February 08, 2017
February Meeting Minutes
• Announcements
• Erie County District Attorney John Flynn
o The DA’s Office is not afraid to prosecute tough cases
o A goal is to exhaust programs to help the individual before punishment, if appropriate
o There is much support for diversion programs to avoid conviction, if appropriate
o Financial crimes are handled by the Special Investigations Unit
o A question was asked about what happens when a victim is physically unable to get to court. The answer was that the prosecution side has to apply for a conditional examination through the court showing that the person is too ill and is not going to recover in the foreseeable future. If the conditional examination is granted by the court, the prosecution side can record certain proceedings with the victim and use that in court
o There is a 6 month rule between an indictment and when a trial must take place but he is pushing for a 4 month rule within his office. Once the arrest is made, then the 6 month clock starts
o He is looking forward to working on these cases and if you know about financial exploitation that is happening, contact their office immediately with the victim so they can get working on it
• Lt. Brian Gould from the Cheektowaga Police Department
o He started the Older Adult Case Conference Committee to assist police officers who are trying to serve individuals in the community who are living with either a mental health diagnosis or a dementia related illness and who don’t know where to turn anymore
o The Committee meets every other month to discuss cases. The major agencies involved are the police departments, Crisis Services, APS, The Alzheimer’s Association, and Headway. Other agencies are brought in as needed
o A police officer can make a referral to Lt. Gould and that referring officer becomes the liaison for the case
o They have a formal referral sheet that they will be implementing soon
o If you have any questions, please email Lt. Gould at: bgould@cpdny.org
• Bruce Fulcher from Catholic Charities Project HOPE
o Project HOPE is seeing a rise in cases with individuals who are living with hoarding disorder
o They want to start looking at what brought the hoarding behaviors into existence
o A goal they have is to reinvigorate the hoarding coalition
o There is a reorganization meeting on February 22, 2017 at 12:30 at 20 Rich Street in Buffalo
• Elder Care Solutions is working with the MS Project to provide assistance to individuals who are living with MS. Elder Care Solutions can help the individuals navigate the system in order to receive everything they are entitled to. Contact them if you want assistance or have any questions
• Venture Forthe is working with the Center for Elder Law and Justice to put on a training about the eligibility for long term care services. This will be held in Niagara Falls and there will be a health fair too. Stay tuned for the date
• The next meeting is Tuesday March 7, 2017 at 100 James E. Casey Drive Buffalo
