Ten MN service providers to share $2.9M to support people with disabilities

Minnesota Department of Human Services (MN DHS)(Minnesota Department of Human Services)

By Miranda Johnson 

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A new round of state grants will go forward over the next two years across Minnesota to support people with disabilities.

According to Minnesota Department of Human Services, ten service providers will share approximately $2.9 million to support people with disabilities to live and engage with others in their communities and access better employment opportunities.

The grants are part of the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ innovation grant program for people with disabilities.

“These providers are finding new ways to support full and connected lives for Minnesotans with disabilities,” Commissioner Jodi Harpstead said. “The grants recognize efforts to strengthen the direct care workforce and improve access to culturally and linguistically responsive services.”

Grantees are listed below:

• Korean Service Center - Seniors Better Connected, serving Duluth, St. Cloud, Mankato and Rochester, $202,000. Increasing the use of Korean language mobile video conference apps, and providing live support will help address social isolation due to language barriers among Korean older adults. The Korean Service Center also works to reduce barriers and increase access to community resources, including mental health resources.
• Touchstone Mental Health - Housing Innovations program, serving Hennepin County, $257,000. People living with a mental illness who have experienced homelessness will receive help securing integrated housing of their choice. During the grant period, on-site services will offer help navigating the process for accessing integrated community supports.
• Autism Society of Minnesota - Somali Autism Partnership, serving the Twin Cities, Rochester and St. Cloud, $386,000. The Autism Society of Minnesota and the Somali Parents Autism Network will work together to reach Somali parents of children and young adults who have autism, offering culturally sensitive education and advocacy.
• Residential Services of Northeastern MN, Inc. - Employee Resource Project, serving St. Louis, Carlton, Pine, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Isanti and Chisago counties, $207,000. A new employee resource program will connect direct care employees with resources to address their needs. An employee resource specialist will develop and implement the program. The goal is to decrease turnover and improve employee satisfaction by helping employees address areas of instability in their lives that may interfere with work.
• Minnesota First Community Solutions - Workforce Solutions, statewide, $358,000. Direct support workers will receive more training and other resources to improve their job satisfaction, with a focus on Hmong, Native American and Somali workers. Activities will include peer mentoring, culturally specific training, tools that let the people receiving services exercise oversight of their services, and a direct service worker retention program.
• ARRM – Technology Training, statewide, $305,000. A coordinated training program will help people with disabilities and their families use supportive and assistive technology to support their health care, social and employment goals. Training will be available for the people using the services, their families, vendors, case managers and providers.
• Dakota County – Wheelchair Accessible Van (WAV) Driver Recruitment, serving Dakota County and the Twin Cities metro area, $134,000. The project will offer incentives for Twin Cities wheelchair-accessible van drivers to drive for Lyft, providing rides and offering an equitable on-demand transport option for people using mobility devices.
• Autism Society of Minnesota – Towards Inclusion, serving the Twin Cities, $214,000. The Autism Society of Minnesota and the Multicultural Autism Action Network will work together to continue providing culturally appropriate support, empowerment and training to families of children with disabilities through peer-to-peer networks. They will also continue working with providers on the unique challenges serving individuals with disabilities and their families in multicultural communities, while working with autistic adults act as their own advocates to address views of disability in multicultural communities.
• Rise Inc. – Supported Decision-Making, statewide, $207,000. The Deaf-Centered Supported Decision-Making and Self-Advocacy Program will help participants move toward competitive, integrated employment. Participants and their guardians will work with planning specialists in an experiential, person-centered process to develop employment goals, identify obstacles and create plans.
• The Arc Minnesota – Individualized Grant Program, statewide, $600,000. Individualized grants will offer $100 to $2,000 for people with disabilities across Minnesota to move toward personal employment and inclusive housing goals. The Arc will expand outreach and engagement of diverse populations, with a focus on individuals whose intersecting identities create additional barriers to employment and inclusive housing of their own.

