Solano FAST The Area Agency on Aging Serving Napa and Solano

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Solano FASTThe Area Agency on Aging Serving
Napa and Solano

• Multidisciplinary Team
• Steve Hosking, FAST Coordinator
• Terri Restelli-Deits, Program Director
• Carrie Keefe-Scarlata, FAST Chair
• Solano Countys Deputy County Counsel

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Successes and Accomplishments

• Rapid progress in developing a countywide MDT
  network of resources to assist victims
• Improved efficiency and effectiveness through
  intervention, education, and exchange of
  information
• Pool of 60 consultants, 20-30 core members
• 155 cases referred to FAST
• Alleged loss at intake referral 4,333,794
• FAST interventions assisted in preserving and/or
  recovering over 18 million in vulnerable
  seniors assets

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Successes and Accomplishments

• Increased knowledge and awareness through
  education Cross trainings at monthly team mtgs
• Served on Call to Action Allied Bankers
  Conference panel of speakers
• Advocated for progressive legislation to aid in
  the fight to detect, resolve, and track financial
  elder abuse Presented
• Collaborated with local and statewide FASTs and
  elder abuse MDTs to share resources, ideas, and
  best practices.
• Funding awarded Archstone Foundation, Vacaville
  Rotary, CMF

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Get Smart

• Established collaborative partnerships to garner
  support and raise awareness Strong partnership
  with APS
• Built linkages and identified strategies for
  improving systems, reducing practice variances
  between allied agencies
• Capacity building Outreach Education
  Cross-discipline education, education to elder
  abuse responders, financial institutions and
  community at large
• Case assistance consultation on complex
  financial abuse cases

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Lessons Learned

• Team assisted law enforcement and APS in building
  stronger cases for prosecution, at same time
  barriers still exist to improved response and
  prosecution. Surveyed law enforcement and
  non-governmental agencies to identify barriers
  and strategies to strengthen relationships
  between allied agencies.
• Surveyed statewide MDTs (n49) to better
  understand the functions they perform, the
  importance of specific functions,
  confidentiality, cases reviewed, composition of
  teams, policies and procedures, administration,
  funding, and challenges to effective functioning.

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Challenges

• Bringing the civil criminal courts into the
  21st century
• Lack of
• Elder Abuse Criminal vertical prosecution
• Designated elder civil court
• Standardized database/data collection
• tracking system for cases
• Sustainability growing demand for services will
  require additional funding and resources

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Surprise!

• Broaden the sphere of influence through education
  to get beyond business as usual practices to
  help departments recognize the benefits or
  efficiency of collaborative MDT partnerships that
  include private professionals and non-profit
  agencies
• Legislative/confidentiality related barriers to
  replicating FAST model in neighboring counties
  despite potential local funding

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Phase II Goals

• Building on past successes, continuing to lead
  the way
• Work towards Integrating Rapid Response Model
  into current FAST model
• Improve early identification, timely, and
  effective intervention of financial abuse
• Increase community awareness and knowledge of
  financial abuse including community awareness and
  knowledge of financial abuse among ethnic
  communities
• Advocate for improved systems, legislation and
  policies related to financial abuse as needed
• Improve access to information about community
  trends and patterns of abuse.
• Assist in enabling successful elder financial
  abuse prosecutions

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The Big Picture

• Explore traditional and alternative ways of
  resolving elder abuse including mediation and non
  traditional civil remedies that have been
  underutilized
• Systemic Change catalysts for change through
  collaboration (policy and legislation)
• Strategic and coordinated advocacy ? increased
  services resources to victims

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Value added

• The team provided leadership, consultation, and
  advocation for systemic change and progressive
  legislation to aid in the fight to detect and
  resolve financial elder abuse.
• Team invited to present/share strategies of how
  to work together with allied agencies to achieve
  the results needed to effectively and efficiently
  investigate financial elder abuse cases, and to
  overcome hurdles, improve service to our clients
  and identify those who would victimize the most
  vulnerable in our communities.

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Dream Big

• Standardized FAST protocol
• Standardized data collection system and elder
  abuse tracking system
• Elder Abuse education will be integrated into law
  enforcement trainings (including continuing POST
  trainings), health and social service
  trainings/curriculum, academic settings,
  targeted to gatekeepers/volunteers/faith
  communities

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THANK YOU!!!

• We wish to express our gratitude to
• Archstone Foundation
• Center of Excellence in Elder Abuse and Neglect
• All the supportive Archstone EANI grantees who
  have generously shared their knowledge,
  expertise, and resources
• The Measurement Group (TMG)