Arlene Groh, RN, BA, Rick Linden, Ph.D., Elizabeth Nieson, RN, and Detective Constable David Haughey will provide information about the origins of the project; will consider the evaluation findings, the current status of Waterloo’s response and possible reapplication of Waterloo’s model. In 2000, The Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) of Waterloo Region, in partnership with social service agencies, secured funding to design, implement and evaluate a restorative justice approach to financial, physical and emotional abuse and the neglect of older adults by someone in a position of trust. Dr. Rick Linden with funding from The Law Commission of Canada and Justice Canada completed an evaluation. In April 2011 his findings were published in The Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect. www.tandf.co.uk/journals/WEAN. The original program had some success but referrals to the restorative justice program were low. The program evolved to the Elder Abuse Response Team (EART), a partnership between the Waterloo Region Police Services and the CCAC (2004) whose practice is embedded in restorative justice values and principles and which follows best practice in conflict management. The new program has been very successful in increasing referrals and in ensuring that community partners work well together. (Materials: slide presentation)
