VCU news

By Mike Porter

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women has awarded Virginia Commonwealth University a grant to offer multidisciplinary elder abuse training to police officers, prosecutors and court officials in the Richmond metropolitan area.

"We will collaborate to become better able to recognize, address, investigate and prosecute instances of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation, including domestic violence and sexual assault against older individuals," said Paula Knapp Kupstas, Ph.D., grant project director and research specialist at VCU's Virginia Center on Aging. The three-year, $429,075 grant was awarded to the Center on Aging and its collaborators.

Figures from the U.S. Census show the elderly population is growing in Virginia and across the country.  And with the population increase, advocates for the elderly fear the number of abuse cases will also continue to grow.

Elder abuse may be physical or mental or may involve financial exploitation or neglect.  Nearly 1,000 cases of elder abuse were reported to departments of social services in the Richmond metropolitan area in 2004.  Many cases are never reported. "Just one in five cases gets reported nationally," Kupstas said.

The program aims to train authorities to better recognize the signs of abuse and neglect and to improve investigations and prosecutions of elder abuse.

"This is an ideal example of community engagement. It's really affecting people and how they live their lives.  And I'm proud that VCU is playing such a lead role," said Virginia Center on Aging Director Edward F. Ansello, Ph.D.

The Virginia Center on Aging is a statewide agency created by the Virginia General Assembly to define and protect the quality of life for older Virginians.  The VCU-based center will oversee the project. 

Collaborators who have endorsed the grant's Memorandum of Understanding and who will commit staff time include the police departments of Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico, Ashland and Virginia Commonwealth University; the Commonwealth's Attorneys' Offices of Richmond, Hanover, and Henrico; Safe Harbor; Senior Connections: The Capital Area Agency on Aging; the YWCA of Richmond; and the Virginia Center on Aging. 

Supporting this initiative are the Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court; TRIAD and Citizen Outreach, the Office of the Attorney General; the Virginia Coalition for the Prevention of Elder Abuse; the Virginia Crime Prevention Association; and the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. The Chesterfield Commonwealth Attorney's Office, and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts of Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover Counties have been invited to participate.