The Department of Human Services distributes innovation grants in three groupings. The current grants are part of the large grant program, which awards grants of up to $500,000. The small grant program awards $5,000 to $50,000 a year to people and organizations working with Minnesotans with disabilities. The micro-grant program, administered by The Arc Minnesota, offers direct individualized grants to help people with disabilities achieve personal goals in employment, housing and community integration.

More information about innovation grants can be found here.

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Ten MN service providers to share $2.9M to support people with disabilities

$375,000 grant aims to keep elderly residents safe in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office has unveiled new funding to help keep seniors safe.

A new $375,000 grant aims to help those who are most vulnerable in the city.

The money will help hire a forensic accountant who will investigate elder financial exploitation.

"It gives me great joy to announce the expansion of the DAO's Elder Justice Unit," said DAO First Assistant Carolyn Temin, who has been instrumental in spearheading the creation of the PEAMDT. "As a result of this grant, we are now able to expand the services available to elder victims of crime."

Officials say the funds will also give a boost to medical and other advocacy groups to teach seniors how these crimes work and how they can spot the schemes.

According to the Action News Data Journalism team, there were 1,938 cases of elder financial exploitation reported from 2014 to 2022 in Philadelphia.

And there is a concern that many of these elder financial scams or thefts go under-reported.

To report suspected elder financial exploitation to the Philadelphia Elder Abuse Multidisciplinary Team (PEAMDT), call the task force's hotline at 215-686-5710.

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$375,000 grant aims to keep elderly residents safe in Philadelphia

Grant Provides New Assistance for Elderly, Disabled Adult Abuse Victims

by Nayeli Pineda

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded $1.9 million to aid disabled adults and elderly persons who are victims of abuse.

The Department of Human Resources will use the grant to provide in-home or temporary placement support for victims who are put through acts of abuse, neglect and exploitation. This financial assistance will help create a safe environment for the elderly and disabled adult victims by providing in-home care, enabling them to remain in their homes once the perpetrators have been removed. Further, the funds will also be used in relocating victims to assisted living facilities or nursing homes.

Each measure is temporary until more stable options are discovered.

“No one should ever be subject to abuse of any kind, and it is reprehensible that it should happen to someone who may not have the physical or mental capabilities to resist or be aware of those acts,” Gov. Ivey said. “This grant will assure elderly and disabled adults who are victims of physical and mental abuse are taken out of harm’s way and receive needed care.”

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs administered the grant through funds made available by the United States Department of Justice. ADECA operates an array of programs meant to support law enforcement, water resource management, victims, recreation, economic development and energy conservation.

“ADECA is pleased to join with Gov. Ivey and the Alabama Department of Human Resources to provide solutions for these victims,” said ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell on the grant.

To report any abuse, neglect or exploitation of elderly or disabled victims, please contact the Department of Human Recourses’ Adult Protective Services Division at 334-242-1350.

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Grant Provides New Assistance for Elderly, Disabled Adult Abuse Victims

Gov. Ivey awards $1.9 million to aid elderly and disabled abuse victims

Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded $1.9 million to assist elderly and disabled adults who are victims of abuse.

The grant to the state Department of Human Resources will provide in-home or temporary placement for elderly and disabled victims who are subjected to abuse, neglect and exploitation.

“No one should ever be subject to abuse of any kind, and it is reprehensible that it should happen to someone who may not have the physical or mental capabilities to resist or be aware of those acts,” Gov. Ivey said. “This grant will assure elderly and disabled adults who are victims of physical and mental abuse are taken out of harm’s way and receive needed care.”

The grant will enable the department’s Adult Protective Services Division to provide several preventative options for victims who are suffering from abuse. The funds will help create safe surroundings for elderly and disabled adults either by providing in-home care and supervision to enable victims to remain in their homes after offenders have been removed or relocating the victims to nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Both measures are temporary until more permanent solutions are found.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available by the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Abuse of the elderly or disabled can take many forms from neglect to verbal or physical abuse and needs to be reported when it is suspected,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. “ADECA is pleased to join with Gov. Ivey and the Alabama Department of Human Resources to provide solutions for these victims.”

