Elder Abuse Education and Outreach Program (EAEOP)

The Elder Abuse Education and Outreach Program (EAEOP) is a comprehensive approach to providing outreach, education, and prevention services for professionals and community members, including older adults and their families and caregivers, in order to identify and prevent elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

EAEOP is coordinated Statewide by Lifespan of Greater Rochester. For more information, or to arrange a presentation or access services, call 585-244-8400 or 1-866-454-5110 (toll free), 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, or go to www.lifespan-roch.org.

Education and Outreach (Statewide)

• Regular communication directly with local AAA and APS offices statewide to provide elder mistreatment related information and materials for them to share and use for public education and outreach.
• Trainings for professionals and non-professionals on how to recognize, report, prevent, and appropriately intervene in suspected cases of elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation.
• Community presentations and professional training programs on older adults and substance misuse.
• Interactive community presentations around identification and prevention of fraud, scams, and identity theft.
• Community presentations to help raise public awareness of elder mistreatment, including elder abuse in domestic settings, its signs and symptoms, and knowledge of where to turn when there is suspected abuse.
• Public awareness activities, including newspaper articles, TV, radio, community fairs, festivals, health fairs, public service announcements, and social media.
• Ongoing initiatives to facilitate implementation of the recommendations contained in the final report of the 2021 NYS Elder Abuse Summit: Seeking Solutions – Creating a Clear Vision of Where We Go From Here to enhance identification of elder mistreatment and service provision within underserved populations.
• Coordination of statewide activities to recognize World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) every June 15.
• Coordination of the New York State Coalition on Elder Abuse, a multidisciplinary, statewide network of approximately 2,000 individuals, organizations, and government agencies working together to protect older adults from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

Prevention and Intervention (Contact Lifespan for regional availability)

• Direct social worker intervention and comprehensive case management services or consultations are provided in suspected cases of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation, or for those at risk.
• In-home financial management assistance with budgeting, bill paying, and day-to-day financial matters for older adults or their caregivers, including assistance with identifying eligibility for benefits,.
• Serving as guardian for older adults when there are no family or friends available, there has been a history of abuse or exploitation, or there is high risk of abuse or exploitation.
• Providing recovery and wellness services for alcohol and drug treatment, including a comprehensive in-home evaluation, assessment, and care management, along with supportive counseling and education for families and caregivers.
• Respite for victims of elder mistreatment or older adults at risk.