MDTs

The National Center on Elder Abuse, in collaboration with the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA), has developed an Issue Brief that describes common and emerging cross-sector partners in addressing adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation.  The Adult Protective Services and Multidisciplinary Partnerships Issue Brief includes resources to support collaborations between Adult Protective Services and [...]

The Challenge of Communication The greatest strength of any multi-disciplinary team is also its greatest challenge – managing its diversity. In MDTs, each person holds a unique perspective which contributes to the collective benefit of variations in values, expertise, cultures, and jargon. In difficult cases, members can become so focused on particular professional goals [...]

A needs assessment helps identify the specific challenges within the community the multidisciplinary team (MDT) will address. This initial step ensures the MDT’s formation and activities align with the actual problems in the community, leading to more effective and targeted interventions. If you are just starting out, you will want to make sure to [...]

Recognizing the diverse expertise within Adult Protection MDTs, the formation of specialized subcommittees can enhance the team's response to specific challenges in the community. Here are some potential subcommittees to consider: Hoarding Intervention A subcommittee focused on hoarding might address the intricate challenges associated with hoarding behavior, which poses significant health and safety risks to [...]

MDTs can choose to build exercises into their agendas that facilitate continuous learning about each other’s organizations and roles. One option is to select one of the following prompts and have everyone respond to it.  (Question 4 can generate interest, in particular.) Another approach is to focus on a single organization and ask them to address every prompt.  In [...]

There is no right answer for how many people you should have on your MDT. In the beginning, it can be advantageous to have a smaller MDT of four to six members so that you can focus on building your working relationships and then expand later as needed. A smaller dedicated team can help [...]

Strong adult protection multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) are important to effectively addressing and responding to adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation. These teams bring together professionals from various disciplines to collaborate, share information, and coordinate interventions. Here are some attributes that contribute to the strength of such teams: Clear Mission and Goals Establish a clear mission statement [...]

Some of the best work of an MDT can be accomplished informally—just by meeting together, building relationships, creating lines of communication, and sharing basic information about each other’s work. However, one function that warrants a more formalized or systematic approach relates to accountability: who is going to do what, when, how, and under what circumstances. [...]

Inviting complementary perspectives into your MDT is a necessary practice. No one (or two) of you can strengthen your systems of identification, intervention, and response by yourselves. A natural by-product of involving these varied perspectives is that different ideas will emerge about the best way forward. Try to resist labeling this dynamic as a problem, [...]

The following is a list of tasks that MDTs will benefit by performing, along with suggestions for those responsible for the work. Before the Meeting The Coordinator takes the lead in keeping the member list, sending out meeting notices, arranging the meeting space, and having any information or resources ready for the discussion. The Chair and the Coordinator set and share [...]