Nassau District Attorney Creates Team To Tackle Elder Abuse

On Monday, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced her office was creating Long Island's first multi-disciplinary team to tackle elder abuse in the county. The team, made up of 15 agencies and individuals, will handle the abuse cases affecting Nassau County's elderly population.

Nassau has 220,000 people age 65 and older, which is nearly 17 percent of the population. That number is projected to grow to 277,000 by 2025, according to the state Office for the Aging.

The Multi-Disciplinary Team, or MDT, will meet monthly, Singas said, starting in January, to discuss cases and create plans to reduce the risk of abuse and provide services for victims. The team consists of professionals from Adult Protective Services, Office for the Aging, law enforcement, health care, non-profit social services, financial services, and civil legal services. Cases will be referred from various agencies and screened by the MDT coordinator before being presented to the team.

“Elder abuse cases present complex challenges that require a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary approach,” Singas said. “As our Elder Abuse Unit continues its outstanding work to hold offenders accountable, this innovative new team will collaborate to ensure that seniors victimized by these despicable crimes receive the care and support they need to live their lives safely and with the dignity they deserve.”

Elder abuse can include physical, emotional and sexual abuse, as well as neglect and financial exploitation. In elder abuse cases, the perpetrator is often well-known to the victim. The common profile of an offender is an adult child, grandchild or other relative who is living with their aging parent or relative. Typically, these offenders are unemployed or underemployed, have mental health or substance abuse issues, and they rely on the elderly person for financial support and housing. Victims of elder abuse often do not want their loved ones arrested and prosecuted, but they want help for the offender and for the abuse to stop.

The Nassau County Elder Abuse Multi-Disciplinary Team is made up of:

• Jill Corriss, Adult Victim Advocate, The Safe Center LI
• Vickie Curran, Senior Investigative Counsel, Financial Crimes Bureau of the Nassau County District Attorney
• Kristen DeJesus, Chief Human Resources Officer, Senior VP, NEFCU
• Karen Garber, LMSW, Esq., Program Coordinator, Office of Consumer & Public Info, DSS
• Sgt., Sabrina Gregg, Nassau County Police Department
• Josh Hanson, Associate Executive Director of The Safe Center LI: MDT Coordinator
• Paulette Jones, MSW, Project Coordinator, Catholic Charities
• Adam Kahn, Esq., Guardianship Attorney, Adjunct Professor and Senior Fellow for the Gitenstein Institute for Health Law and Policy at Hofstra University School of Law
• Susanna Laruccia, Esq., VA accredited Staff Attorney, Veterans Rights Project, Nassau/Suffolk Law Services
• Arlene Markarian, Chief of the Elder Abuse Unit, Nassau County District Attorney
• Jorge Martinez, Deputy Commissioner, Dept. of Human Services, Office for the Aging
• Linda Martinez, LMSW, Geriatric Team, Winthrop Hospital
• Martha Mata, Director, Senior Financial Counseling Programs, HIICAP, HEAP & DCJS Financial Exploitation, and Abuse Program, Family & Children’s Association
• Caitlyn Murphy, Director of NY Connects, Nassau County Office for the Aging
• Dr. Alka Nischal-Rednam, MD, FACP, Geriatric Team, Winthrop Hospital
• Teresa O’Donoghue, Compliance Officer, VP, NEFCU
• Dan Okrent, Esq., Staff Attorney, Senior Citizen Law Project, Nassau/Suffolk Law Services
• Donna Reed, Director of Care Management Services, Nassau County Office for the Aging
• Alberta Rubin, LCSW-R, ACSW, Senior Director of Client Services, The Safe Center LI
• Janine Sadowski, Director, Rape and Sexual Assault Dept., The Safe Center LI
• Dawne Smith, Esq., Program Director, Nassau Adult Guardianship Project /In-House Counsel, EAC Network
• Sarah Smith, LCSW-R, ACSW, BCD, Assistant Director, Adult Protective Services
• Lisa Stern, LCSW-R, Assistant VP, Senior & Adult Services, Family & Children’s Association
• Dr. Alan Steinberg, MD, Geriatric Psychiatrist, East End Neuropsychiatry Associates, P.C.
• Theresa Tebbett, Chief of the Special Victims Bureau, Nassau County District Attorney
• Rhonda Wainwright-Jones, MPS, Senior Director, EAC Network
• Jane Zwirn-Turkin, Esq., Regional Director, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, NYS Attorney General’s Office

Photo courtesy Nassau County District Attorney's Office