26 June, 2009

An educational summit was held in Cupertino Thursday to train clergy members on how to look for signs of elder abuse.

According to the Mercury News, clergy members were added to a state list of “mandated reporters” five years ago and are required by law to report to authorities if they suspect abuse or neglect of seniors.

But despite the new law, organizers of the abuse summit say the problem is continuing to grow and that no reports of abuse have been filed by any clergy members in the county since then. Betty Malks, project director of the Elder Abuse and Neglect Initiative, says it is very important for churches to be educated about this issue because elders have the highest church attendance rates.

According to Malks, sixty to ninety percent of all cases involve family members. Malk says financial elder abuse is a hidden crime that often goes unreported. National statistics show only one in 100 cases are ever reported.

“That’s due to the shame and humiliation that’s involved with financial abuse especially if it’s in your family. You know, many people will say to me, ‘I didn’t raise my kids to do this,’” said Malks.

In Santa Clara County, Malks says 39 to 40 percent of all reports made to adult protective services involve elder abuse.

The Mercury News reports there are an estimated 700 churches, temples and mosques in the county. Malks hopes that by working with these faith-based organizations, more awareness will be spread about the problem.

By Mike Sever

Record-Courier staff writer

It’s the same old see-saw — as the local economy sinks, reports of elder fraud and abuse are on the rise, officials say.

The number of elder abuse cases opened last year was 60 percent higher than in 2007, according to Cathi Rufener, family assessment supervisor for the Portage County Department of Job and Family Services. And, in the first quarter of this year, the department opened upwards of 70 cases.

A total of 210 cases of elder abuse were opened last year compared to 127 in 2007, Rufener said. How high the case load goes this year “probably depends on how the economy goes, how hot it gets this summer and how cold it gets this winter,” she said.

The department is working closely with the Portage County Sheriff’s Office, which has two investigators working with Adult Protective Services.

The close collaboration is important, Sheriff David Doak said. Caseworkers and investigators will respond together in serious cases.

“They are able to pick up those cases and run with them from start to finish,” he said. “If there is an in-house perpetrator we need to get on it right away.”

More elder abuse cases

Most common are physical abuse and neglect; financial abuse also on the rise

By Mavis Toh

June 7, 2009

Madam G.H. Teo has four children but wishes she had none.

The 79-year-old widow, who used to work as a seamstress, lives in a one-room flat in the Outram area and survives on the little that is left of her savings.

In May last year, she found her 48-year-old drug addict son milking her savings from a joint account. When confronted, he threw a stool at her.

He still comes back to ask for money, but her other children have not visited her in two years.

Madam Teo is a victim of neglect, and physical and financial abuse.

Help groups for the elderly worry that with the recession, such elder abuse cases will rise.

In a downturn, struggling couples with young children might neglect the needs of elderly family members, including medical and basic needs.

Ms Helen Ko, executive director of the Centre For Seniors, said: ‘When people are under pressure and financially strapped, there is a higher chance they will neglect the elderly.’

Mr Wong Lit Shoon, chief executive of the Singapore Action Group of Elders Counselling Centre, said calls to the centre were down by about 1,000 last year, compared to the more than 7,000 calls it received in 2007.

Callers request medical aid as well as report abuse.

June 29, 2009

By Thomas Gallivan

June 29, 2009

The families of elder abuse victims are using social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter and Myspace, to gain support for reform in long-term care facilities. The group, which was founded by family member’s personally affected by alleged abuse in a Minnesota nursing home, can be found by conducting a search for “Families Against Nursing Home Abuse” on any of these sites.

The group members describe themselves as being “committed to providing information and resources for the continuum of long-term care — from successful aging, to aging in the home, to assisted living, to hospice care, as well as nursing home care.”

Those interested in becoming members of the group can join online, or call Jan Reshetar at 402-4749 or Myrna Sorensen at 383-6963.

Stiff Penalties for those who Abuse the Elderly

Grand Rapids Press Editorial

June 19, 2009

As the population ages, the problem of elder abuse is expected to spread. Stiff penalties for abusers might help keep the problem in check.

The four-month jail term meted out this week in an Ottawa County case of shocking elder abuse has put a spotlight on a largely hidden social problem. While child abuse and domestic violence have rightly been elevated in the public eye, the abuse, neglect and exploitation of the elderly warrants attention as well. That’s especially true as the population nationally and in Michigan grows grayer.

What’s more, the jail term given Ottawa County resident Carol Maneke for leaving her father in squalid living conditions has prompted criticism about whether the punishment fits the crime. Her father, Max Canfield, 87, died in a hospital in 2006, a week after being taken out of a filthy Tallmadge Township duplex. Maneke lived in the adjacent half of the duplex and was her father’s legal guardian. According to relatives and police, he died from malnutrition-related weakness. It’s ironic and disconcerting that Maneke was sentenced on Monday, which was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

The authorities got involved in this case after Mr. Canfield’s granddaughter said she was not allowed to see him and became concerned about his welfare. Police and social workers found the decorated World War II veteran lying on a soiled mattress with adult diapers, trash, pop cans and animal feces all around. They had to tape and seal their pant legs before entering the roach-infested duplex.

Maneke’s prosecution on charges of vulnerable adult abuse was delayed in part because she moved to Pennsylvania and authorities had trouble finding her. She could have received up to nine months in jail, according to sentencing guidelines for her conviction on a charge of second-degree vulnerable adult abuse. Police looked at whether Maneke could be charged with some form of homicide but decided the evidence did not support it because Mr. Canfield had other medical issues that may have contributed to his decline.

Nevertheless, the high end of the more modest charge certainly would have sent a stronger message that sub-standard care for the elderly is not acceptable.

Because studies show that the most likely abusers of the elderly are their own family members, it’s a problem that can go unnoticed and unreported. National statistics suggest only one in five cases is reported.

We can all play a role in making Michigan a safe place to grow old by being as vigilant about elder abuse as we are becoming about child abuse and domestic violence. Our senior’s golden years should not be tarnished by abuse, neglect and exploitation. Those who cross the line by abusing the elderly should pay an appropriate price. Our courts should see to that.

Abridged

SOURCE: MLive.com

State’s Democrats seek protection for seniors

By BARRETT NEWKIRK

THE ENQUIRER

JUNE 30, 2009

Democrats in the Michigan House of Representatives are pushing a plan to strengthen the state’s elder abuse laws.

The package of bills, dubbed the Elder Abuse Protection Plan, would increase penalties for people convicted of cheating senior citizens and increase consumer protections. Rep. Kate Segal, D-Battle Creek, is sponsoring one of the plan’s bills.

The legislation comes after some high-profile abuse cases made headlines around the state, including two Flint brothers charged with abuse this month after allegedly selling their grandfather’s prescription painkillers. Reports of elder abuse in Michigan have increased 40 percent since 1998, according to the Michigan Department of Human Services.

“What is happening in this state, it is unthinkable and unspeakable,” Segal said during a press conference Monday.

Segal’s bill would require legal guardians to report the cash and cash-convertible assets of an incapacitated person to the court.

Other bills in the plan would require employees of nursing homes and financial institutions to report suspected cases of elder abuse, make it a felony to obtain a signature through fraud or deceit, and prohibit someone charged with felony abuse to win an inheritance from the victim’s estate.