Native American Elder Justice Initiative

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The Native American Elder Justice Initiative (NAEJI) will address the need for more culturally appropriate information and community education materials on elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation in Indian Country. It is expected that activities carried out under NAEJI will address at least one (1) of the following needs: a) Identify, develop and disseminate information and strategies on effective collaborations between tribal and non-tribal entities to address suspected cases of abuse, neglect, or exploitation; b) Assist Tribes in the development of tribal codes that protect seniors, building on existing work to develop model codes and an implementation toolkit, and maintaining examples of tribal codes to share with those creating or updating their own codes;c) Identify and develop tribally produced elder abuse prevention resources, and other informational materials for professionals and tribal members on elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation that are culturally appropriate to Tribal perceptions of abuse and Tribal values;d) Develop training and technical assistance materials about elder abuse in Indian Country, such as: basic information about elder abuse, how to identify abuse, developing effective multi-disciplinary teams, and developing and/or promoting effective tribal prevention, intervention, and response activities, including those that involve effective cross-jurisdictional partnerships;e) Provide technical assistance and training on elder abuse, neglect and exploitation, and outreach to increase awareness of the problem of elder abuse in Indian Country, as well as the NAEJI, and through conference presentations, materials development, PSAs, newsletters, articles, etc.;f) Develop expertise in Native Elder Abuse Prevention through the development of webinars and training materials for health care providers, social services, long-term care and caregivers, law enforcement, tribal courts, and tribal leaders specific to elder abuse in Indian Country;g) Explore with tribes the needs and challenges surrounding data collection on elder abuse issues in Indian Country, including what kinds of data would be useful and to whom, how data could be collected, who would/could collect it, how would confidentiality be guaranteed, what kind of system would be necessary to house and securely store data, who would manage and own the data, and other issues related to the development of data collection systems; andh) Expand training to include a focus for senior companions, community health representatives, home health care workers, and others who regularly visit elders in their homes to enhance their knowledge and awareness of elder abuse.

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