The Elder Justice Initiative website, launched alongside the US Department of Justice Elder Justice initiative this month, intends to be a resource for victims of elder abuse and financial exploitation and their families, practitioners who serve them, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, and researchers seeking to understand and address the silent epidemic plaguing our nation’s elders.

View resources, help for reporting elder abuse, FAQs, common scenarios and more about Victim and Family Support.

Find sample databases, statutes, and training resources for Prosecutors.

Explore maps, statistics, and extensive databases for Researchers.

Read reports for attorneys, clinicians, judges, medical examiners and other Practitioners.

Additionally, learn about elder Financial Abuse.

Explore the Elder Justice Initiative website here.

By Joshua Buckholtz and David Faigman | Current Biology | September 2014

Abstract:

Stunning technical advances in the ability to image the human brain have provoked excited speculation about the application of neuroscience to other fields. The ‘promise’ of neuroscience for law has been touted with particular enthusiasm. Here, we contend that this promise elides fundamental conceptual issues that limit the usefulness of neuroscience for law. Recommendations for overcoming these challenges are offered.

Read the full paper here.

University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Media Relations | August 7, 2014

People who develop depression and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) after age 65 are more likely to have biological and brain imaging markers that reflect a greater vulnerability for accelerated brain aging, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings were published online in Molecular Psychiatry.

Older adults with major depression have double the risk of developing dementia in the future compared with those who have never had the mood disorder, said senior investigator Meryl A. Butters, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry, Pitt School of Medicine. But there’s no clear explanation for why a treatable mood disorder like depression leads to increased risk for dementia, a progressive brain disease. Until now, most studies have examined only one or two biomarkers to get at this question. Continue reading »

By Josh Peter | USA Today | July 7, 2014

LOS ANGELES — Beyond the high-powered lawyers and public fight over the $2 billion sale of an NBA team, Donald and Shelly Sterling are caught in a struggle that often unfolds when someone reaches an advanced age and difficult questions arise.

Is it safe for him to drive? Does he need a caregiver?

Or, in the case of 80-year-old Donald Sterling, does he have the mental capacity to serve as a co-trustee of the Sterling Family Trust, which owns the Los Angeles Clippers? Continue reading »

According to the AARP, about 60 percent of adult protective services (APS) cases of financial abuse nationwide involved an adult child of the elderly person.

This longform resource, created in 2011 by the American Bank Association’s Bank Compliance magazine, addresses the vital role banks play in the regulation of elder abuse, and how the law bears on bank–elder interactions.

Read “Stopping the Financial Abuse of Seniors” here.