Sergeant Randy Craft Honored by State A.G. Office

Sergeant Randy L. Craft of the Lanark Police Department was honored by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on August 28 as one of five outstanding Elderly Service Officers for his service and dedication to seniors in Carroll County. Craft is a member of the Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) Elder Abuse Multi-Disciplinary Team. Along with other area professionals, he volunteers in advising LSSI’s Senior Protective Services’ staff. He offers input on law enforcement’s role in helping to prevent abuse, neglect and exploitation of seniors.

Craft has been a police officer for 19 years. He says, “As people age, they may become more isolated, which puts them at risk for potentially becoming victims of crime and other abuse associated with aging” He has been instrumental, along with LSSI’s Senior Protective Services Supervisor, Mary Cox, in establishing the Carroll County TRIAD in 2011. TRIADS are nationally known as community- or county-based educational and recreational programs for senior citizens. Law enforcement agencies, senior service agencies and seniors partner to form a TRIAD that promotes crime prevention and senior citizen safety in the community.

Contracted through the Illinois Department on Aging and Northwestern Illinois Area on Aging, LSSI administers services to individuals residing in Carroll, Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties. LSSI is a United Way agency.

Founded in October 1867, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois is a statewide, not-for-profit social service agency of the three Illinois synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. LSSI serves people through an array of services at approximately 85 sites across Illinois. LSSI’s services include foster care, adoption, pregnancy counseling, Head Start, child care services, services for at-risk families, residential services for youth, counseling, mental health, substance abuse treatment, residential programs for adults with developmental disabilities, housing and services (http://www.lssi.org/homecare/Index.aspx) for older adults and individuals with disabilities, nursing care and rehabilitation, and programs for prisoners and their families. For more information on LSSI, visit www.LSSI.org or LSSI’s http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lutheran-Social-Services-of-Illinois/110608997723, their Facebook page.