ADECA administers a wide range of programs that support law enforcement, victim programs, economic development, water resource management, energy conservation and recreation.

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Gov. Ivey awards $1.9 million to aid elderly and disabled abuse victims

More than $780,000 for public safety agencies in fight against COVID

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – More than $780,000 in federal funding has been awarded to Kentucky public safety agencies and offices to help protect Kentuckians, including seniors, against scams and fraud and to respond to price gouging during the fight against the coronavirus.

Gov. Andy Beshear and the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet announced the U.S. Department of Justices Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program (CESF) awarded the grant funding to the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy (DPA).

Attorney Generals Office of Consumer Protection Enforcement Unit
In his former role as Attorney General, Beshear worked to protect Kentuckians against fraud and scams. He has continued those efforts as Governor. Beginning with the first COVID-19 case in Kentucky in early March, Beshear signed an executive order prohibiting price gouging, which he has continued to renew during the pandemic.

To bolster anti-price gouging efforts, the Governor said the Attorney Generals Office of Consumer Protection Enforcement Unit has been awarded $540,323to hire one staff attorney, one paralegal and one investigator to address rampant COVID-related consumer fraud, scams and price-gouging complaints.

Funds also will be used to develop a mobile application for consumers to report price gouging, scams or other fraudulent activity related to the coronavirus pandemic.

In the application, the Office of the Attorney General wrote that after the Governor issued an Executive Order on March 7, 2020, to protect Kentuckians from price gouging, the office began receiving many price-gouging complaints, which grew exponentially over the course of the coronavirus emergency and by August, the office had received more than 4,624. The Governor said these funds should help the office protect more Kentuckians from price gouging and seek justice for those already harmed.

Monday, the Governor published a Charitable Giving Guide that advises Kentuckians how to verify legitimate charities and avoid charity scams, which can increase during the Christmas season and as the tax year draws to an end.

The Governor said that Kentuckians already are facing the greatest challenge of our generation with COVID-19, and that the guidehelps Kentuckians ensure their hard-earned dollars are used to help their neighbors and are not stolen by scammers. To read more click here.

Beshear said with the grant, his administration is supporting the Office of the Attorney General in doing more to stop scams through the grant program.

The Attorney Generals Office of Senior Protection has been awarded $144,136 to hire a dedicated investigator to address a dramatic expansion in financial fraud and exploitation targeting Kentuckys senior population in the wake of COVID-19. In addition, the office will launch a targeted education and awareness campaign, the Senior Justice Initiative, to combat COVID-19 fraud targeting seniors.

As part of the application, the Office of the Attorney General indicated that they have seen an alarming increase in the number of senior victims and amount of financial fraud in Kentucky during COVID-19.

The office said in July, they saw a 2,354% increase in financial fraud reported to the Office of Senior Protection and those who fell victim to financial exploitation and fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic have overwhelmingly been Kentuckians who are ages 60 or older.

Increases in online shopping and online banking scams during COVID-19, combined with the effects of social isolation and loneliness created by the pandemic have added to the ability of scammers to successfully lure victims into these scams.

Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy
The Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy (DPA) has been awarded $102,270 to launch a pilot project in Hardin County to address adverse effects of COVID-19 on indigent clients.

Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Mary Noble said COVID-19 has affected indigent clients access to the court system and to legal counsel with some in-person services temporarily halted to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

This grant funding is instrumental as we work to adjust to a new normal within the court system and how legal services are being provided electronically. DPAs pilot program could reinvent the criminal legal system for the long-term and propel our state forward as we work to win against this pandemic, said Noble.

DPA said the funds will be used to implement a pilot project to address systemic pandemic-created constitutional barriers that have arisen due to the global coronavirus outbreak. Chief Regional Circuit Judge Kelly Mark Easton and Hardin County Jailer Josh Lindblom both were consulted prior to the submission of the grant funds request. Both agree with the need for enhanced technology in all courtrooms in the county to protect the health and constitutional rights of justice-involved persons and are in support of the pilot project.

