National Center on Elder Abuse
2009 Elder Justice Local Network Development
Mini-Grant Projects ¹
Summary of Project Proposals
(Alphabetical by State)

1. Asian & Pacific Islander Older Adults Task Force (APIOATF) (Los Angeles, CA) Asian & Pacific Islander Older Adults Task Force (APIOATF) serves older adults in Los Angeles County, including more than 45 distinct ethnic groups. Activities they propose for their new elder abuse prevention coalition include surveying and compiling educational materials to centralize existing resources and identify communities that lack adequate information; developing additional linguistically and culturally appropriate materials to educate Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities about elder abuse; distributing the materials at events, through community groups, and on their website as well as other elder justice network members’ websites; engaging in dialogue to better understand the needs of API elders at risk of elder abuse and then developing a half-day workshop for approximately 40 service providers as well as additional trainings tailored to specific groups; and producing a plan or white paper with recommendations and long-term suggestions to prevent elder abuse and help agencies better serve API older adults.
2. Alvin A. Dubin Alzheimer’s Resource Center (Ft. Myers, FL) Alvin A. Dubin Alzheimer’s Resource Center is a local United Way partner agency whose mission is to provide education, information, and support to individuals with memory impairment and their caregivers in Lee County. Proposed activities for the newly developed elder abuse prevention coalition include holding trainings for professionals and family caregivers; increasing the knowledge among professionals and family caregivers of warning signs/indicators of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation as well as strategies to prevent elder abuse; and demonstrating an increase by victims of late-life domestic violence accessing resources to aid in achieving self-sufficiency.
3. Mid-Florida Area Agency on Aging d/b/a Elder Options (Gainesville, FL) Mid-Florida Area Agency on Aging d/b/a Elder Options serves the Citrus County area above Tampa Bay. Proposed activities by their new local elder abuse prevention coalition include educating community stakeholders about legal issues related to elder abuse; holding a public event to bring information, resources and training to 200-300 seniors; developing a clear message and public information materials for the public and media outlets; creating a network of assistance for older adults in crisis under the concept of “Safe Places” for elders at sites sustained by qualified agencies, trained volunteers and businesses; and increasing the number of community members who understand how to identify, intervene and prevent elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.
4. St. Tammany SALT Council (Mandeville, LA) St. Tammany SALT Council is on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, 24 miles from New Orleans. The area received a large number of seniors who relocated from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Proposed activities include expanding support in justice-based components through improved communications and cooperation of financial institutions, law enforcement, medical and social work professionals; establishing a Financial Abuse Advisory Board to supports EPS investigators, an Elder Abuse Support Group to provide information and materials to senior groups and programs, a Training Team to provide continuing education for professionals, an Event Planning Board to present educational programs, and a Media Liaison Group to develop local media contacts.
5. Baltimore County Department of Aging (Towson, MD) Baltimore County Department of Aging is the Area Agency on Aging for Baltimore County residents. Their goal in establishing a local elder abuse prevention coalition is to ensure that a consumer will receive the proper response to their issues regardless of which coalition member they contact initially. Proposed project outcomes include increasing the number of reported cases of elder abuse; developing a Memorandum of Understanding to be signed by all agencies involved in the investigation of abuse; increasing prosecutable cases through coordination of agency responses; enhancing the registry of offenders and the triggers of information and needed referrals; and enhancing the community presence of coordinated agencies’ education and platform.
6. Maryland Crime Victim Resource Center (Upper Marlboro, MD) Maryland Crime Victim Resource Center is a private non-profit 501(c)(3) organization providing advocacy and services to victims of all crimes. Proposed activities for their newly formed coalition include designing a collaborative model of education and outreach; developing and distributing educational and outreach materials to health professionals, home-delivered meals providers, mail deliverers, financial industry professionals and others who interact with seniors; and gathering and documenting promising practices for dissemination through presentations and website postings.
7. Big Sky Senior Services, Inc. (Billings, MT) Big Sky Senior Services, Inc. serves the more urban Montana counties of Billings and Yellowstone and the more rural counties of Carbon and Stillwater. Proposed activities include holding 12 educational sessions in 2010 focusing on elder abuse, reporting, and prevention in the community; producing and distributing educational materials about elder abuse to seniors and their families via the web and in paper format; and advocating for increased efforts within the judicial system to address elder abuse.
8. High Country Area Agency on Aging (Boone, NC) High Country Area Agency on Aging serves two contiguous counties in northwestern North Carolina: Mitchell and Yancey Counties. Both counties are small, rural, and mountainous, and have common challenges within the existing elder protection services system. Outcomes and activities they foresee for their new coalition include increasing awareness of and knowledge about elder abuse, neglect and exploitation among the aging network and the public; developing and/or improving the range and effectiveness of resources and services; increasing the reporting of abuse, neglect and exploitation cases; conducting case reviews; developing a 2-year strategic plan; holding a community forum on elder abuse; and implementing cross training by coalition members.
9. Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services (Dayton, OH) Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services, along with other agency and community partners, have developed an elder abuse protocol which includes the creation of an elder justice local network to increase the lines of communication and shared knowledge to better serve their clients. Proposed outcomes during the grant period include increasing referrals from local agencies and tracking them once the grant begins; surveying participating organizations and having an 85% increase in community-wide communication; having 85% of MDT members indicate having a better understanding of each agency’s roles and responsibilities and reporting better communication and cooperation between agencies; and showing on pre and post tests that 85% of MDT members will gain a better understanding of APS.
10. Advocates for Basic Legal Equality(Toledo, OH) Advocates for Basic Legal Equality serves residents in Lucas County in Northwestern Ohio. Proposed project activities include creating a multi-disciplinary network of representatives from agencies and organizations providing elder justice services to seniors in Toledo and Lucas County, OH; developing a strategic planning process to address elder abuse and neglect; collaborating on individual cases to increase the outcomes for 10 older adults during the grant period; and identifying one systemic issue to address through community advocacy and other efforts.
11. Skagit Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services (Mount Vernon, WA) Skagit Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services serves Skagit County, a primarily rural, agricultural community in the northwest Puget Sound region of Washington State with a highly diverse population of elderly including Latinos and Native Americans. Activities they foresee for their new elder abuse prevention coalition include sponsoring local/regional training conferences for law enforcement and social service providers; recruiting at least 20 agencies to send representatives to coalition meetings; sponsoring a community outreach and education event; sponsoring a training for law enforcement and social service agencies; and developing a task force to seek sustainable funding for a Geriatric Peer Counseling Program.
12. Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe (Hayward, WI) Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Tribe is one of six bands of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, and numbers about 7,000 people. About 50% of the tribe live on or near the reservation, and 18% are aged 55 and older. Proposed project activities include addressing tribal law and implementation of a restorative justice system that reflects traditional tribal law; presenting an educational program within the local school system, at the Boys and Girls Club, and within tribal offices; seeking endorsement of the new coalition’s Strategic Plan by the LCO Elders Association and Tribal Governing Board; and completion of a plan to create and maintain a healthy community for LCO elders.

¹ The Elder Justice Community Collaborations project is administered by the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse for the National Center on Elder Abuse and is supported in part by a grant (No. 90AM3145) from the Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Therefore, points of view or opinions do not necessarily represent official Administration on Aging policy.