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The Administration for Community Living (ACL) Office of Elder Justice and Adult Protective Services (OEJAPS) provides grants and contracts with organizations to support the development of systems and programs that prevent abuse from happening, protect people from abusive situations, support people who have experienced abuse to help them recover, and preserve and promote their independence, choice, and financial security.

Featured Project

 

"As a result of resources and synergy from OEJAPS’s State Grants to Enhance Adult Protective Services awards in 2016 and 2018, Minnesota developed a person-centered adult protection data warehouse and a Vulnerable Adult Protection Dashboard to support program management and information for the public on APS response to vulnerable adults reported to the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center (MAARC). 

Exciting research is currently being conducted through the 2018 grant to evaluate validity of the state’s standardized intake decision tool and offer recommendations to APS supporting state-wide consistency and equitable service outcomes for vulnerable adults."


Mary McGurran, LSW
Adult Protection Supervisor
Minnesota Department of Human Services

State outline of Minnesota over a field background photo

OEJAPS Grants and Cooperative Agreements

OEJAPS funds multiple projects via cooperative agreements and grants with state governments, universities, and non-profit organizations. These projects foster innovation, improvements in practice and services, data collection and reporting. Explore more about these projects by following the links below.

  • State Grants to Enhance Adult Protective Services - To help address gaps and challenges in state adult protective services (APS) systems, ACL received an appropriation for demonstration grants to fund states so they can enhance APS systems statewide and include innovations and improvements in practice, services, data collection, and reporting.

  • Legal Assistance for Older Americans Program - Legal assistance provided under Title III-B is part of the essential core of AoA’s legal assistance and elder rights programs. The legal services network can provide important assistance for older persons in accessing long-term care options and other community-based services. Legal services also protect older persons against direct challenges to their independence, choice, and financial security. These legal services are specifically targeted to “older individuals with economic or social needs.”

  • Model Approaches to Statewide Legal Assistance - Model Approaches to Statewide Legal Assistance Systems grants help states develop and implement effective approaches for integrating low-cost legal mechanisms into statewide legal/aging service delivery networks to enhance overall service delivery capacity. Legal assistance provided through well-integrated and cost-effective delivery systems enables older adults to remain independent, healthy, and financially secure in their homes and communities.

  • Elder Justice Innovation Grants - ACL established the Elder Justice Innovation Grants program to support efforts aimed at increasing knowledge about effective prevention and intervention of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults, native elders, adults with disabilities, people who self-neglect, and guardianship abuse. ACL awards competitive grants under this program to develop and advance new knowledge about emerging issues related to elder justice. Funded projects are expected to contribute to the evidence base of knowledge and create materials and programs that can be replicated and/or disseminated. 

  • Legal Assistance Enhancement Program - ACL funded six legal assistance organizations to address gaps in access to legal assistance and strengthen programs serving older adults. The Legal Assistance Enhancement Program (LAEP) funding focuses on four key areas: outreach, partnerships, intake, and delivery. Grantees address a diverse set of issues including the opioid epidemic, supporting grandparents raising grandchildren, utilizing technology to advance elder justice, Medical-Legal Partnerships, reaching under-served communities, and disaster recovery.

  • Pension Counseling and Information Program - The Pension Counseling and Information Program promotes the financial security of older individuals and enhances their independence by empowering them to make wise decisions with respect to pensions and savings plans. The program assists older Americans in accessing information about their retirement benefits and helps them to negotiate with former employers or pension plans for due compensation. ACL currently funds six regional counseling projects, covering 30 states. These projects provide hands-on assistance in pursuing claims. 

 

APS Guidelines

OEJAPS is committed to supporting efforts to ensure adults are afforded similar protections and services, regardless of their state or jurisdiction. ACL facilitated the development of the first National Voluntary Consensus Guidelines for State Adult Protective Services Systems to assist states in developing efficient, effective programs. 

National Voluntary Consensus Guidelines for State APS Systems

Tools Inventory

The best way to intervene in the problem of elder abuse is to prevent it from happening in the first place or to intervene as early as possible so as to mitigate its consequences. In 2018, OEJAPS funded the creation of an inventory of screening and assessment tools for adult maltreatment.

Adult Maltreatment Screening and Assessment Tools Inventory
 

PRAM

OEJAPS, in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, have launched a project to explore the use of Predicting Risk of Adult Maltreatment (PRAM) as one component of a broader strategy to predict and prevent adult and elder maltreatment.

Predicting Risk of
Adult Maltreatment
 

 

Resource Centers

 

OEJAPS provides funding to six resource centers which disseminate information to professionals and/or the public; provide technical assistance and training to states, community-based organizations, and professionals; and collaborate on research.

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