This project will:

• Identify constitutional issues related to access to courts and counsel during the pandemic;
• Enhance access to courts through electronic means, both for in-custody and out-of-custody clients; and
• Create guidelines and recommendations for short-term and long-term solutions that must be implemented to better prepare the criminal legal system moving forward.

For additional information and to apply for CESF grant funding visit theJustice and Public Safety Cabinets website.

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More than $780,000 for public safety agencies in fight against COVID

Gov. Ivey awards $2.1 million to aid elderly and disabled abuse victims

Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded $2.1 million to the state Department of Human Resources to assist elderly and disabled adults who have been abused.

The grant will enable the department’s Adult Protective Services Division to provide several preventative options for victims who are suffering from abuse.

“No one should ever have to be the victim of abuse, and those who have unfortunately suffered from abuse need ready access to professional assistance,” Gov. Ivey said. “This grant will ensure assistance for those elderly and disabled adults who are victims of physical and mental abuse.”

The funds will help create safe surroundings for elderly and disabled adults either by providing in-home care and supervision to enable victims to remain in their homes after offenders have been removed or relocating the victims to nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Both measures are temporary until more permanent solutions are found.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available by the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Gov. Ivey is both compassionate and determined when it comes to preventing the exploitation and abuse of the elderly or disabled,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. “ADECA is pleased to join with Gov. Ivey and the Alabama Department of Resources to provide solutions to help these victims.”

ADECA administers a wide range of programs that support law enforcement, victim programs, economic development, water resource management, energy conservation and recreation.

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Gov. Ivey awards $2.1 million to aid elderly and disabled abuse victims

LifeTime Resources Receives Grant for Volunteer Guardianship Program

Dearborn County Hospital

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – Thanks to a monetary donation by Dearborn County Hospital and the support of Circuit Court Judge James Humphrey, LifeTime Resources was recently awarded a grant to better assist seniors and incapacitated adults in Dearborn County.

Monies derived from the $50,000 Volunteer Advocates for Seniors or Incapacitated Adults (VASIA) grant, awarded by the Indiana Supreme Court, will be combined with Dearborn County Hospital’s donation of $12,500 and additional funding to help maintain and operate a volunteer guardianship program.

As a requirement to receive a VASIA grant, applicant programs must have a commitment from one or more entities in their service area to provide matching funds.

Designed to address temporary and/or emergency guardianship needs, the program, operated by Sentry Services and administered by LifeTime Resources, will serve as a guardian/representative payee for seniors or incapacitated adults whose family and/or friends are either unable or unwilling to assume the responsibility. The intent of the program is to assure that the rights and interests of all seniors and incapacitated adults are protected under the full extent of the law.

The VASIA grant will also allow for the program to expand its scope of services for seniors and incapacitated adults through the use of volunteers. The program will utilize volunteers to provide various forms of assistance such as calling and/or visiting the individual; escorting them to healthcare appointments; helping them apply for benefits; and other appropriate activities or duties.

For more information on the program and its services and requirements, please contact Sentry Services at LifeTime Resources by calling (812) 432-6220.

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LifeTime Resources Receives Grant for Volunteer Guardianship Program

Alabama Governor Awards Grant to Assist Elderly, Disabled Abuse Victims

Gov. Robert Bentley has awarded a $1.9 million grant to provide care services for elderly and disabled victims of abuse, neglect or exploitation.

The Alabama Department of Human Resources is using the funds to assist its Adult Protective Services program throughout the state. The program provides short-term in-home care and supervision, homemaking and sitter services for elderly and disabled adults who remain in their own homes after an abusive caregiver has been removed.

“Elderly and disabled victims who cannot look after themselves deserve to have help and to be cared for in their time of need,” Bentley said. “I am pleased to help DHR’s efforts to provide comfort and much-needed assistance to those victims who need it most.”

