Gerald Ware, senior social worker with the Jackson County DHR, is the recipient of the 2006 Spirit of Alabama Adult Protective Services Award. The award recognizes a frontline Adult Protective Services staff person who, through his or her own initiative and ideas, makes a significant contribution to the growth and development of the program.
DHR Commissioner Page Walley presented the award to Ware on August 23 in Montgomery during a National Legal Training Project that was co-sponsored by the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) Foundation.
The Alabama AARP, the Alabama Crime Prevention Clearinghouse at Auburn University at Montgomery, and the Department of Human Resources were also co-sponsors of the event. The two-day conference highlighted the challenges of handling cases involving the abuse, financial exploitation and neglect of vulnerable adults.
Mr. Ware will represent Alabama as the state’s nominee for the Spirit of National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) Award during the organization’s annual conference later this year in San Francisco. He has distinguished himself by galvanizing community support for programs and services that benefit vulnerable adults.
Mr. Ware also organized gospel-singing programs and he held a silent auction to raise funds to meet emergency needs of Adult Protective Services clients. His pre-social work background includes employment as a mental health technician, supervisor of a construction crew and service on the Marshall County Board of Education.