to the needs of APS clients. Learning Objectives: -Attendees will learn how to foster university partnership opportunities with other agencies external to APS to build and improve connections that will promote awareness and education about APS in the community. Case study of how this is done will be presented to demonstrate how this objective is achieved. -Attendees will learn about university based opportunities offered at UHD to partner with Adult Protective Services and other community agencies. Method of achieving this objective will include a lecture and a case study to demonstrate how UHD, particularly, the UHD S.T.A.R. Lab has partnered currently with APS and other agencies to ensure that APS clients are protected and served. |
| Homelessness and Aging Among the Veteran Population | Emily Winfield | Discuss factors contributing to homelessness amongst the aging population and bridging housing gaps |