Confronting elder abuse

By Will Parry
At least one million and possibly as many as two million people age 65 and above are subject to one form or another of elder abuse. Two thirds of the victims are women.
Adult Protective Services investigated 461,135 reports of abuse in 2004, but for every such report it’s estimated that at least five cases go unreported.
The vast majority of abusers are family members – adult children, spouses and partners, or other relatives. Abusers may have drug or alcohol problems, may be mentally troubled, or may simply be overwhelmed by the responsibilities of caregiving.
Those who are abused commonly suffer in silence, trapped in their abusive relationships by fear or shame or dementia.
OWL, “the Voice of Midlife and Older Women,” has spelled out the realities of this “growing, yet hidden” problem in a painstakingly documented report.
“OWL believes that the abuse of older women is an under-recognized crisis…exacerbated by the stigma related to abuse and the many types of oppression that continue to affect women during their lives, making them more vulnerable to the abuse,” the report said.
Repeated scholarly studies and reports have documented the ugly reality of abuse. Despite these findings, pathetically little is being done by any federal agency on elder abuse, and what activities do take place are not coordinated. Some examples:
• Adult Protective Services, the front line responder to abuse complaints, lacks a federal office, federal standards, oversight, training, data collection or reliable funding.
• The National Institute on Aging in 2008 spent only $1 million of its annual $1 billion budget on elder abuse issues.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent only $55,000 of its $8.8 billion budget on elder abuse.
• The Administration on Aging spends about $6 million on elder abuse issues, plus $16 million on the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program – a tiny fraction of its $1.4 billion budget.
• The Office on Violence Against Women spends only 1% of its funds on elders, who comprise 20% of the population, and who are especially subject to abuse.
Efforts in Congress to enact elder justice legislation have thus far been frustrated. In 2008, the House passed the Elder Abuse Victims Act, but the Senate failed to act.
A comprehensive Senate bill, the Elder Justice Act of 2009, (S. 795) has repeatedly cleared the Senate Finance Committee, has bipartisan sponsorship, but has yet to be debated on the Senate floor.
S. 795 would amend the Social Security Act. It would commit substantial federal resources to a coordinated attack on elder abuse. It would improve the quality and accessibility of information, provide victim assistance, step up prosecution of chronic abusers, implement special programs to support underserved populations, develop model state laws, and improve the security of long-term care residents.
An Office of Elder Abuse Prevention and Services would be charged with the development and implementation of “elder justice” programs in abuse prevention, detection, treatment, intervention and training of staff.
The Elder Justice Act defines “elder justice” as “efforts to prevent, detect, treat, intervene in and prosecute cases of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, and to protect elders with diminished capacity while maximizing their autonomy,” as well as recognition of the individual elder’s “right to be free from abuse, neglect and exploitation.”
Robert Blancato, national coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition, summed it up:
“As a country we must develop an appropriate federal response to elder abuse; legislation such as the Elder Justice Act must be enacted. The problem of abuse, neglect and exploitation of seniors is growing. Our federal commitment is not. We hope 2010 will be the year of elder justice.”

Back to PSARA Home Page