Elder Law News

Elder Abuse Is A Serious Problem

Each year hundreds of thousands of older persons are abused, neglected and exploited by family members and others. Many victims are people who are older, frail, and vulnerable and cannot help themselves and depend on others to meet their most basic needs. Legislatures in all 50 states have passed some form of elder abuse prevention laws. Laws and definitions of terms vary considerably from one state to another, but all states have set up reporting systems. Generally, adult protective services (APS) agencies receive and investigate reports of suspected elder abuse.

To report elder abuse, contact APS through your state’s hotline. The APS agency screens calls for potential seriousness, and it keeps the information it receives confidential. If the agency decides the situation possibly violates state elder abuse laws, it assigns a caseworker to conduct an investigation (in cases of an emergency, usually within 24 hours). If the victim needs crisis intervention, services are available. If elder abuse is not substantiated, most APS agencies will work as necessary with other community agencies to obtain any social and health services that the older person needs. The older person has the right to refuse services offered by APS. The APS agency provides services only if the senior agrees or has been declared incapacitated by the court and a guardian has been appointed. The APS agency only takes such action as a last resort.

AoA has a strong commitment to protecting seniors from elder abuse. Our community-based long-term care programs allow millions of seniors to age in place with dignity. AoA also supports a range of activities at the state and local level to raise awareness about elder abuse. These activities include training law enforcement officers and medical professionals in how to recognize and respond to elder abuse cases, conducting public awareness and education campaigns, and creating statewide and local elder abuse prevention coalitions and multi-disciplinary teams. AoA funds the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) to serve as a resource for the public and for professionals. NCEA consists of a consortium of five partners: the National Association of State Units on Aging, the lead agency; the Commission on Law and Aging of the American Bar Association; the Clearinghouse on Abuse and Neglect of the Elderly of the University of Delaware, which has an on-line searchable database; the National Adult Protective Services Association; and the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse.

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	Did You Know?
	Estimated that 820,000 elders became victims of elder abuse in 1994 The National Aging Resource Center on Elder Abuse (now the National Center on Elder Abuse) estimated that in 2004 there were 820,000 elders became victims of elder abuse. 106 percent increase in the number of reported cases between 1986 and 1994, from 117,000 to 241,000.