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In
1999, the Brooklyn District Attorney,
CHARLES J. HYNES, created the Elder
Abuse Unit in response to the growing number
of elder abuse cases in this county.
The Elder Abuse Unit of the Domestic
Violence Bureau handles all cases of
spousal/intimate partner abuse and parental
abuse [including parents, grandparents,
great grandparents, etc] involving
victims age 60 years or older. The Elder Abuse Unit handles
cases of
physical abuse. Physical
abuse includes not only assaults, but also
threats of violence.
Neglect is another form of abuse
handled by the Unit.
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The
Chief of the Elder Abuse Unit,
Arlene Markarian,
supervises all of the Unit’s
elder abuse cases and
investigations, as well as
the Assistant District
Attorneys assigned to them.
Assistant District Attorney
David Kim
prosecutes both misdemeanor
and felony elder abuse
cases, as well as assisting
in supervising elder abuse
investigations and
misdemeanor cases.
Peg Horan,
the
Elder Abuse Unit Coordinator,
acts as a liaison between
the Assistant District
Attorneys and various senior
service agencies/providers,
as well being involved in
victim and community
outreach.
Marta Kuklik,
the
Elder Abuse Unit
Investigating Paralegal
screens calls regarding
elder abuse from the NYPD,
hospitals, senior service
agencies and from senior
citizens throughout the
county.
Referrals to the police or
senior service providers are
made regularly in response
to the calls.
Furthermore, the Elder Abuse
Unit initiates many
investigations as a result
of these calls.
Erica Bell,
the
Elder Abuse Unit Victim
Advocate,
interviews victims of elder
abuse and provides social
service referrals for them.
The Elder
Abuse Unit has developed a
close working relationship
with the NYC Department for
the Aging [DFTA],
the Jewish Association for
Services for the Aged [JASA]
and Adult Protective
Services [APS].
These partnerships promote
early intervention in many
situations.
As
a result, vulnerable senior
citizens, who otherwise may
go unnoticed, receive the
services and protection they
need.
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Furthermore,
the Kings County District
Attorney’s Office is the
lead agency partnered with
the City of
New York
at the
Brooklyn
Family Justice
Center
[FJC],
which is located on the same
floor as the Domestic
Violence Bureau.
The FJC provides on-the-spot
services for victims of
abuse.
In
fact, the FJC has a special
Elder Abuse Family Court
Order of Protection Project
where social workers help
older victims obtain Orders
of Protection without
standing around the
courthouse all day.
Other partners include both
DFTA and JASA, as well as
many other social service
agencies who assist victims
of domestic violence and
elder abuse.
The Kings County District
Attorney’s Office is also a
lead partner in the
NYC Elder Abuse Center, which
is a team of professionals
including lawyers, doctors,
nurses, social workers and
other senior service
providers from APS, DFTA,
JASA and other
organizations, who meet on a
weekly basis to discuss
complex elder abuse
situations in an effort to
help the victim and stop the
abuse.
In
addition, Peg Horan
regularly presents elder
abuse training workshops for
senior service providers
including APS, DFTA, JASA,
hospitals, both locally and
statewide.
Arlene Markarian also
conducts ongoing training
for NYPD as well as for
prosecutors, police and
service providers both
nationally and throughout
New York State.
The training focuses on the
detection, investigation and
prosecution of elder abuse
cases.
Feel free to call the Elder
Abuse Unit if you are
interested in such training.
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