To celebrate Black History Month and National Caregivers Day (February 18^th), NCLER interviewed Dr. Donna Benton of the University of Southern California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. In this brief video interview, Dr. Benton discusses her work supporting Black caregivers, the importance of caregiving in the Black community, and strategies for advocates who wish to better support their Black older adult clients. She also talks about the need for legal assistance in advance planning and addressing issues involving housing scams in the Black community.

The resources below provide information for advocates to better understand the needs of Black older adults and the legal issues identified by Dr. Benton:

• University of Southern California: Family Caregiver Support Center
• National Caucus and Center on Black Aging: Black and Aging in America 2021
• National Center on Elder Abuse: Mistreatment of African American Elders
• NCALL Increasing Access to Healing Services and Just Outcomes for Older African American Crime Survivors Toolkit
• NCLER Webinar: Defending Older Adults from Home Equity Theft, “We Buy Houses” and Foreclosure Rescue Scams
• NCLER Webinar: Drafting Advance Planning Documents to Reduce the Risk of Abuse or Exploitation

Bio:

• Donna Benton, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor of Gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She received her graduate training in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology and was a Gero-psychological postdoctoral fellow at USC/Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center. Benton is the Director of the USC Family Caregiver Support Center (FCSC) and the Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center (LACRC). She has over 30 years of experience in providing direct service, advocacy and programs for families caring for persons with dementia. She was appointed to the CA Master Plan for Aging Stakeholder Advisory Commission and the CA Commission on Aging (CCOA). Her research focus is on the development of online evidence-based interventions for family caregivers to improve mental and physical health and wellbeing and prevention of elder mistreatment. She also serves as a mentor to students interested in advocacy for caregivers.