Adult Services Training Academy
Advanced Courses
Advanced courses are developed in both the in-person and eLearning modalities. These trainings are intended for advanced level Adult Protective Services workers and their MDT partners (e.g. public guardians, public health nurses working with the elderly, mental health professionals, etc.).
Registration Instructions
You only need to register if you have never taken an eLearning with us in the past.
- To ensure accurate recording of your APS E-Learning completions, please register using your County Email address. Click on the Register for E-Learning link below.
- Within one business day, you will receive an email containing your login credentials for our Cybertrain Learning Management System (LMS), granting you access to our catalog of APS E-Learning courses.
- A short walkthrough video will be attached to this email. Please review the information in the video to log in to the LMS and get started with your training.
- If you have any questions regarding the registration of your account, please feel
free to contact Damian Lee at dlee18@mail.fresnostate.edu or
Kyler Beck at kylerb@mail.fresnostate.edu.
If you require an updated transcript of the APS courses you have completed, kindly reach out to Cynthia Rodriguez at cynthia@mail.fresnostate.edu.
Please note that student transcripts will only be provided directly to the individual worker. If you are a supervisor seeking a transcript for a worker, please advise the worker to request their transcript directly from us. They may choose to share it with you at their own discretion.
Course Description: This course provides an overview of important changes to APS practice in the State of California due to the passing of Assembly Bill (AB) 135.
Course Description: This interactive and engaging training will allow participants to identify key indicators that differentiate between medical, mental health, and substance abuse problems, recognize common medication problems and interactions, discuss when a mental or physical assessment by a professional is needed, and more.
Course Description: A dynamic, multi-disciplinary training on client decision-making/capacity and approaches for more effective interactions and case outcomes. Activities include: straightforward didactic information, lecture, video, and interactive, hands-on individual, small and large group activities that capitalize on advanced knowledge and skills.
Course Description: In this training, participants will learn to identify the factors that contribute to a client's or family member's resistance, gain skills that would enhance the movement towards growth and change, gain skills that would minimize the fear of change, and remember the basic tenets of self-care for helpers.
Course Description: Enhanced Cognitive Interviewing (ECI) is an interviewing method that has been shown to gather 40% more information out of an interview than other methods. ECI also allows APS professionals to better assess the validity of the information being provided. This workshop takes participants through the principles and techniques of ECI so that they can add this technique to their existing interviewing skills. ECI is discussed in practical terms that account for the diversity of individuals interviewed by APS, time constraints on APS professionals, and the need for trauma-informed approaches.
Course Description: In this interactive and informative advanced training, participants learn the foundations of estate planning and its relation to financial abuse. They learn how to identify estate planning documents to enhance their investigations into financial abuse allegations including specific areas of actual and potential abuse. Participants will have multiple opportunities to physically review common estate planning documents and gain helpful insight on specifics to look for in their investigations. Investigation and interviewing techniques including how to document their investigations so that they are more likely to be accepted for prosecution will be covered and participants will walk away feeling more confident in investigating these complex and common abuse allegations.
Course Description: In this 90-minute interactive eLearning, Adult Protective Services professionals will learn the definitions of sexual orientation and gender identity, and briefly learn the different types of sexual orientations and gender identities people have. They will be guided through a brief history of significant milestones that impact the LGBTQ+ community today. Finally, they will learn the importance of asking inclusive demographic questions, along with techniques to facilitate the discussion.
Course Description: Interviewing alleged perpetrators is a key part of conducting an APS investigation. This interactive and challenging training course is designed to enhance the APS professional’s ability to effectively interview alleged perpetrators. Full of experiential learning, it will include reminders about basic aspects of alleged perpetrator interviews as well as more advanced topics such as exploring defenses, cultural considerations when interviewing alleged perpetrators, addressing volatility, and creating an environment for disclosure and problem solving.
eLearning: An important part of the APS investigation is your ability to interview alleged perpetrators. What you learn in the interview may affect your assessment of client risk, change your understanding of a situation, guide your determination about what services may be helpful, and ultimately, may impact your finding about the allegation. Whether you are an experienced and natural interviewer or someone just getting started with concerns about making a mistake, this 90 min online training will help you better prepare for the interview, thereby increasing your confidence and boosting your investigative and interviewing skills.
