Monday, April 17       Special Courts Session (invitation-only)

2:00-2:45        Taped Presentation in Educational Technology Studio

Description:   Mary Joy Quinn, San Francisco Probate Court, will make a brief demo presentation that will be taped and presented later to highlight NCSC’s distance learning capabilities.  

3:00-5:00        Special Courts Session – NCSC Richardson Board Room

Description:   An invitation-only session with judges and court managers to refine the benchcard and to develop a training strategy for the courts.

• Refining the Benchcard*
• Developing a Strategy for Institutionalizing Training on Elder Abuse & Neglect

Attending Participants: Mike Bridenback, Julie Conger, Candace Heisler, Marina Jimenez, Bill Jones, John Kirkendall, Marcia Larkin, Mary Joy Quinn
                       
Tuesday, April 18

9:00-9:30        Continental Breakfast

9:30-9:45        Opening Remarks and Overview of Meeting Goals

Description:   NCSC President Mary Campbell McQueen will offer opening remarks.  Brenda Uekert, chair of the Elder Abuse and the Courts Working Group, will provide an overview of the meeting goal and tasks.

Meeting Goal: To gather national experts to strategize on effective strategies courts can take to improve the identification of and response to elder abuse and neglect.  This will be accomplished by:

• Outlining an ideal training program for the judiciary and court staff;
• Identifying components of effective court responses;
• Discussing the steps necessary for coordinated responses; and
• Developing a strategic plan to meet court needs.

                               
9:45-10:00       Introductions

10:00-10:45     The Current Status of Judicial/Court Training on Elder Abuse

Description:    This panel discussion will consist of short presentations and a discussion among panel members on experiences, current unmet needs, and future training efforts.

• American Bar Association’s Curricula for Judges and Court Staff by Lori Stiegel
• Training programs for judges, offered by Candace Heisler and Paul Greenwood
• Office on Violence Against Women’s  national elder abuse training curriculum by Bonnie Brandl
• Discussion points from the Special Courts Session on Strategies to Institutionalize Judicial Training

10:45-11:00     Morning Break

11:00-11:30     Key Components of a Training Program for the Judiciary and Court Staff

Description:   This group discussion will be a continuation and expansion of the previous session on the current status of judicial/court training panel. All participants will be asked to provide input on the key components of a training program.

11:30-12:00     Voting on Key Components

Description:   The list of key components of a training program will be reviewed.  Participants will be asked to vote on the top components.  Votes will be tabulated, with the goal of identifying core components.

12:00-1:00      Working Lunch (provided)
Topic: The Elder Justice Act
Presentation by Lauren Fuller, Chief Investigative Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions

1:00-1:15        The Model Elder Court

Description:   Rebecca Morgan, Stetson University, will provide an overview of a model courtroom designed to accommodate the needs of the elderly.

1:15-2:00        The Elder Protection Court

Description:   Judge Julie Conger and Case Manager Marina Jimenez will discuss the Elder Protection Court—a specialized court in the Alameda County Superior Court, California.  The Elder Protection Court is the only court in the country to coordinate civil and criminal elder abuse cases in a single department.  The session will include a question and answer period.

2:00-2:45        Elder Abuse as it Appears in Civil Courts

Description:   This session includes  a short  presentation on the Elder Justice Centers in Florida,  a  focused panel discussion on probate and guardianship issues related to elder abuse and ideal court responses, and an open group discussion/question and answer session.

• Elder Justice Centers in Florida (Presenters: Mike Bridenback and Marcia Larkin)
• Panel Discussion: Probate and Guardianship Issues (Discussants: John Conery, John Kirkendall, Mary Joy Quinn)
• Question and Answer/Group Discussion

2:45-3:00        Afternoon Break

3:00-3:45        Group Exercises

Description:   Participants will be grouped into multidisciplinary teams (5 teams)—a volunteer from each team will facilitate the exercises.  Each team is responsible for conducting two exercises to generate key components of an effective court response and the strategies for creating a coordinated response.

• Ten Key Components of an Effective Court Response to Elder Abuse & Neglect
• Strategies for Creating Coordinated Responses to Elder Abuse & Neglect

3:45-4:30        Group Presentations and Voting

Description:   A representative from each team will present the results from the exercises.  Participants will be asked to vote for their top components of an effective court response.  Results will be tabulated and discussed.  The group will also be asked to reach priority consensus on strategies for creating a coordinated response to elder abuse.

4:30-4:50        Educational Technology Demonstration

Description:   Participants will visit NCSC’s Educational Technology Center, where Ray Foster, NCSC’s Director of Education Technology, will highlight the Center’s technology and preview the demo presentation made earlier by Mary Joy Quinn.

4:50-5:00        Recap

Wednesday, April 19

8:30-9:00        Continental Breakfast

9:00-9:45        Benchcards on Elder Abuse and Neglect*

Description:   A representative from the Special Courts Session will discuss the concept of benchcards for judges and present a draft benchcard developed by judges and court managers.  This will be followed by an open discussion, with participants providing additional ideas and suggestions on the benchcards.

9:45-10:30       Needs of the Courts

Description:   Brenda Uekert, NCSC, will discuss the results of the needs assessment survey.  Participants will be asked to provide their assessment of the greatest needs for the court.  A list of needs will be compiled and participants will be asked to vote on the needs that should be prioritized.    

10:30-10:45     Morning Break

10:45-11:45     Developing Strategies to Meet Court Needs

Description:   In this action-oriented discussion, participants will work together to develop a strategic action plan for the courts. The plan will identify the greatest needs of the court and potential strategies to address each need.  Additionally, the group will discuss resources and timeframes to implement each strategy.

11:45-12:00     Closing Remarks

* What is a benchcard?  A benchcard is a short (usually one page, sometime laminated) document that can be used to guide judges on the bench.  For an example, see http://www.atf.gov/pub/fire-explo_pub./i33103.pdf

This meeting is supported, in part, through a grant from the Archstone Foundation.