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Governor Awards Grant to Assist Elderly, Disabled Abuse Victims

Maja Daniels Wins First Photographic Grant on Alzheimer’s

Rethinking Alzheimer's behind one closed door

Swedish photographer Maja Daniels has won the first Bob and Diane Fund grant, a photographic grant dedicated to visual storytelling about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Selected from 83 entries, Daniels won for her long-term project Into Oblivion, which documents life inside one of France’s geriatric hospitals. There, patients with Alzheimer’s are confined within a particular ward, with a locked door separating the occupants from the rest of the hospital.

Daniels photographed that door, creating tender images that show the vulnerabilities of Alzheimer’s sufferers while highlighting society’s tendency to cast away its elders. “It is our very own fear, and negative connotations of ageing and dying, that makes us comply with these societal structures,” says the photographer. “Whilst being busy living an active, productive life we are perhaps relieved on a day-to-day basis by the possibility to be able to turn a blind eye to what is so conveniently hidden away from us by the geriatric institutions and care homes.”

With her images, Daniels hopes to force a rethink of “our institutionalized, modern way of living” and to question certain care policies, “such as the use of confinement as an aspect of care, by seeing the effects that can have on somebody’s life.”

For the judges – Sarah Leen of National Geographic, MaryAnne Golon of the Washington Post, and Getty Images’ Chip Somodevilla – Daniel’s images were deceptively simple, but “each picture screamed,” says Somodevilla.

“The idea of coming back to that door is brilliant,” adds Leen. “I’m moved by it.”

The grant was created in the memory of Bob and Diane Martin, the parents of Gina Martin, a National Geographic Creative employee who has spent the last five years raising awareness about Alzheimer’s impact on families. “To see this fund develop from an idea to actually reviewing so many beautiful and personal projects from all over the world was a special and emotional day for me,” says Martin. “The work and proposals brought me back to what my family went through and what millions of families are going through today.”

Daniels plans to use the $5,000 grant to finance the publication of Into Oblivion, but more importantly, she says, “it will help me pursue the difficult conversation that I think we need to have about how we conceive and care for people with Alzheimer’s disease.”

Maja Daniels is a Swedish photographer based in London.

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Maja Daniels Wins First Photographic Grant on Alzheimer’s

$1 Million ACL Grant to Create a New National Center on Law and Elder Rights

ACL’s Administration on Aging announced the release of $1,050,000 to the nationally-recognized senior advocacy organization Justice in Aging to create a new National Center on Law and Elder Rights (NCLER). The NCLER will support ACL’s ongoing efforts to protect the rights, financial security, and independence of older adults.

The Center will provide tools to help law and aging professionals serve older clients and consumers effectively and serve as an easy single point of entry to a comprehensive system of legal resource support. NCLER attorneys will apply their wide range of knowledge and expertise to enhance state and local legal service delivery efforts to enable elders most in need to assert and protect their essential rights.

“By supporting the dedicated professionals in the legal and aging services networks, the National Center on Law and Elder Rights helps make legal assistance available to seniors who need it,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Aging Edwin Walker. “Helping older adults protect their rights and preserve their independence is at the core of our mission at the Administration for Community Living, and we look forward to working with Justice in Aging on this crucial initiative.”

The NCLER will provide tools and resources including a strategic combination of case consultation, legal training, and technical assistance in order to address a broad range of priority legal and systems development issues. The comprehensive resources developed by the NCLER will be made widely available to aging and disability, legal, and elder rights networks across the country, including legal assistance providers, Legal Assistance Developers, LTC Ombudsmen, Adult Protective Services, State Units on Aging, Area Agencies on Aging, and Aging and Disability Resource Centers, Senior Legal Helplines, and others involved in protecting the essential legal rights of older persons. 

The new NCLER offers an improved approach to enhancing the ability of legal and aging service providers and advocates to help older persons maintain their independence, live in their homes and communities, make their own decisions, and maintain their financial security.

City of Knoxville receives grant to combat elder abuse

KNOXVILLE (WATE) – The city of Knoxville has received a $350,000 grant to combat elder abuse in the community.

In 2015, there were 483 investigations involving adult protective services in Knox County. Among those investigations, 105 allegations of emotional abuse, 78 allegations of physical abuse, 136 allegations of financial exploitation, 111 allegations of elder neglect and 13 allegations of sexual abuse were reported.