Course Description: Learn about an emerging practice in the management of elder abuse and neglect case that has demonstrated promising results in Massachusetts and New York. Gain the ability to administer the IDA 3.0-CA and learn how to effectively present the finding to their supervisor. Appreciate the contribution that the use of a structured interview tool for clarifying client decisional capacity makes to strong case documentation. Be able to identify cases where the results of IDA 3.0-CA could contribute to deciding whether a client should be referred for a formal capacity evaluation.
Course Description: This course will improve APS professionals documentation, increase their ability to investigate criminal cases, and provide a better understanding of the court process. This instructor-led training will advance participant knowledge and skills gained from NAPSA Core Competency module #22 Working with the Criminal Justice System.
Prerequisite: Participants with under 18 months experience working in APS are required to complete Core Competency module #22. Participants with over 18 months experience working in APS are encouraged to complete Core Competency module #22.
Course Description: In this important and engaging training, participants will be able to explain APS' authority to intervene in self neglect cases, identify state laws that apply to self-neglect, describe basic principles of legal capacity, discuss ethical principles that apply in self neglect cases, and more.
Class description:
In the state of California, certain professions are legally obligated to report elder
and dependent adult abuse.
This course aims to educate participants on their reporting responsibilities, including
when and where
to report suspected abuse or neglect. Additionally, the course will inform participants
of what they can expect after filing a report.
Learning Objectives:
1. Recognize the responsibilities entailed in being a mandated reporter.
2. Identify indicators suggestive of elder and dependent adult abuse or neglect in
accordance with California legislation.
3. Identify the appropriate time, method and location for reporting suspected instances
of abuse or neglect, considering the specific circumstances.
4. Outline the actions that investigating agencies are permitted or restricted from
taking following your report.
Course Description:
This is the first workshop in the series: “Effectively Working APS Cases for Persons Experiencing Homelessness”. The series is designed to provide APS professionals with knowledge, practical tools, and opportunities to build empathy and gain a better understanding of what many individuals who are homeless work through in order to work more effectively with this population.
In this first workshop, APS professionals will learn some fundamentals on the experience of homelessness and explore biases when working with this population. After completing this first workshop, participants will have the foundation to better assess barriers for each individual they work with and help those individuals increase their protective factors such as resiliency and self-care.
Course Description: This the 2nd Workshop in the “Effectively Working APS Cases for Persons Experiencing Homelessness” training series and is now available. The goal of this workshop is to build on the foundational concepts in Workshop #1 and provide opportunities to broaden APS professionals’ skills when working with people who are experiencing homelessness. These cases are often complex and this workshop allows participants to understand more about this complexity and see the intense reality they may endure when out in the field. Throughout this workshop, participants will take best practices from the field of Homelessness Outreach, tailor and apply them to the purpose of Adult Protective Services.
Course Description: Many APS professionals have had cases where clients seem to have been manipulated to give away their assets or agree to risky investments which were not in their best interest. Undue influence is complex and can be challenging as it’s often a process and not a single event, which can make it difficult to identify, investigate, and document.
eLearning: In this 90 minute eLearning, participants will learn what undue influence is, common tactics used by influencers, the relationship between consent and undue influence, some suggestions for investigating and documenting cases of undue influence, and how partnering with other systems and agencies can help reduce client risk and mitigate the undue influence and its effects. (This course is eligible for 1.5 CEUs )
Course Description:
This course provides APS professionals with foundational knowledge and tools needed to work effectively with individuals actively experiencing serious mental health symptoms, such as psychosis. In this course, participants will learn general information about psychosis, including the symptoms and behaviors one may observe when an individual is actively experiencing symptoms and when these symptoms may require an immediate crisis response. Participants will identify techniques for adapting an interview to better engage the individual and practice documenting those interactions, using language that is objective and free of bias.