Barriers to Service

Elder Protection Teams (EPTs) generally appear to have similar challenges that prevent the best outcomes for Elders and the EPT. Service agencies struggle to provide help to clients in the face of dwindling funding and resources, and staff members may feel that utilizing the EPT creates an additional burden. Some barriers to service that EPTs face include:

• Attendance issues (e.g., not having a large variety of agencies represented), lack of commitment from representatives to attend meetings regularly, lack of cases presented
• A lack of knowledge of other agencies’ policies and mandates, that often leads to a negative perception that some agencies are non-cooperative
• A frustration among agencies in dealing with seemingly unsolvable cases
• Maintenance of confidentiality
• Costs, travel time to meeting location, and
• Mandated reporter policies

Resources

• Content for this document was adapted from correspondence with Wilson Wewa of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs from November 2016 through May 2017.
• The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Wilson Wewa (2014). Multidisciplinary Team Approach on Elder Abuse.