Directors Column January 2024

• Date: 01 January 2024

Bifocal January-February 2024Vol. 45, No. 3

87

David: Here in my last Director Column, I am going

to make a few observations about the status of law and

aging, as I hand this off to Erica Costello to outline her

plans for the Commission.

•We will be more successful if we invite other

advocates to the table, to consider all points of

view and look for common ground. There is

a deep overlap in issues and concerns among

advocates working on disability rights, mental

health, mental illness, and aging, we need to

spend more time listening to one another and

focusing on the common ground and support-

ing one another on the issues that are unique

to each area of advocacy. Silo walls are for farms.

•We need to listen to our critics and learn from

them, even if we don’t agree with them. There

is a kernel of wisdom to be found by listening.

•Guardianship or Conservatorship is a blunt

instrument for responding to elder abuse or ex-

ploitation. To use politically incorrect words,

we are punishing the victim instead of the

perpetrator, when we use guardianship or con-

servatorship as an intervention in adult abuse

cases.

•When working on law reform, all parties who

Directors Column

January 2024

By: David Godfrey, JD and

Erica Costello, JD, Directors,

ABA Commission on Law and Aging, Washington, DC

Reprint and Reproduction Requests

Visit

FOCAL

VOLUME 45 ISSUE 3

Commissioners

Staff

Editor

Directors Column