Download the 2009 Hartford Annual Report pdf How Social Workers
Assist Older Adults
View the Interactive Chart
Finding the Right Niche

Anne Millheiser, MSW, LSW

Catholic Charities
Illinois Department on Aging
Elder Abuse and Neglect Program
HPPAE Fellow: 2008
(Above) Ms. Millheiser works from her car on Chicago’s North Side investigating allegations of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of older adults.

Anne Millheiser’s work as a substance abuse counselor in New York led her to pursue a career in social work. “I realized there was a huge opportunity to work with older adults, but it was a population I hadn’t spent much time with,” she says. Therefore, as a graduate student at Loyola University in Chicago, Ms. Millheiser sought out the professor in charge of geriatric curriculum, Dr. Marcia Spira, and became her graduate assistant. “I had decided to do my second-year field placement in the field of aging and when I was told about the Hartford program I became even more excited about my decision,” says Ms. Millheiser. She was accepted in 2008 in the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE).

Ms. Millheiser’s primary field placement was at the North Shore Senior Center in a suburb of Chicago, where she did case management for the Illinois Department on Aging’s Community Care and Elder Abuse and Neglect Programs. Ms. Millheiser also did a rotation at an adult day center for people with dementia. “It was interesting to be based in a senior center where there are healthy older adults and also be part of the elder abuse program, where you see more vulnerable seniors, and then the adult day center with people with dementia,” says Ms. Millheiser. She particularly valued the seminars conducted at each of the field placement sites and the opportunity to become acquainted with different types of work in various venues.

“Through the exposure to different agencies and my experiences everything came together and I found my niche,” says Ms. Millheiser, who now works full-time at Catholic Charities through a contract with the Illinois Department on Aging Elder Abuse and Neglect Program. She investigates allegations of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation for older adults living in their homes.

If allegations are substantiated, Ms. Millheiser provides counseling and other services to help both the alleged victim and alleged abuser. “We go out and knock on doors to see if we can help,” she says. “It may involve advocating for seniors in court, hooking them up with legal assistance, or meeting with them regularly for counseling,” she says. “We also try to work with the perpetrators of the abuse and get them help.”

Through the HPPAE program, Ms. Millheiser has developed strong professional partnerships with other social workers in the field. Her commitment to the field and interest in fostering leadership among geriatric social workers led her to join the HPPAE Alumni and Student Committee on Leadership in Aging, which publishes a scholarly journal and seeks to create a professional and social network among current and former HPPAE students.



Next: The Leadership Academy in Aging ›