Virtual Professional Development Opportunities for Social Workers in Aging

Chris Herman, MSW, LICSW, Senior Practice Associate, Aging

July 2024

NASW regularly collaborates with federal agencies and national organizations to enhance service delivery to older adults and to advance public policy benefitting older people. Professional development programming represents one strategy to achieve these goals. This document describes several virtual, national-level professional development programs that are relevant to social workers and offered by organizations with which NASW collaborates. Each program is free, and continuing education credits are not available. Programs are listed from most to least recent and include information about on-demand access.

National Virtual Symposium: Person-Centered Approaches in Elder Abuse Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs)

• Date and time: Tuesday, August 13, 2024; 1–3 p.m. EDT
• Host: Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC)
• Symposium sponsor: U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime
• Purpose: This program convenes elder justice professionals to discuss the national movement to advance person-centered approaches in elder abuse MDTs.
• Social work role: NASW collaborates closely with the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the USC Center for Elder Justice. Keck houses the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), for which NASW serves on the advisory board.
• Live event access and accessibility features: Registration is required. The event will feature automated captioning in English; please email Keck–NCEA staff for other accommodations.
• On-demand access and accessibility features: The webinar will be available without registration on the NCEA YouTube page. After navigating to the video page, click “more” in the video description; then click “show transcript” below the video to read the transcript on the right side of the page while watching the video. Moreover, the video and related materials will be posted to the Training and Resources on Elder Abuse (TREA) microsite.
• Additional information: Please email Keck staff.

Fireside Chat on Elder Justice Policy [Webinar]

• Host: National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), which is funded by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and housed at the Keck School of Medicine of USC
• Purpose: Bob Blancato, national coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition, and Kathy Greenlee, senior director of elder justice at ADvancing States and former U.S. Assistant Secretary on Aging, discusses federal-level elder justice policy, including the first federal regulations for adult protective services and updates on Elder Justice Act reauthorization.
• Social work role: NASW is a longtime member of both the NCEA advisory board and the Elder Justice Coalition.
• Live program date: July 11, 2024
• On-demand access and accessibility features: The archived video has been posted to the NCEA YouTube channel and does not require registration to access. To read the transcript while watching the video, click “more” in the video description, and then click “show transcript” below the video.
• Additional information: Please email Keck staff.

Decision-making in Later Life: Navigating Risk and Optimizing Safety [Webinar]

• Host: NCEA
• Purpose: Held in observance of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD), this program addresses how older adults and elder justice professionals navigate the assessment, management, mitigation, and acceptance of risk that may expose older adults to abuse or harm.
• Social work role: NASW staff and another social worker participated in the interdisciplinary panel featured during this webinar. NASW also serves on the NCEA advisory board.
• Live program date: June 11, 2024
• On-demand access and accessibility: The webinar video and resource list are available, without registration, on the TREA microsite. After navigating to the video page, click “show transcript” at the end of the webinar description below the video to read the transcript (in English) on the right side of the page while watching the video. No slides were used during this program.
• Additional information: Please visit the WEAAD microsite or contact NCEA.
• Related events: WEAAD is observed annually on June 15, and events usually take place throughout the month. Furthermore, NCEA hosts webinars and podcasts throughout the year.

7th Annual Older Adult Mental Health Awareness Day (OAMHAD) Symposium

• Host: National Council on Aging (NCOA)
• Cosponsors: Administration for Community Living (ACL), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• Purpose: This daylong symposium marked the intersection of Older Americans Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. The program features innovative initiatives, promising practices, and policy solutions to enhance the mental health of older adults—particularly those living with serious mental illness and substance use disorders—by reducing access barriers and increasing collaboration. The perspectives of older adults are woven throughout the program, as are the topics of health equity and cultural competence.
• Social work role: NASW served on the OAMHAD steering committee for the second consecutive year, and seven social workers presented content during the symposium.
• Live program date: May 2, 2024
• On-demand access and accessibility: Click “register” on the landing page and then select sessions from the agenda to access session materials. A video recording with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation is available for each session; some sessions include slides or other materials for download. All four breaks include slides or other materials for download; however, a recording is only available, without ASL interpretation, for the SAMHSA block grant break. The OAMHAD resource center also remains available.
• Additional information: Please visit the list of frequently asked questions regarding the symposium or email NCOA Center for Healthy Aging staff.
• Related events: The 8th Annual OAMHAD Symposium will be held on May 1, 2025. NASW will disseminate information about the event as it becomes available. 

Moreover, the NASW California Chapter’s Council on Aging has free offerings that are open to all participants, regardless of geographical location or NASW membership:

Screening & Addressing Decision-making Capacity with Older Adults [Webinar]

• Host: NASW California Chapter, Council on Aging
• Purpose: This webinar introduces participants to the role of social workers and other mental health professionals in the assessment of decision-making capacity of older adults.
• Live program date: June 18, 2024
• On-demand access, accessibility, and contact: No registration is required to access the video recording, which includes captions in English. Please email the council to request the slides or for additional information about this program.

Monthly Virtual Case Consultations Related to the Decision-Making Capacity Assessment with Older Adults

• Host: NASW California Chapter, Council on Aging
• Purpose: This case consultation series builds on the June 18 webinar and is free to all social workers, regardless of geographical location or NASW membership. Join the meeting to listen, present your case, or ask clarifying questions.
• First meeting: Thursday, July 25, from 3–4 p.m. EDT/12–1 p.m. PDT; please visit the event page for additional information about this event and to register.
• Subsequent meetings: Meetings will generally occur on the fourth Thursday of the month, 3–4 p.m. EDT/12–1 p.m. EDT. Upcoming meeting dates: August 22, September 26, and October 24. Meeting dates have not yet been scheduled for November and December 2024.
• On-demand meeting access: The case consultation meetings will not be recorded.
• Contact: Please email the council for information about the case consultation meetings.