Our Office of Professional & Continuing Education seeks to offer a variety of highly engaging education courses that reflect the spectrum of evidence-based micro to macro level practice. Our learning opportunities support increased knowledge and skill development in areas that align with social work values, ethics, research and the professions commitment to promoting social change.
Office of Elder Justice and the Courts (OEJC)/AOPC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work
Collaborative Learning Sessions
Session 1. Identifying Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation
Date: October 1st 2025
Time: 11:30am-1:30pm
CE Hours: 2 CE
Location: Online Via Zoom
Cost: $50.00
Course Description: In session one of the series, learners will explore several topics: guardianship and alternatives to guardianship (myths and facts), define elder abuse (noticing sings and notifying the proper authorities), and financial exploitation (how to recognize it and what to do protect yourself and loved ones). Learners will have the opportunity to engage in interactive case study explorations in each of the areas.
Course Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
- Navigate approaches to guardianship through a least restrictive lens
- Spot signs of elder abuse and financial exploitation and follow up with the proper notifications and next steps
- Analyze nuanced approaches to guardianship, elder abuse, and financial exploitation through interactive case studies on the topics
Instructor Bios:
Moderator: Robert Campbell, M.Ed., Trainer, Office of Elder Justice in the Courts (OEJC), Administrative Offices of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC)
A Pennsylvania native who’s always lived within the Susquehanna watershed, Robert Campbell has an honors theatre degree and M.Ed. from Penn State University. After a career spent in nonprofit arts, education, conservation, and communications (including teaching theatre courses and directing productions at Penn State Harrisburg), he is grateful to be working on behalf of older Pennsylvanians and persons under guardianship in his work with the Office of Elder Justice in the Courts. He has presented at the Pennsylvania Guardianship Justice Summit, the Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference, and the Delaware River Watershed Conference, and will be a guest speaker at the National Guardianship Association (NGA) and Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership on Aging (SWPPA) Conferences this fall.
Christine Kotsalos
Director, Investor Education and Consumer Outreach Office
PA Department of Banking and Securities
Christina Kotsalos is the Director of Investor Education and Consumer Outreach for the PA Department of Banking and Securities. She is responsible for the development and delivery of the department’s education programming, which focuses on providing Pennsylvanians with the information they need to make informed investment decisions and avoid fraud. For the past twenty-one years, Christina has focused on creative and effective ways to deliver investor education to all members of the public. Through innovative programs tailored to specific audiences, she has trained thousands of senior service providers, attorneys and health care professionals how to recognize and report suspected elder financial fraud. Her accomplishments include being a founding member of the PA Military Finance Alliance, developing and leading the nationally recognized PA Campaign for Wise and Save Investing program with the only volunteer taskforce of its kind, and creating an Investment Fraud Bingo program that is being used by securities regulators in the US and Canada to teach senior citizens how to protect themselves from fraud. Christina is also a recipient of the North American Securities Administrators Association Distinguished Service award for her development and implementation of one of the most comprehensive investor education programs in the nation. Christina received her Master of Science degree from the University of London, England and her Bachelor of Arts degree from Towson University, Maryland.
David P. Shallcross
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
Mr. Shallcross has worked to protect our communities for over 40 years. His career in public service began in 1980 as a Firefighter, Fire Inspector and Fire Prevention Instructor in Bristol Township, he also was a member of the Bristol Borough Auxiliary Police and held the rank of Sergeant; Then in 1986 he was appointed as a Deputy Sheriff with the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office, during his 20 plus years with the Sheriff, David became an Investigator and created the new Warrant Service Unit within the Fugitive Division and was later promoted to Warrant Specialist in charge of the division. Mr. Shallcross next served as a Law Enforcement Liaison for a Federal Contractor and was assigned to special projects for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In 2008 David Shallcross joined the ranks of the Office of Attorney General as a Community Liaison in the Public Protection Division’s Elder Abuse Unit, He was later promoted to Senior Community Liaison and Coordinator of the Elder Abuse Unit and in 2017 he was appointed as the Acting Director of Education and Outreach. Currently he is the Director of the Senior Protection Unit and is the Attorney Generals’ designee on the PA Supreme Court’s Elder Justice Advisory Council.
Mr. Shallcross is a recipient of the Sheriff’s Commendation of Valor (1988), Award of Merit and the F.O.P. Outstanding Service Award (2003), PA Crime Prevention Officer of the Year (2010 & 2015) and received the PA 3rd Senatorial District ‘Community Involvement Award’ (2013).
Mr. Shallcross holds seats on the executive boards of the PA Crime Prevention Officers’ Association and the Bucks County Heroes Scholarship Fund and past Vice President of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #PA-53 and is a founding member of the Pa Community Safety Alliance.
Mr. Shallcross was an Honor Graduate of the PA Deputy Sheriff’s Academy at the Dickinson School of Law; he has also attended specialized training with the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the FBI. He is a certified instructor in Community Crime Prevention by The PA Commission on Crime & Delinquency
*Registration closes on 9/30/25 at 4:00pm
***For University of Pittsburgh Staff, Faculty, Students or Alumni seeking a training discount code, please contact: mlt161@pitt.edu.
Session 2. Advocacy for and Empowerment of Families and Caregivers
Date: October 15th 2025
Time: 11:30am-1:30pm
CE Hours: 2 CE
Location: Online Via Zoom
Cost: $50.00
Course Description: In session two of the series, learners will explore the topics of caregiver burnout and connecting families with resources, finding representation and support (legal services attorney perspectives), and advocacy for rights, autonomy, and access to justice. Learners will have the opportunity to engage in interactive case study explorations in each of the areas.
