NYC Elder Abuse Center Summary
Weill Cornell Medical College's Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology (WCMC-DGG) has spearheaded a fund raising effort for the NYC Elder Abuse Center. As of June 2009, the Center has received grants from the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation and the FJC, A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds to develop Phase One of the Center's operations.
The Elder Abuse Center will be decentralized and without walls, rather than a bricks and mortar structure, leveraging resources from city-wide stakeholders. The Center will most immediately address the need for a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) of experts to review and create solutions for the growing number of complex cases of elder abuse in New York City. The MDT will begin work in Brooklyn and, if successful, be instituted in other boroughs. As it matures and grows, the Center will also serve a larger role, as a training ground and central resource for technical assistance, innovative best practices, multidisciplinary training, research, and policy development in New York City.
Cases of elder abuse and neglect are complex, requiring thoughtful and innovative solutions. Evidence exists that a collaborative response improves the effectiveness of agency responses and efficiently utilizes scarce resources. Collaborating can also lead to original research suggestions and initiatives. The proposed project follows a collaborative model, calling upon the expertise of a Steering Committee of elder-serving organizations and an Executive Council of representatives from those organizations to provide their expertise. In addition to WCMC-DGG, key partners for the first phase of development will include NYC APS, JASA, the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of NY, Kings County's DA's Office, NYC Department for the Aging, and the Weinberg Center for Prevention, Intervention and Research in Elder Abuse. Planning for the Elder Abuse Center began in April 2008, with a generous grant from the Samuels Foundation and an anonymous donor. During this process, an Advisory Council conducted extensive research to determine the Center's priorities, identify stakeholders' interests and needs and to create a structure for the Center. The design we are proposing seeks to replicate the Archstone Foundation's initiatives in California, while incorporating elements responsive to the unique and diverse complexities of NYC. (For results of the concept mapping process utilized to help determine Center priorities, click here.)
The overarching Phase One goal is to prevent elder mistreatment through the development of a decentralized Center which would effectively and efficiently utilize existing elder services to improve case assessments and interventions. The Center's activities will be divided into two "cores": An Administrative Core, which oversees the Center's operations, and a Clinical Services and Education Core focused on the provision of direct services. The Cores have the following objectives: 1) Pilot a multidisciplinary case collaboration team in Brooklyn, to be replicated in other boroughs, if successful; 2) develop and implement a case consultation approach for assessing and treating the extensive medical and mental health needs of victims; 3) track cases to analyze the utilization of services, gaps in services and staff capacity to ensure quality services and plan for sustainability and future services; and 4) plan for Phase Two of the Center's operations.
For more information about this project, contact Risa Breckman at rbreckm@med.cornell.edu