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Elder abuse cases do not just involve physical abuse or neglect but also financial exploitation. An estimated five million U.S. seniors are victims of monetary exploitation, physical abuse or neglect every year, excluding the 84 percent of elder abuse cases that go unreported, according to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.
Elder abuse problems are expected to grow as the number of aging Americans will make a ratio of one in five people that are expected to be more than 65 years old by 2030. Some states are trying to address the problems, but between states the way that the problems are looked at and dealt with is inconsistent.
In Colorado, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, a mandatory reporting of suspected abuse is not required. Some states do require certain groups, like bankers, to report suspected financial exploitation, and states like Virginia have added medical professionals to the list of required groups that must report suspicions of physical abuse.
In some states, like California, Maryland and Nebraska, elder abuse is exploitation of adults aged 65 and older, but in Alabama exploitation of adults is age 55 and older.
The controversial use of “Grammy Cams” was signed into legislation last year by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, to help prevent violent nursing home abuse. The law allows families and residents to install surveillance cameras in nursing home rooms. Texas also allows the granny cams, and Florida, Maryland and Massachusetts are debating the use of the cameras as well.
States have also begun investigating deaths involving the elderly, just as deaths with children are investigated. California’s first Elder Death Review Team evaluated more than 100 deaths last year to look for possible signs of abuse, and The Sacramento Bee reported no cases were referred for prosecution. An Elder Death Review Team in Maine assessed about a dozen cases last year.
The Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski has proposed the Oregon Elder Justice Act of 2005, an aggressive agenda aimed to prevent elder abuse and nursing home abuse. The act would require background checks on paid caregivers and provide suggestions on how to train caregivers and how to recognize signs of abuse. Bankers would also be trained to spot exploitation which Utah and Massachusetts do through their Bank Reporting Projects.
A University of Iowa Health Care study last year found states requiring mandatory reporting and tracking of domestic elder abuse have higher investigation rates than states without them. The Iowa researchers plan on studying elder abuse in nursing homes this year and how state laws affect abuse rates and incident data collection.
Currently New Mexico and Alaska are involved in a pilot program by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to show how states can perform affordable background checks of caregivers in long-term care facilities and nursing homes and evaluate effectiveness of the checks.
There are other state efforts underway to deal with the widespread problem of elder abuse and nursing home abuse in the U.S. Some states are trying to coordinate agencies within a state’s government because many of the cases are so complex they involve many different legal interventions and services.
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