Grant to UCI will create center to prevent elder abuse

A $1.7-million grant from the U.S. Administration on Aging will allow UC Irvine to create the National Center on Elder Abuse, UCI officials announced Friday.

Co-directed by Dr. Laura Mosqueda and Mary Twomey, the new facility will act as an information center for national and local efforts to prevent, identify and respond to elder abuse.

The grant will be distributed over three years, at $561,000 annually.

“We’re very excited about this opportunity to expand our elder-abuse prevention efforts at the national level,” said Mosqueda, co-director of UCI’s Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse and Neglect, in an interview with UC Irvine Today. “We look forward to working with many national organizations and individuals, bringing the field together in a major initiative to increase awareness of, and find solutions to this significant public health issue.”

UCI’s Elder Abuse Forensic Center, founded in 2003 by Mosqueda and geriatrics faculty, was recognized in April with an award from the U.S. Justice Department for professional innovation in victim services.

— Sarah Peters