“I think this is an issue that not a lot of people realize is a problem in their community but is something that when people find out more about they feel engaged, passionate. They want to do something to help seniors in their community,” Joseph Winberry, elder abuse community outreach program manager, said.

Though elder abuse remains an on-going issue in Knoxville and around the country, city leaders predict an even greater number of crimes against the elderly as more baby boomers enter retirement. Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch said it’s an issue that affects one of the community’s most vulnerable populations.

“Unfortunately, you have caretakers in the home that are family and they will take advantage and that’s probably the most heartbreaking, because you want to trust your family,” Rausch said.

While local law enforcement and social services respond to hundreds of elder abuse calls every year, the number of cases are believed to be much higher, pointing to data that shows only one in every 20 elder abuse crimes is reported.

“The problem is real and it is vital that all of us who serve the public and interact with elderly citizens know how to recognize the signs of abuse and what resources are available,” Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero said.

Rausch said the majority of elder abuse crimes involve domestic abuse, financial exploitation and scams. The federal grant will fund the training of 877 law enforcement officers, with the Knoxville Police Department and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, the education of professional care takers, and services for victims of abuse.

Organizers said it’s a much needed step to ending what they call an epidemic and an opportunity for Knoxville to be a leader in the fight against elder abuse.

“I know that if my grandmother was in need or an older adult that I cared about needed that support, I would hope that someone would do that for them, so I’m thankful to be able to do that in Knox County,” Winberry said.

Source:
City of Knoxville receives grant to combat elder abuse

ACL Awards $1.2 Million in Grants to Increase Older American's Access to Legal Services

The Administration for Community Living recently announced grant awards totaling over $1.2 million to help older adults at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation gain access to quality legal services.

The Model Approaches to Statewide Legal Assistance Systems (Model Approaches) demonstration grants are designed to help states expand and improve the capacity of their legal service delivery networks to effectively respond to priority legal issues impacting seniors in the most social or economic need. The awards will become effective on August 1, 2016 and will provide 8 states with funding in the amount of $1,244,154.

Two Phase I awards, averaging $86,577, will be made to State Units on Aging in Tennessee and Wisconsin. The Phase I grantees will work to develop statewide legal service delivery systems that coordinate efforts of senior legal helplines, pro-bono attorneys, law school clinics, self-help sites, and Older Americans Act-funded legal services providers to ensure maximum impact from limited resources. The target populations are underserved seniors, with particular emphasis upon low-income, minority, rural, homebound, Native American, and limited-English speaking older adults.

*The State of Tennessee will use the funding to improve access to, and the quality of, legal services for vulnerable older Tennesseans. The state seeks to establish a senior legal helpline (as opposed to the existing general legal helpline); increasing by 25% the number of individuals who indicate they were appropriately referred to and served by the legal assistance system; and increasing by 15% the number of elders in the state who make use of self-help resources.

*The State of Wisconsin, which offers a unique service delivery system in its Elder Benefits Specialist program, will work in conjunction with key stakeholders to expand community partnerships; encourage the adoption of new technology to connect older adults with legal assistance; and leverage its existing statewide data collection system to measure systemic improvements.

Six states received Model Approaches Phase II grants to build upon the enhancements in service delivery capacity achieved in Phase I. The Phase II awards of $178,500 each will be made to State Units on Aging in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia. The grantees will conduct legal systems capacity assessments, promote the use of senior legal helplines and other low-cost mechanisms, develop legal service standards and data collection systems, and enhance state legal and aging service delivery systems’ responses to elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. Project examples include:

*The State of Connecticut will fund a Senior Legal Helpline that will use GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping to locate hard- to-reach seniors facing legal problems and train case managers serving homebound and isolated seniors to fight financial abuse.

*The State of Florida will create a uniform case management system designed to identify and prioritize legal issues related to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. In addition, the project will feature a Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders (WINGS) at the state court level to explore remedies to guardianship abuse and advance supported decision-making models.

