Georgia J. Anetzberger, Former Member and Past President
The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA) existed for three decades, from 1988 to 2019. It was the first national multidisciplinary nonprofit membership organization anywhere in the world dedicated to promoting greater understanding of elder abuse and providing leadership in reducing and preventing the problem. Eventually, NCPEA also extended its reach to abuse effecting adults with disabilities.
The vision of NCPEA was for older persons and adults with disabilities to live with dignity and safety, free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Its mission was to prevent these problems through advocacy, coalition building, public and professional awareness, interdisciplinary exchanges, and research. Objectives varied during its existence but always included those related to abuse prevention and intervention, education and training, and recognition of individual rights.
The organization was founded by a small group of American professionals during the decade (i.e., 1980s) when elder abuse was widely seen as “coming of age”. It was led by Rosalie S. Wolf, PhD, an elder abuse research pioneer, until her death in 2001, after which time leadership changed hands regularly following a formal election process.
NCPEA’s membership over the years ranged from nearly 400 to less than 100. Indeed, declining membership and resources led to NCPEA’s demise, as the field of elder abuse expanded and those involved had other options for collective action in improving professional and public awareness, research, and advocacy. Just as its membership reflected numerous disciplines (particularly social work, law, medicine, and nursing), it also represented a variety of settings or systems (especially academia, adult protective services, aging network, courts, and health care).
Certain activities were routine for NCPEA. These included annual membership meetings, newsletters, social media presence, national conference co-sponsorships, and federal public policy advocacy. Among other noteworthy activities (often in partnership) were the following:
- Publication of the Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect (Taylor and Francis Publishers), one of only two international journals dedicated to elder abuse
- Completion of various projects related to research (e.g., Lies Secrets, and Scams: How to Prevent Elder Abuse, with the MetLife Mature Market Institute and Virginia Tech), awareness raising (e.g., on self-neglect, including a national forum and special video, with Terra Nova Films), training (e.g., Polyvictimization in Later Life, with the federal Office for Victims of Crime), and coalition building (e.g., Elder Abuse Prevention: Local Network Development, with the federal Administration on Aging and Area Agency on Aging Region One of Phoenix, AZ)
- Establishment of the Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of Elderly People Interest Group of the Gerontological Society on Aging (with the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse)
- Distribution of the Rosalie S. Wolf Memorial Abuse Prevention Award every one to two years for an individual or organization that demonstrated exceptional commitment to Rosalie’s ideals by promoting abuse awareness through research, education, policy, or practice
- Establishment and sponsorship of the Research-to-Practice Committee, including disseminating briefs and webinars for information exchange (with the National Adult Protective Services Association)
- Co-founding of the national Elder Justice Coalition
