10 Tips for Creating an Elder Justice Center

10 Tips for Creating an Elder Justice Center The “Do”s & “Don’t”s Michael L. Bridenback Court Administrator 13 th Judicial Circuit – Tampa, FL

What is an Elder Justice Center? The Elder Justice Center is a designated facility for elders offering public education, referrals, victim advocacy, and case management services. It is elder friendly and easily accessible to seniors involved in legal proceedings.

Tip 1: Do cultivate judicial leadership. Take an active role in increasing judicial awareness of issues relating to elders and the courts. Take the time to develop some key proponents.

Tip 2: Don’t go it alone. Form a task force comprised of the key stakeholders from your community. Take a look at existing services and programs, access issues, guardianship & mental health concerns, and other areas – to determine where the needs of the elderly are and aren’t being met.

Tip 3: Do be sure to define your mission. What components should your Elder Justice Center have? Case management? Victim assistance? Information & referral? Does your community support a shift in the role of your court from an objective arbitrator to a community leader on elder issues?

Tip 4: Don’t overlook existing resources, while pursuing supplemental funding. Take a look at existing court staff, including case managers and technology experts. Pursuing collaborative efforts with courtrelated entities, such as clerk’s and prosecutors, may improve your chances to obtain grant funding.

Tip 5: Do provide a designated area. Have one place where elders can go for assistance regarding court-related matters. Give them a safe place to explain their problems and get the information they need.

Tip 6: Don’t expect success without initiating educational efforts at multiple levels. From helping judges to be able to identify elder abuse and properly respond, to advising other agencies as to the services offered, and to educating the elderly on a variety of topics which may help keep them from becoming a victim, education must be a key component of your Elder Justice Center.

Tip 7: Do include a victim assistance component. This is what separates an Elder Justice Center from pure court case management or pure information and referral services. Often times elderly victims have never had any contact with a court in their lifetimes. Just assisting elderly victims of domestic violence with obtaining a civil injunctions, alone, can have a huge impact on your community and your courts.

Tip 8: Don’t forget to build in court case management resources for your judges. Case management can help in a variety of ways …by helping a domestic violence judge ensure the protection of an elderly victim…by helping a criminal court judge keep her lengthy docket moving through the coordination of the best time for an elderly victim suffering from dementia to testify…by identifying indicators in the review of a guardianship report that suggest that a guardian may have breached his fiduciary duty to a ward of the court.

Tip 9: Do what is necessary to maintain strong community partnerships. Your Elder Justice Center will be most effective, in coordinating existing senior resources, when it is an active part of the aging services community in your area. Strong working relationships with law enforcement, the prosecutor’s office, and social service providers are essential to effectively address the problem of elder abuse.

Tip 10: Don’t be afraid to have your initiative evaluated. Data based research & evaluation regarding your Elder Justice Center will help inform your court’s search for the best tools, policies and practices relating to elders and your court.

Resources and Links • Elder Justice Center Program • The Elder Justice Center – A Program Evaluation (USF School of Social Work) • Retirement Research Foundation Grant – Final Report & Budget • Elder Court Task Force Final Report • For more info, e-mail elder@fljud 13. org

Additional Information & Acknowledgements For additional tips, resources, and education, visit NCSC’s Center for Elders and the Courts. This program was made possible through a generous grant from The Retirement Research Foundation.