*The State of Massachusetts will form four regional legal and aging network partnerships to address elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation. The project will feature the recruitment and training of volunteer attorneys and law students to conduct law clinics at courthouses throughout the state with the goal of addressing priority legal issues impacting seniors most in need.

*The State of Pennsylvania will expand the SeniorLAW HelpLine to provide targeted advocacy and assistance for elder abuse victims in all counties. In addition, the project will feature designated “Elder Abuse Attorney” positions within III-B legal provider offices.

*The State of Vermont will create greater cohesion among the State Unit on Aging, Adult Protective Services, and the Long Term Care Ombudsman. In addition, the project will feature a Senior Legal Helpline designed to handle legal issues related to elder abuse. and the state will also participate in a supported decision-making task force involving legal and aging/disability partners.

*The State of Virginia will integrate a Senior Legal Helpline and at least two Title III-B legal providers into the state’s Aging and Disability Resource Center network to identify and respond to priority legal issues including elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. The project will feature formalized memorandums of agreement between project partners, cross-training on priority legal issues, development of legal assistance screening tools, and joint targeting and outreach activities.

Source:
ACL Awards $1.2 Million in Grants to Increase Older American's Access to Legal Services

Tuolumne Pursuing $1 Million Elder Abuse Grant

Sonora, CA — The Tuolumne County district attorney is set to plead a case for major funding to combat a concerning rise in elder abuse.

The board of supervisors gave its unanimous approval Tuesday for District Attorney Laura Krieg to seek a five-year grant opportunity for victim advocacy and outreach to elder abuse victims. Krieg outlines that her grant proposal application is requesting $218,000 a year; $175,000 of which would come through a federal Victims of Crime Act grant. While it will require a local match of approximately $41,000 a year, she states, “We are confident that we can pull savings out of our budget to match that, because that is a drop in the bucket, compared to what we could offer the community with a grant of that size. With fingers crossed, she anticipates that grant award announcements will come within the next eight weeks.

Krieg says her office became aware of several competitive grants available through the California Office of Emergency Services (CAl OES) Criminal Justice/Emergency Management — Victim Services Branch that were announced last December. Deciding to target opportunities for unserved/underserved victim advocacy and outreach, Krieg says, staff pulled statistics of active cases dating back to 2013, and subsequently determined that the county saw a 59 percent rise in elder abuse prosecutions over the past three years.

“We certainly have an aging population in Tuolumne County…so we want to make sure that, rather than just focusing on investigation and prosecution, we have some funds and resources available to do more outreach and education — because we want to make sure that the first thing we are focusing on is prevention,” Krieg explains. She adds, “The figures are shocking but I am confident there is much more out there that we do not know about.”

The silver lining behind the increase in elder abuse cases, according to Krieg, is that local law enforcement and her staff are doing an excellent job following up on reported incidents. What concerns her the most, she shares, is how to effectively put a stop to these crimes. “It is one thing to investigate and successfully prosecute these cases,” as Krieg points out. “It is another thing to get out into the community and try to do community education, especially with our elderly community about how to be aware of some of the abuse that is going on in society — and when we talk about abuse, it is more than physical abuse. A lot of it comes in the area of financial abuse.”

If the county is chosen as a grant recipient, Krieg says, plans are to hire a full-time victim advocate to specialize in elder abuse representation, education, prevention as well as an assistant for casework and filing support. Currently, Krieg’s office has three advocates on staff, one of them a supervisor, which, last year alone, served over 700 crime victims overall.

The grant funding would further enable an Elder Abuse Task Force and more effective collaborations between agencies, such as with human services, to do cross-referrals, investigate cases and conduct preventative outreach as a group, Krieg states. She adds that expanded services would include providing transportation for victims, so they are able to effectively report the crimes and make their court dates; a problem in rural counties, like Tuolumne. Krieg says another major reason why cases locally go unreported is because victims are not mobile.

