educational programs
Capacity:
What Is It? How Do We Assess It?
What Happens When We Lose It?
September 16, 2009, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
This program will provide an overview of decision-making capacity in older adults. Focusing on financial, medical, cultural, legal and ethical topics, presenters from a wide range of disciplines will examine the difficulties that surround the issue of capacity. Presentations will include: How to help your client and their family plan for incapacity, advance directives, capacity screening tools, working with victims with diminished capacity, diversity, updates on legislation/laws, autonomy vs. safety, financial abuse, scams and fraud; protecting yourself and your client.
Morning Plenary Session — 8:30 AM to Noon
Capacity: How It Is Defined, Where It Comes Up in Our Work and Why It Is Important to Grasp
Tessa ten Tusscher, PhD
Vice President, Institute on Aging
Experts in geriatric medicine, the judiciary, psychology, law and social services will discuss aspects of capacity from their respective disciplines and then comment on a complex case involving issues of capacity. Three of the speakers in this session will be:
—Daniel C. Marson, JD, PhD, Professor of Neurology; Director, Division of Neuropsychology and Director, Alzheimer's Disease Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham
—Mary Counihan, MSW, Section Manager, Adult Protective Services, San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services
—Elizabeth Landsverk, MD, CEO, ElderConsult Medical Associates
Afternoon Workshops – 1:00 to 2:30 PM
1A. What Should I Have Done to Protect My (Now) Incapacitated Client?
Your client, George, is now incompetent; you last saw him 10 years ago. His children don't know what to do. Knowing what you know now and with the advantage of perfect hindsight, we'll focus on what should be included in various estate planning documents when planning for incapacity.
—Linda C. Kramer, JD, MBA, RN, Attorney at Law, Certified Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law, Kramer Radin LLP
2A. Capacity and Diversity
—Heidi Li, JD, Director, San Francisco Consortium for Elder Abuse Prevention, Institute on Aging and others to be confirmed
3A. What’s New In Conservatorships?
This multidisciplinary panel will describe the role of conservators in protecting elders with diminished capacity. Panelists will describe who can serve as conservators including family members, public guardians, and private professional conservators; and how courts determine when conservatorship is needed. It will further provide an update on recent trends in conservatorship and dispel common misperceptions.
—Lisa Nerenberg, MSW, MPH, Consultant on Elder Abuse
—Mary Joy Quinn, MA, Director, Probate Department, Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco
—Michele McCabe, Marin County Public Guardian
—Barbara Held-de Vries, LCSW, Private Professional Fiduciary
4A. Case Studies in Testamentary Capacity
—Daniel C. Marson, JD, PhD, Professor of Neurology; Director, Division of Neuropsychology and Director, Alzheimer's Disease Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Afternoon Workshops – 2:15 to 4:15 PM
1B. (To be confirmed)
2B. Self Determination vs. Protection: Tips for Keeping the Balance
Professionals who work with the elderly are constantly balancing the right of the client to self-determination and the worker's duty to ensure the client's safety. But, what is self-determination? And, how do we support our clients' rights when the end result may be deleterious to their health and safey? In this session, we will address the challenges inherent in this ethical dilemma through video, lecture and discussion.
—Mary Twomey, MSW, Northern California Liaison and Co-Director, Center of Excellence for Elder Abuse and Neglect, University of California Irvine
—Melissa C. Anderson, MA, MFT, PhD, Psychotherapist
3B. Elder Fraud, Scams and Financial Abuse
—Lieutenant Greg Ovanessian, SF Police Department Fraud Unit (invited)
—Michele L. McGill, JD, Attorney, Law Office of Michele L. McGill (invited)
4B. Protect Your Clients, Protect Yourself: A Psychologist and Attorney's Roadmap for Issues of Capacity, Decision-Making and Undue Influence
During this workshop, the presenters will explore the complex issues of diminished capacity, consent for care, evaluation of capacity and challenges of undue influence. Using case law, case studies and ethical regulations, they will introduce a road map to guide your actions from the onset of care, at difficult junctures of care management and when you suspect undue influence.
—Tessa ten Tusscher, PhD, Vice President, Clinical Services, Institute on Aging
—Priscilla Camp, Esq, Elder Law Attorney, Camp, Rousseau, Montgomery, LLP
