SENATE RESOLUTION 24

(By Senators Baldwin, Stollings, Plymale, and Beach)

[Introduced February 1, 2018]

Celebrating the efforts and contributions of the Greenbrier County Elder Abuse Awareness Committee.

Whereas, The Greenbrier County Elder Abuse Awareness committee was formed in 2009 after an elderly Greenbrier County woman died of neglect by family members. At the time, if an elder died of neglect, it was only a misdemeanor crime. Senator William R. Laird IV introduced and helped pass legislation making it a felony; and

Whereas, The committee started out small, but soon saw that the problems were multifaceted and the committee needed the input of many different individuals. Current membership includes a representative from medical social work, elder abuse advocates, hospital personnel, nursing home, home health, the local committee on aging, disability, Shepherd’s Center, law enforcement, Adult Protective Services, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, mental health, a prosecuting attorney, and a former bank employee; and

Whereas, Over the years, the committee has sponsored communitywide workshops and programs to increase the awareness of the elder abuse program in the county; and

Whereas, In 2013, the WV Coalition Against Domestic Violence was awarded one of nine national grants by the Office of Violence Against Women to work on the issue of elder abuse. Greenbrier and McDowell counties were chosen to establish training teams and receive training from national trainers; and

Whereas, The teams consist of law enforcement, prosecuting attorneys, victim services, Adult Protective Services, and the elder community. The team members have trained many law-enforcement officers, victim service providers, and others in West Virginia over the last three and a half years and continue to do so; and

Whereas, As an outgrowth of the local work and the training team members, Greenbrier County has established a multidisciplinary investigative team which meets bimonthly to address elder abuse issues in the criminal justice system.  Multidisciplinary investigative teams are common in child abuse cases nationally, but the Greenbrier County team is believed to be the only one of its kind in the state; and

Whereas, The team has seen an increase in the number of cases of elder abuse that are prosecuted and victims who receive services; and

Whereas, It is the hope of the committee that teams will be established throughout West Virginia to meet this growing problem in our communities; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate:

That the Senate hereby celebrates the efforts and contributions of the Greenbrier County Elder Abuse Awareness Committee; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the appropriate representatives of the Greenbrier County Elder Abuse Awareness Committee.