Library: News Releases
OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- In fiscal year 2003, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services Adult Protective Services Division investigated nearly 16,000 cases of adult abuse. That’s nearly equal to the population size of the cities of Checotah, Wilburton, Henryetta and Stilwell combined.
On June 11, OKDHS Adult Protective Services staff from Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Delaware, Haskell, Latimer, LeFlore, McIntosh, Mayes, Muskogee, Nowata, Okmulgee, Ottawa, Rogers, Sequoyah and Wagoner counties will join police officers, sheriff’s deputies, district attorneys and judges to do something extraordinary to help stem the tide of adult abuse…talk.
The “United As One” Conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at Western Hills Lodge, located on State Highway 51, 52 miles east of Tulsa, on Ft. Gibson Lake at Sequoyah State Park. During the conference, Adult Protective Services, law enforcement and court officials will come together to build a dialogue and share resources, best practices and war stories from the front lines of adult abuse.
Conference participants will hear from OKDHS Director Howard H. Hendrick, OKDHS Area V Director Judy Wyatt, Oklahoma County Assistant District Attorney Peter Haddock, 1st Assistant District Attorney for the 13th Judicial District Ben Loring and keynote speaker Paul Greenwood. Greenwood, a nationally recognized authority on adult abuse, serves as a Deputy District Attorney and leads the Elder Abuse Unit at the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. Greenwood has been featured on NBC’s “Nightly News” CBS’s “Eye on America,” Court TV and BBC Television in London.
Commenting on Oklahoma’s efforts to stop adult abuse, Greenwood said, “In regards to California’s Adult Protective Services, Oklahoma is doing a fabulous job. It would take a lot to get us together like this in California.”
A similar conference has been held in southeastern Oklahoma for the past two years and has gone a long way in bringing social services and law enforcement together by helping each understand the other’s role in protecting our elderly and disabled friends and neighbors. It is hoped that the same success can be replicated in northeastern Oklahoma.
For information about the “United As One” Conference, contact Dawn Hobbs at (918) 752-2000. To report suspected abuse, contact the Adult Abuse Hotline at 1-800-522-3511, or, click on www.OKDHS.org/APS/.
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