My name is Trina Aldrich. I am the Elder Abuse Project Coordinator for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. I am a tribal member and have grown up in my community and have several relatives that live within the community. I enjoy the work that I am doing to help our elders. They are our most valuable resource for our history, culture, and traditions. They are also in tremendous amount of need as they become vulnerable as our community has high rates of alcohol/drug use. I take the work that I am doing seriously to make things better for our elders, as I will also be an Elder someday.
Our E-MDT consists of the following:
- Program Coordinator
- Human Services Director
- Human Services Deputy Director
- Legal Account
- Senior Citizen’s Director
- Elder Abuse/Neglect Project Coordinator
- Tribal Court Prosecutor and Assistant
- IIM Caseworker
- Nebraska state APS Caseworker
- Law enforcement representative (the Chief of Police)
- Legal Aid of Nebraska Paralegal representative
- Preserving Native Families Unit Program Manager
- Outreach Coordinator, Native American Program
- Currently in the process of getting a replacement representative from the PHN Department
- Currently in the process of getting three consultants funded within the grant (Forensic Account, Neuropsychologist, & Occupational Therapist)
Successes
Our Elder MDT Meeting was created by a Memorandum of Agreement. We have had excellent participation in our scheduled monthly meetings. I have taken notes for every meeting, and we have covered a lot of discussion from a wide variety of perspectives. I think we have all learned a lot from each other.
Challenges
Our Elder MDT Team just got done with an extensive review of our Elder Tribal codes which took quite a while as we needed to make sure everything was covered for the Elder Abuse program.
Quick Tip for E-MDT Coordinators
Be patient, be flexible, remember the reason why we are doing this, clearly communicate, documentation is helpful to keep everyone informed and updated.
Burning Question for Other E-MDT Coordinators
I would like to know more about success stories from other jurisdictions.
