PSN Stronger Together Events
Stronger Together presents live and virtual events on an intermittent basis. If you or your organization wishes to help organize, sponsor or participate in a future event, please contact SAR.PSN@mass.gov.
Path to Healing
Date: September 26, 2023
Time: 4:00 PM ET
Location: Zoom
Description: Path to Healing is a peer group led by sexual assault survivors with disabilities. The Peer Support Leaders, educate other survivors on self-care tips, coping skills, and self-advocacy skills to support the survivors on their healing journey. All groups are free and open to survivors with disabilities.
If you are interested in attending or know of someone that would be interested, please contact SAR.PSN@mass.gov for more information.
DPPC Events
DPPC offers a variety of trainings to the general public free of charge. Service providers or other professionals may request an overview of M.G.L. c.19C, which includes: recognizing, reporting and responding to suspected abuse and neglect; the role of mandated reporters; the intake and screening process; investigations and oversight; protective services; and the referral of criminal cases through DPPC’s State Police Detective Unit (SPDU). Trainings can be tailored in content and length to meet the needs of the agency requesting the training.
For more information about DPPC events, please contact dppc.learning@mass.gov.
Reporting Abuse and Neglect of Persons with Disabilities (Mandated Reporting Training)
Date: First and third Thursday of every month
Location: Virtual registration here.
Description: The DPPC offers live online training for mandated reporting professionals. This training provides education related to recognizing, reporting, and responding to the abuse of people with disabilities.
The course will review:
- The role of the DPPC as an agency
- The prevalence of violence and abuse against people with disabilities
- What is mandated reporting and who are mandated reporters?
- Recognizing and reporting abuse and neglect
- Identifying abuse indicators
- What happens post-report
Trainings are free of charge.
All interested attendees are required to register in advance of the training, registration closes 24-hours prior to the event.
Participation in preferred training dates will be on a first-to-register, first-served basis; Each scheduled training has a capacity of 99 people.
When registering, please choose ONE date preference.
Following registration, you will receive an Eventbrite confirmation email with the meeting log-in details, link and password. (*Please monitor your spam folder if you have sensitive filters.)
Certificates of completion can be provided upon request following the course.
- When: The first and third Thursday of every month
- Where: Online training, live
- Time: 1:00pm- 2:00pm ET
2023 – Protect, Report, Preserve (PRP; Southeast, MA)
Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Time: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Quincy Links Ballroom, 100 Quarry Hills Drive, Quincy, MA 02169
Register on Eventbrite
Description: Protect, Report, Preserve (PRP) is a full-day, comprehensive training providing education related to recognizing, reporting, and responding to abuse committed against people with disabilities. PRP equips staff with strategies for identifying and reporting suspected incidents of abuse and neglect, details what to do when abuse is suspected, reviews the investigation process, and discusses effective training techniques for use with the PRP curriculum.
In addition to serving as an educational event, PRP may also be considered a “train-the-trainer” module for direct care, training specialists, provider administrators, or other interested human service professionals. Those who attend will receive a copy of the curriculum and accompanying media files. Participants are encouraged to incorporate these materials into their agency’s orientation program for new hires, and/or as part of their required, annual Mandated Reporting training.
The PRP curriculum includes the following topics:
- Overview of Abuse Against People with Disabilities
- Interactive Multidisciplinary Investigation Activity with Case Scenarios
- Indicators of Abuse
- Mandated Reporting
- The Investigation Process
- The Building Partnerships Initiative
- Using PRP as a trainer
Upcoming NAPSA Events
2023 NAPSA Conference (registration closed)
Date: Monday, August 28 – Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Location: OMNI Boston Hotel at the Seaport, 450 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210
Description: Join us for the 34th annual National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) Conference August 28-30, 2023, in Boston, Massachusetts. The NAPSA Conference is the only national conference that focuses solely on Adult Protective Services (APS) and we are thrilled to partner with the Massachusetts Disabled Persons Protection Commission (DPPC) and the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) to bring our 2023 Conference to Boston!.
Together, we hope to offer more than 100 workshops and attract 1,000 attendees from Adult Protective Service units across the US as well as allied professionals in government, law enforcement, medicine, banking & finance, legal systems, nursing homes/ombudsman, community-based organizations and more!
Keeping with the theme of our 2023 NAPSA Conference, Advancing with Purpose and Strength, workshop topics will highlight innovative practice, cutting edge research and/or bold new initiatives moving the field of APS forward. Everyone who works with victims of adult abuse will find workshops to meet their needs at this national conference.
Other Events
The R3 App
The R3 app is designed to help people with disabilities Recognize, Report, and Respond to abuse. The R3 app was designed with input from people with disabilities, including intellectual or developmental disabilities, from the very beginning. First, the project team conducted focus groups with people with disabilities to learn more about how they use technology and whether they thought an app would be helpful. Then, as the app was being designed, the developers used a co-design process where they (virtually) sat with individuals and walked them through different versions of the app and got the individuals’ thoughts in real time. Throughout the process, the team’s self-advocate consultants provided crucial feedback on issues like development, images, and text.
Annual “Focus” On Vision Impairment & Blindness Conference: Meeting the Needs of Individuals with Intellectual Disability and Vision Loss
Date: Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Time: 8:00 am – 3:30 pm
Location: Four Points by Sheraton, 1125 Boston-Providence Turnpike, Norwood, MA 02062
Register here
Description: The 15th annual “Focus” On Vision Impairment & Blindness Conference: Meeting the Needs of Individuals with Intellectual Disability and Vision Loss expects over 400 attendees including eye care professionals, clinicians, family members, service providers from day and residential programs, nurses, and advocates for individuals with intellectual disability and vision loss are expected. The Collaborating Partners charged with organizing the day include Perkins Training Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Shriver Clinical Services Corporation, Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services, and the New England Eye Institute.