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9 <br />The program will be continued after the end of the grant period because the <br />network of professionals, paraprofessionais, students and agencies will be in place with <br />established plans and printed materials in the agencieslorganiiations for training future <br />students and staff. This project will have been implemented by a multidisciplinary group <br />of professionals and aH the agencies in the county that serve the elderly. Therefore, <br />their commitment to the project should in fact increase, not lessen, since project <br />compietion will mean that °all the pieces are in place" and the foundation has been laid <br />to continue to help elders who are neglected or abused. All agencies that serve the <br />elderly will be encouraged to train their existing staff and inGude the elder mistreatment <br />training in their orientation of any new staff members. The professional studerrts who <br />are trained will be asked upon graduation to train others at their new job sites. <br />Once the project is comPleted, it could readily be replicated in other counties and <br />states since the coalition members are willing to woric with others and to sfiare all of the <br />training materials. Training of our current professional students is one way to encourage <br />replication elsewhere. Such guidance and sharing w~ould be facilitated due to the <br />involvement on the coalition by staff members from the North Carolina Divisions of Aging <br />and Social Services who have ready contact with the other 99 counfies in the state. The <br />~egional Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, housed in the Triangfe J Agencyon <br />Aging, is also adive throughout the central part of the state. To date, two othe~ courrties <br />have e~ressed interest in our coalition and are considering starting one of their own, so <br />some precedent has been set for collaboration. <br />Organizational Capability: <br />The Orange County Elder Mistreatment Coalition, a non-pmfit organization <br />composed of professional volunteers, was fomned in November 1998. We have spent <br />our first year recruiting members from agencies and organizations in the county which <br />serve elders, developing group cohesion, and educating each other on our roles and <br />