Burton D. Dunlop

Internal Barriers to Help Seeking for Middle-Aged and Older Women Who Experience Intimate Partner Violence

ABSTRACT There has been relatively little qualitatively or quantitatively published research to guide the field in identifying and addressing barriers to seeking help for older women who experience domestic violence. Women over the age of 45 have seldom been participants in research on domestic violence. This paper describes results from a qualitative study that focused on reactions to and internalization of abusive behaviors of an intimate partner. Twenty-one focus groups were conducted with 134 middle-aged and older women. Analysis of the data identified six factors that describe reactions to abusive behavior that become barriers to help seeking, including self-blame, powerlessness, hopelessness, the need to protect family, and the need to keep such abuse secret from others. These findings are discussed with implications for community outreach and future research.

Elder Abuse: Risk Factors and Use of Case Data to Improve Policy and Practice

ABSTRACT Countering the generally reactive community approach to prevention and treatment of elder abuse, this study employs analysis of local elder abuse case data to estimate the incidence of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation and to measure the risk factors, including co-location of other forms of abuse, that predict elder abuse in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The authors also compare the model of intervention used in Florida and elsewhere to best practice models that incorporate elements of domestic violence treatment models. They present a series of specific recommendations for improving local abuse data-collection, analysis, and training so that local policy makers, planners, and practitioners can make proactive, community-specific, culturally-sensitive preventive efforts effective. The findings and recommendations have direct relevance for policy and practice in any community in the United States.

Who is Being Served? Program Eligibility and Home- and Community-Based Services Use

Functional and economic eligibility criteria for publicly funded programs are causal factors in the use of home- and community-based services (HCBS). Thus, the study’s overall hypothesis was that the main program eligibility criteria would determine the particular characteristics of consumers in three of Florida’s HCBS programs: Aged and Disabled Adult Medicaid Waiver (ADW), Community Care for the Elderly, and Home Care for the Elderly (HCE). Data on 464 consumers who were 60 years and older and receiving services in one of the three programs support the overall hypothesis but revealed important exceptions. The ADW program is not serving a more functionally impaired population than the other programs. The HCE program is serving elders who are more cognitively impaired. Consumer-directed long-term care programs like HCE have the potential to better serve frail older adults and their caregivers if more public funding is allocated and other policy modifications are made nationwide.

Elders and the courts: judicial policy for an aging America.

Abstract This article examines how trial courts should address complex issues of an aging society. More older people, living longer, will enter courthouses with underlying problems that will impede effective access and court processes and will require judges to enhance linkages with community health, mental health, and social services providers. The article analyzes how court systems perceive these issues and explores how they have begun to address them. It concludes with an argument in support of innovative new approaches to assist courts in responding to emerging issues of older adults.

The retirement planning gap: A view from the public sector

How do public-sector workers assess their prospects for retirement? This article examines retirement planning at a public university in South Florida, where contemporary demographics mirror the nations expected demographics in 2010. Like their private sector counterparts, our respondents believe quality of life at retirement will be favorable. Yet many respondents appear to be under-saving for retirement and fail to recognize that part-time employment is likely to be an integral part of their retirement experience. As expected, socioeconomic factors, particularly education, gender, and ethnicity, play a significant role in determining retirement planning and perceived quality of life in the “Golden Years.” Investment literacy is limited among many of our respondents, particularly females and minorities. This is critical in light of increased reliance on defined contribution pensions and possible reforms in Social Security.