Mission

Our mission is to reduce elder abuse and enhance justice for America’s growing older population.

About

Elder Justice Foundation defines elder abuse as physical, sexual or psychological abuse, as well as neglect, abandonment or financial exploitation of an older person by another person or entity.  

The abuse can occur in any setting (home, community, or facility), in a relationship where there is an expectation of trust and/or when an older person is targeted based on age or disability.  

A chronic dearth of knowledge and capacity have for decades undermined efforts to combat elder abuse and promote elder justice. Unlike nationally organized efforts to gather data on the occurrence of domestic violence or child abuse, there is no coordinated effort to collect comprehensive statistics on elder abuse. The majority of information we have in this area comes from independent researchers.  Our aim is to bridge the existing gaps in knowledge by funding:

• Pilot testing of promising new ideas to identify, respond to or prevent elder abuse
• Research and evaluation to enhance identification and promote understanding of elder abuse
• Research and evaluation to assess the effectiveness of existing interventions intended to prevent, mitigate and respond to elder abuse
• Publications to disseminate information about existing evidence about elder abuse
• Student stipends to expand policy awareness and cultivate leadership skills in the next generation of elder justice leaders

The Foundation recognizes that increasing knowledge is the key to effectively addressing the problem of elder abuse. We fund projects in three areas: Creating Knowledge (new ideas), Sharing Knowledge (disseminating ideas) and Applying Knowledge (translating ideas into practice).

Initial funding for the Elder Justice Foundation came from a grant from the Long Term Care Institute, an organization devoted to the improvement of nursing home quality of care.