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Tuesday, July 31, 2018

ACCORD Corporation part of grant recipients to combat elder abuse

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced $8.4 million in state and federal funding to improve and expand services for vulnerable adults at risk of abuse, neglect or financial exploitation. Developed by the state Office of Victim Services and state Office for the Aging, the Elder Abuse Interventions and Enhanced Multidisciplinary Teams (E-MDT) Initiative is the first of its kind in the nation. The initiative will fund and support 23 existing multidisciplinary teams currently targeting elder abuse and establish additional teams with the goal of serving every county in the state by the fall of 2020.
Among the funding recipients - ACCORD Corporation: Allegany County and Center for Elder Law and Justice: Erie Hub, which supports teams in that county and Cattaraugus and Niagara counties.
Over the next three years, the Office of Victim Services will provide $2 million in federal funding annually and the Office for the Aging will provide another $500,000 in state funding annually to establish the E-MDT Initiative. These teams consist of professionals from aging services, adult protective, health care, financial services, criminal justice, victim assistance, mental health and other disciplines to coordinate investigations and develop interventions to stop or prevent elder abuse. The teams—first piloted in the state in 2012—assist adults who are 60 or older and at risk for harm or exploitation due to physical limitations, cognitive impairment or dementia, and social isolation.
The Office for the Aging is partnering with Lifespan, which is based in Monroe County, and Weill Cornell Medicine's NYC Elder Abuse Center to manage, monitor, and distribute the funding this year through Sept. 30, 2020. The funding will sustain and expand existing enhanced multidisciplinary teams and create additional teams to ensure that every county in the state is represented, as well as provide technical assistance and training; collect data; and provide teams with forensic accounting, geriatric psychiatry services and community legal services, depending on the needs of cases they are handling.