From Michael Lamothe
Central Alabama Aging Consortium
The Ombudsman Program at Central Alabama Aging Consortium will hold its annual Elder Justice Fraud and Caregiver Conference on Thursday, July 17.
The event will be held from 9am to 3pm at the First Methodist Church of Wetumpka at 306 West Tuskeena Street. Over 1200 Alabama seniors report they have been victims of elder fraud, with losses of more than 17 million dollars a year. Nationwide, 10% of seniors report being the victims of some sort of fraud each year.
The annual conference is designed to “educate professionals and caregivers in the community to properly identify elder abuse and fraud. And to give them tools to utilize when assisting those who have become victims of any type of abuse, fraud, and or scams and provide them with tools to aide in preventing such to occur to our elders,” said Ombudsman Cheryl Craig.
Among the speakers at the conference this year:
• Sierra Hall -Alabama Securities Commission
• John C. Craft
Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Faulkner University – Jones School of Law
• Linda Segrest – Ivy Creek Hospice
• Michael Burnett – ADPH
Social workers and nursing home and assisted living administrators who pre-registered for the conference can receive 4.5 CEUs.
Sierra Hall -Alabama Securities Commission
Sierra Hall is the Communications and Public Relations Specialist for the Alabama Securities Commission (ASC), a state government agency. She helps organize events and makes presentations to inform citizens about enforcement activities, fraud prevention, and financial education. She enjoys speaking to all kinds of groups concerning the importance of saving and investing and how to protect themselves and loved ones from fraud, especially the citizens of Alabama. The ASC utilizes social media, press releases, media interviews, webinars, and in-person meetings to help spread investor education throughout the State of Alabama.
Sierra was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, and graduated from Auburn University at Montgomery in 2022 with a bachelor’s in public relations. Her professional career has consisted of working in public affairs, promotions and community engagement for the Montgomery Biscuits, a minor league baseball team, and she worked in student affairs at AUM.
OBJECTIVES:
• Steps to take to protect yourself from different types of financial exploitation to include investment fraud and other types of financial fraud and theft.
• Caregiver responsibilities and liabilities concerning financial exploitation.
• Protective laws and contact information for inquiries or reporting suspected financial fraud.
• Actions you must take to make safe and informed investment decisions.
• Opportunity for question/answer session and panel interaction for attendees.
John C. Craft
Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Faulkner University – Jones School of Law
Director – Clinical and Field Placement Programs
Director – Elder Law Clinic
John Craft is a clinical professor at Faulkner University – Jones School of Law. He received his B.A. degree from Auburn University and graduated cum laude from Jones School of Law. Professor Craft is overall director of the law school’s experiential education programs. He teaches and supervises the Elder Law Clinic where his students provide pro bono legal services for Montgomery-area seniors: preparing basic wills, living wills, and powers of attorney; providing representation during guardianship and conservatorship proceedings; and, assisting victims of elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation.
Professor Craft is past Chair of the Elder Law Section of the Alabama State Bar. He is a member of the Alabama Interagency Council for the Prevention of Elder Abuse where he was the inaugural chair of its Legislative Advocacy Committee. Professor Craft chaired the WINGS (Working Interdisciplinary Networks of Guardianship Stakeholders) Task Force in Alabama from 2017-2020. WINGS was established to improve the state’s guardianship and conservatorship system, avoid unnecessary guardianship, promote less-restrictive alternatives to guardianship, and prevent and address abuse. In 2021, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Alabama’s Commission on Adult Guardianships and Conservatorships which continues the work of WINGS to improve the state’s guardianship system.
OBJECTIVES:
• Discuss the importance of legal planning for long-term care
• Define powers of attorney and discuss how to obtain them
• Discuss and define capacity and the ethical obligations of powers of attorney
• Discuss Faulkner’s Elder Law Clinic and the services they provide
Linda Segrest – Ivy Creek Hospice
Linda Segrest, RN, CHPN is the Executive Director of Ivy Creek Hospice. She has prior experience in working with Alabama Medicaid, and for several hospice companies around the river region. She has a passion for the senior community and enjoys working with individuals and their families who are in need. She lives with her husband in Elmore County, Alabama.
OBJECTIVES:
• Participants will be able to identify different types of personalities
• Participants will be able to identify their own type of personality and understand the effects of their personalities on others they meet
• Participants will be able to verbalize better understanding of the personalities of others and how best to communicate and interact with them
