Elder Abuse Toolkit for the Courts

The Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Program: National Initiatives, administered by the Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Assistance, furthers the Department's mission by assisting state and local jurisdictions in improving the criminal justice system and assisting communities in preventing drug abuse and crime. In FY 2008, the program will focus on funding local, regional, and national efforts within five major categories: 1) preventing crime and drug abuse; 2) enhancing local law enforcement; 3) enhancing local courts; 4) enhancing local corrections and offender reentry; and 5) facilitating justice information sharing.

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) will implement the Elder Abuse Toolkit for the Courts Project under category 2: enhancing local courts. NCSC will create and distribute an elder abuse toolkit for courts. The toolkit will be designed to increase awareness and improve court responses to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. This will be accomplished by convening a group of experts, developing a benchcard, creating a coordination guide, identifying model practices, compiling resources, creating a data collection guide, and publishing and distributing the toolkit nationwide. The deliverables, which will be developed with consensus from members of an advisory committee, will be made available at national judicial and court management conferences and online at NCSC's website.

CA/NCF