Full Article & Source:
Tuolumne Pursuing $1 Million Elder Abuse Grant

Justice Department and the Corporation for National and Community Service Expand Their Partnership to Provide Legal Aid to Victims of Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Today, the Department of Justice, through its Elder Justice Initiative and its Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency which administers AmeriCorps and other national service programs, are announcing Elder Justice AmeriCorps, a new grant program to provide legal assistance and support services to victims of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation and to promote pro bono capacity building in the field.  This effort will expand a partnership between the two agencies, which includes justice AmeriCorps, a legal aid program launched in 2014 by the Department of Justice and CNCS to serve vulnerable populations.

“The Department of Justice is committed to continuing to investigate and prosecute those who prey on our nation’s elders and to support and empower victims through programs like Elder Justice AmeriCorps,” said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.  “As a prosecutor I have seen firsthand the devastating emotional, financial and physical consequences of elder abuse and exploitation.  Too often victims need legal assistance to help them address multiple issues, such as safe housing and medical care, but have trouble getting help at all, much less through one, comprehensive legal service provider.  This innovative program will offer the holistic delivery of comprehensive legal services for elder abuse victims.”

“We are very pleased to be expanding our partnership with the Department of Justice to protect vulnerable populations,” said CEO Wendy Spencer of the Corporation for National and Community Service.  “By harnessing the power of national service and encouraging a new generation of lawyers to assist victims of elder abuse and financial exploitation, we will raise awareness of and combat problems affecting millions of Americans each year.”

The Elder Justice AmeriCorps program, which is intended to complement existing Office for Victims of Crime grants to support the development of legal assistance networks providing comprehensive, pro bono legal services for victims of crime, will consist of a single grant to an intermediary organization that will support approximately 60 full-time AmeriCorps positions for each year of the two-year program.  Interested applicants can review the Notice of Funding Opportunity at http://www.nationalservice.gov/build-your-capacity/grants/funding-opportunities/2016/americorps-state-and-national-grants-fy-2016#FGSAAA.

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The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages millions of Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund and other programs and leads President's national call to service initiative, United We Serve.  For more information, visit nationalservice.gov.

The Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative supports the Department’s law enforcement efforts against nursing homes and other long-term care providers that provide grossly substandard care to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and coordinates the department’s elder justice policy and programmatic efforts.  For example, in September 2014, the Elder Justice Initiative launched the Elder Justice website, a resource for victims of elder abuse and financial exploitation and their families; practitioners who serve them; law enforcement agencies and prosecutors; and researchers seeking to understand and address this silent epidemic.

The Office for Victims of Crime administers the Crime Victims Fund.  OVC channels funding for victim compensation and assistance throughout the United States, raises awareness about victims’ issues, promotes compliance with victims’ rights laws, supports innovative programming for crime victims, including federal crime victims and provides training, technical assistance and  resources to practitioners who work with crime victims. 

15-1203

Office of the Attorney General

Updated September 30, 2015

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Justice Department and the Corporation for National and Community Service Expand Their Partnership to Provide Legal Aid to Victims of Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation

Indiana: Grant Will Help Guardianship Program Stay Alive

Reid Hospital officials saw a need in the community this week and filled it.

Through the hospital's Reid Community Benefit Grant Program, officials donated $48,500 to Achieva Resources for its Adult Guardianship Program.

The money, said Achieva director Dan Stewart, will be used to help the program hire a part-time driver, to send three staff members to guardianship certification training, to update computer equipment and to develop a guardianship resource library.

Mostly, it will help keep the program alive.

"You don't know what this money means to us," Stewart told Reid officials during a ceremony Thursday at Achieva. "We need it to survive."

Stewart said his agency has identified 650 people living in Wayne County who need guardianship services for health care and assistance with their finances.

"Achieva has three goals for our program," he said. "We want all of the individuals in our guardianship program to live in a safe place, receive quality health care and support, and most of all, to be happy."

The guardianship program is built on grants, including one from the Indiana Supreme Court for $38,500 that requires support from county government for the three counties it serves.

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Grant Will Help Guardianship Program Stay Alive