NIJ FY17 Research and Evaluation on the Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of Elderly Individuals | NIJ 2017 11185

Opportunity Information: Apply for NIJ 2017 11185

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), within the U.S. Department of Justice, offered this discretionary grant opportunity titled "NIJ FY17 Research and Evaluation on the Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of Elderly Individuals" (Funding Opportunity Number: NIJ 2017 11185). The focus of the program is to support research and evaluation that strengthens the evidence base around elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, with particular emphasis on long-standing gaps in the field. NIJ signals a clear interest in studies that do more than describe the problem in general terms; the goal is to generate findings that help practitioners, policymakers, and communities better identify victimization patterns and evaluate what actually works to prevent harm and improve outcomes for older adults.

NIJ highlights two priority research directions. The first is research that helps define and operationalize "polyvictimization" among elderly individuals. In practice, this means developing clearer, measurable ways to capture when an older person experiences multiple forms of victimization, potentially across different perpetrators or settings, such as financial exploitation occurring alongside neglect, psychological abuse, or physical harm. Work in this area could involve creating or refining definitions, measurement tools, typologies, screening approaches, or data collection strategies that allow researchers and practitioners to consistently identify polyvictimization and compare findings across studies or jurisdictions. The underlying idea is that without a common way to identify and measure polyvictimization, it is difficult to estimate prevalence, understand risk factors, or design effective interventions for the most vulnerable individuals.

The second priority is research aimed at identifying successful outcomes in elder abuse intervention research. This is about moving beyond documenting program activities and instead determining which interventions produce meaningful, demonstrable benefits, and under what circumstances. NIJ is looking for evidence on outcomes that can be credibly tied to interventions, which may include reductions in revictimization, improvements in victim safety and well-being, increased reporting or service uptake when appropriate, better coordination across agencies, improved investigative or prosecutorial effectiveness, or other measurable indicators of success. This emphasis reflects the field's ongoing challenge of defining what "success" should look like for different types of elder abuse cases, especially given the complexity of victim needs, family dynamics, caregiver relationships, cognitive impairment issues, and the overlap between civil, criminal, and social service systems.

The program sits in the law, justice, and legal services funding activity area (CFDA 16.560), reflecting NIJ's role as the research arm of the Department of Justice. Although elder abuse is often addressed through health and social service channels, NIJ's interest underscores the criminal justice dimensions of abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, and multi-agency responses. The opportunity anticipates making about two awards, with an award ceiling of $1,000,000, suggesting NIJ expected to fund a small number of relatively substantial projects capable of producing rigorous, policy-relevant results.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and city or township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and even individuals. This wide eligibility signals NIJ's openness to proposals from research institutions, practitioner-led partnerships, evaluation firms, and multidisciplinary teams, as long as the proposed work advances knowledge and addresses the identified gaps.

Key administrative details include the opportunity's creation date of January 18, 2017, and an original closing date of March 20, 2017. Overall, this solicitation is best understood as NIJ targeting two foundational needs in elder abuse research: (1) establishing clearer, usable ways to understand and measure complex, overlapping victimization among older adults, and (2) producing credible evidence about which interventions achieve meaningful outcomes, so that limited resources can be directed toward approaches with demonstrated impact.

• The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY17 Research and Evaluation on the Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of Elderly Individuals" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.560.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 18, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 20, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for NIJ 2017 11185

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