Course Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
- Confront caregiver fatigue through research-based practices
- Understand the legal services representation model and identify programs available for such support in Pennsylvania
- Empower adults in need to find advocacy and support for their rights and autonomy
- Analyze nuanced approaches to problem solving around caregiver burnout, legal representation, and advocacy for adults in need through interactive case studies on the topics
Instructor Bios:
Moderator & Presenter: Robert Campbell, M.Ed., Trainer, Office of Elder Justice in the Courts (OEJC), Administrative Offices of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC)
Brendan Corbalis,
Director of Legal Services, Senior LAW
Robert Lodge
Disability Rights PA
Robert earned his LL.M in Trial Advocacy from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law and his J.D. from Widener University School of Law in Delaware. Prior to working with Disability Rights Pennsylvania, Robert worked as an Assistant Public Defender where he became Chief of Diversionary and Re-Entry Programs, which included Mental Health Treatment Court and other specialty courts. His focus during his career has been to represent people with mental health and other disabilities in the legal system.
*Registration for this course closes on October 13th at 4:00pm.
***For University of Pittsburgh Staff, Faculty, Students or Alumni seeking a training discount code, please contact: mlt161@pitt.edu.
Session 3: Navigating Systems in Courts and Communities
Date: November 5th 2025
Time: 11:30am-1:30pm
CE Hours: 2 CE
Location: Online Via Zoom
Cost: $50.00
Course Description: In session three of the series, learners will explore resource identification and procedures (preparing families and caregivers for potential court experiences), processes and paradigms (the role of Area Associations on Aging and APS in protecting older Pennsylvanians), and alternatives to guardianship (perspectives from the bench). Learners will have the opportunity to engage in interactive case study explorations in each of the areas.
Course Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
- Understand processes and procedures around engaging with the courts on behalf of adults in need of care
- Employ resources and support available through Area Agencies on Aging (AAA)
- Navigate systems with older adult protective services (OAPS)
- Identify and consider alternatives to guardianship
- Analyze nuanced approaches to courts, AAAs, OAPS, and alternatives to guardianship through interactive case studies
Instructor Bios:
Moderator: Robert Campbell, M.Ed., Trainer, Office of Elder Justice in the Courts (OEJC), Administrative Offices of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC)
Judge Lois Murphy, Montgomery County Orphans Court
Lois Murphy has been a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Montgomery County since 2010, and serves as Administrative Judge of the Orphans’ Court Division. The Orphans’ Court Division approves adoptions, and hears a wide variety of matters including terminations of parental rights, guardianships, will contests, trust and estate matters, and matters related to minor’s estates and non-profits.
Judge Murphy is Chair of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Advisory Council on Elder Justice in the Courts, and Chair of the Orphans’ Court Section of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges. She also served as the co-chair of the Pennsylvania Courts Working Group on Public Access.
Judge Murphy graduated from Harvard College in 1984, magna cum laude and Harvard Law School in 1987, cum laude.
Judge Murphy served as a law clerk to the Honorable George C. Pratt of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as a trial and appellate litigator in the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice, and then as in-house counsel to a national non-profit organization advocating for women’s rights. Judge Murphy practiced law at Morgan Lewis in Philadelphia and at Heckscher, Teillon, Terrill & Sager, in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. She is a frequent lecturer on topics including Ethics, Guardianships, Access of Justice for Older Adults, End of Life Decisions, Orphans’ Court practice and procedure, and the Pennsylvania Uniform Trusts Act
Jessica Jones,
Director, Berks County Area Agency on Aging
Jessica has led the Berks County Area Agency on Aging as Director since December 2020. Previously, she served as Deputy Director for over 6 years. In these roles, her responsibilities include the oversight and the planning, delivery, and monitoring of approximately 11 million of public funds serving the aging service needs of approximately 75,000 Berks County residents.
Jessica’s passion and much of her career focus has been the investigation of elder abuse in all care settings to protect our most fragile community members. Her vast experience includes nursing facilities, in-home long-term care supports & services, care management and supervision. Jessica also has numerous years of experience in guardianship coordination.
As Director, Jessica has focused on the Agency’s mission to serve the older adults of Berks County always seeking to improve on the agency’s coordination of services.
Due to her vast knowledge of aging services Jessica is often requested for speaking engagements and trainings.
With over 20 years of experience in Older Adult Protective Services she maintains her certification in Protective Services and actively assists in the continual development of the statewide program through the Aging Network in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Charlene Lane, Pennsylvania Office of Older Adult Protective Services
*Registration for this course closes on November 3rd at 4:00pm.
***For University of Pittsburgh Staff, Faculty, Students or Alumni seeking a training discount code, please contact: mlt161@pitt.edu.
Micro Credentials and Digital Badges
The Professional Education Team has been working diligently to create a series of social work CE intensives which are in-depth professional education courses. These are self-paced programs housed on a digital platform and they range between 15-30 CE credit hours. The knowledge you will gain in these programs will allow you to use your required hours of Continuing Education to take a deep dive into specific subject matter and become competent in a new area of practice. Read about the opportunities available now!
Continuing Education Presenter Information
The Office of Continuing Education is seeking experienced professional education instructors in the social work, professional counseling, and marriage and family therapy fields. We strive to be the best educational resource for helping professionals in Pennsylvania and New York states. This includes working with a diverse group of CE instructors. Read more to learn how you can become one of our presenters.
