Prairie State Wire

Illinois Department on Aging issued the following announcement on Oct. 27.

The Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) is hosting its 7th Annual Adult Protection and Advocacy Conference on Monday, October 28 at the Holiday Inn Itasca for all Adult Protective Services (APS) Caseworkers, Supervisors, and Long-Term Care Ombudsmen throughout the state. The 7th Annual Adult Protection and Advocacy Conference will provide continuing education courses and address a wide range of subjects meant to improve the skills of those who intervene on behalf of older adults and persons with disabilities.

Abuse takes many forms that include financial exploitation, emotional abuse, passive neglect, physical abuse, willful deprivation, confinement, and sexual abuse; and these often occur in tandem. IDoA's Long-Term Care Ombudsmen, a resident-directed advocacy program which protects and improves the quality of life for residents in a variety of long-term care settings, cover more than 1,500 nursing facilities and 136,000 beds across the state. Similarly, they work to resolve problems of individual residents and to bring about changes at the local, state and national levels providing a voice for those unable to speak for themselves.

"We are bringing in nationally recognized leaders to present attendees with the most front-line information available so that they may better serve and advocate for our most vulnerable residents," said Paula Basta, Director of IDoA. "We all have the right to be treated with dignity and respect - to feel safe and secure. This conference reinforces that mantra, and keeps everyone up-to-date on policies, legislation, and regulations."

"As the Regional Administrative Agency for Northeastern IL, we are proud to welcome the Adult Protection and Advocacy Conference to DuPage County," said Marla Fronczak, Executive Director of Agency on Aging Northeastern Illinois. "We recognize the importance of the work being done by our DuPage County APS program to protect older adults and persons with disabilities. Unfortunately, we see the growing need to intervene for this population as last year this program responded to a record number of 850 reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation here in DuPage County alone."

Between the APS and Ombudsman Programs, thousands of older Illinoisans and adults with disabilities have somewhere to turn whenever and wherever they need help. Most residents receive robust care in long-term care facilities; however, far too many experience violations of their rights including abuse, neglect, poor care, isolation and lack of choices and meaningful activities.

If you are a victim of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation - or suspect that someone you know is a victim - call our statewide 24-hour Abuse Hotline at 866-800-1409. If you live in DuPage County, call the Agency on Aging Northeastern Illinois at (630) 293-5990. Trained professionals are on call and prepared to take reports of elder abuse and forward them promptly to local senior protective service agencies or law enforcement. All calls and information related to elder abuse are strictly confidential. The sooner we know about the abuse, the sooner we can put a stop to it.

*NOTE: Registration for the conference is now closed*

Original source can be found here.