Power Hour: Perpetrators in Disguise – Preventing Human Trafficking of Vulnerable Adults 10/7/25

CEU Creations presents:
Power Hour: Perpetrators in Disguise – Preventing Human Trafficking of Vulnerable Adults, 10/7/25

FEATURING:

• FREE 1-hour CE
• Best practices and actionable steps to help healthcare professionals recognize, prevent, and respond to the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable adults

EVENT INFO:

Tuesday, October 7, 2025
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Eastern time

COST:

Free CEU Event!

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS:

Social Workers:
ASWB ACE – 1 General CE credit
New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work – 1 Contact hour
Psychologists
APA – This course is not approved for APA CE credit
Counselors:
NBCC ACEP – 1 Contact hour
NY State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners – 1 Contact hour
Substance Abuse Counselors
NAADAC – This course is not approved for NAADAC Contact hours
Nurses
California Board of Registered Nursing – 1 Contact hour
Case Managers
CCMC – 1 Contact hour

Attendance or applied credit certificate available for other credentials.
Please make sure to check with your own state board to ensure the transferability of CE credits.

Target Audience: Social workers, counselors, nurses, and case managers

OVERVIEW:

Every day, hospital patients are unknowingly discharged into harmful and unsafe environments. Unlicensed personal care homes, boarding houses, and transitional housing facilities target discharge planners, care teams, and social workers, positioning themselves as convenient options for patients who are difficult to place. Once patients are placed in these facilities, they often face neglect, exploitation, and even trafficking. In this presentation, we will examine how vulnerable adults are trafficked in these settings and why these homes continue to operate unnoticed. We will also provide best practices and actionable steps to help you safeguard your patients.

OBJECTIVES:

By attending this training, you will be able to:

• Describe the tactics used by unlicensed personal care homes to exploit vulnerable adults, including methods used to operate without detection.
• Explain the role of healthcare-based social workers in identifying and preventing human trafficking among vulnerable adult populations.
• Discover the importance of collaboration with Adult Protective Services (APS) in identifying, reporting, and addressing instances of vulnerable adult abuse and trafficking.
• Identify the appropriate procedures, channels, and contacts for reporting suspected abuse or trafficking of vulnerable adults.

AGENDA:

11:45-12:00 Log in and Networking
12:00-1:00 Presentation

PRESENTER BIOS:

Anna Thomas, POST-certified instructor and manager of the Division of Aging Services
Anna Thomas is a POST-certified instructor, the manager of the Division of Aging Services- Forensic Special Initiatives Unit, and, most recently, a Forensic Specialist with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crimes Against the Elderly and Disabled Task Force (CADE). CADE’s mission is to protect elder and disabled adults from abuse, neglect, and exploitation, prevent abuse, neglect, and exploitation of elder and disabled adults, and to prosecute offenders.

As a graduate of the University of Georgia, Anna holds a degree in criminal justice and a degree in psychology as well as a Master of Science in gerontology from Brenau University. After interning with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Anna began her career as an investigator for the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office. For 5 years, she was assigned to a trial team that mainly handled crimes against persons.
In 2008, Anna became a victim advocate at the Hall County District Attorney’s Office, where she served on the Child Fatality Review Board and the Hall County Domestic Violence Task Force. For 8 years, Anna assisted victims of crime with service referral and guidance through court and the criminal justice system, and aided prosecutors at trial.

In 2016, Anna transitioned to high-level victim advocacy focused on older adults and adults with disabilities. Currently, her work at the Division of Aging Services and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation centers on training primary and secondary responders to recognize and respond to elder and disabled adult abuse, researching gaps in current victim services, developing new laws to protect vulnerable adults, and public outreach. Her most recent project is the launch of state-wide elder abuse multidisciplinary teams (MDTs).

Anna serves on the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council’s Human Trafficking Task Force and the National Network of State Elder Justice Coalitions Steering Committee, and is an instructor for the Georgia Victim Advocate Academy.

Shawonda Wright, BSW, CACTS, the Forensic Liaison Specialist with the Georgia Department of Human Services
Shawonda Wright has over 20 years’ experience in the social work profession, serving at-risk children and adults. She is always eager to serve others and works collaboratively to achieve goals. Her specialized skills are in protective services, public health, mental health, military/veterans, and substance abuse areas. She is skilled in leading and training social service professionals and is a strong advocate for client needs with a consistent record of creating strong and positive rapport with clients, team members, and community partners.

Shawonda is currently working in collaboration with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which has formed the Crimes Against Disabled Adults and Elder Task Force to identify and address system gaps and develop process improvements to protect Georgia’s at-risk adults. In addition, Mrs. Wright is the lead project developer and instructor for FACT (Facility At-Risk Adult Crimes Training). FACT is a training curriculum designed for hospital staff (discharge planners, nurses, social workers, case managers, home health providers, etc.). This training is to aid them in working collaboratively with Adult Protective Services and in how to best serve their at-risk adult patients.

COURSE PARTICIPATION INFORMATION:

To ensure you are ready to participate, please complete a short Test Drive on Zoom.

This live webinar is fully interactive. Attendees may ask and answer questions throughout the presentation and participate in instructor-led discussions. A computer or mobile device is required. Zoom account is not required.

You will receive a reminder email approximately 24 hours prior to the start of the training and a link to join the webinar will be in your CEU Creations account under Member Profile.

To receive credit, you must log in on time, attend the entire presentation, and complete an online evaluation.

POST EVENT: When the training ends, your attendance will be processed using zoom analytics. Once processed, the evaluation link will be available in your account and should be completed within 3 days of the training. Once your evaluation is complete, your certificate will be available in your CEU Creations account within 24-72 hours.

Please contact us at [email protected] with any questions.

FINE PRINT

Target audience: Social workers, counselors, nurses, case managers, and other healthcare professionals.

SOCIAL WORKERS: CEU Creations, #1239, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/24-11/22/27. Social workers completing this course receive 1 General continuing education credit.

CEU Creations, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0616. This activity is approved for 1 contact hour.

PSYCHOLOGISTS:  This course is not approved for APA CE Credit.

COUNSELORS: 1 contact hour.
 CEU Creations has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6941. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified.  CEU Creations is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
CEU Creations, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0199. This activity is approved for 1 contact hour.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELORS:  This course is not approved for NAADAC Contact hours.

NURSES: 1 contact hour. CEU Creations is an approved provider of nursing CEs through the California Board of Registered Nursing. Provider number: CEP17905. All states retain their own licensing authority through their own boards. Please make sure to check with your own state board to ensure transferability of the CE credits.


Cancellation Policy: Registrants must cancel via email at [email protected] (contacting other staff members/leadership does not guarantee your cancellation). No faxes or mail cancellations will be accepted. Cancellation Fee: $25. Refunds will not be given for cancellations within five (5) business days prior to the workshop date.

Accessibility Accommodations: At CEU Creations, we are dedicated to providing an inclusive and accessible experience for all individuals. We strive to ensure our continuing education content, website, and services are usable by everyone, regardless of ability. We are continually working to enhance accessibility and user experience for all of our users. If you encounter any barriers, have questions, or wish to request accommodations, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can contact us at [email protected] and a member of our team will review your message and respond promptly.