Bennett J. LoudonStaff writer
(January 14, 2008) — Advocates for the elderly are hoping that a study of the prevalence of elder abuse in New York state will provide reliable information to support their call for more attention to the issue.
Lifespan of Greater Rochester Inc., which provides services to the elderly, has been awarded a $194,000 state grant to pay for the study. The work is expected to take about two years to complete.
The project, a partnership of Lifespan, the New York City Department of Aging and Cornell University, will be the first statewide study of elder abuse in the nation, Lifespan officials said.
"It has not been an issue that, federally or much on the state level, has really caught the legislators' attention and had them devote resources and lots of attention to," said Art Mason, director of Lifespan's Elder Abuse Prevention Program.
No federal agency focuses solely on elder abuse, and very few private organizations are involved with intervention efforts. As a result, very limited information is available about the extent of the problem. Although 45 states have laws that mandate the reporting of suspected elder abuse, New York does not.
"Since we have no mandatory reporting in New York state, we do not have a clue in this state how little or how great the problem is," Mason said.Some experts estimate that only one in 14 cases is reported. In the public notice for a state Assembly committee hearing on the issue scheduled for Jan. 18 in Rochester, about 30,000 senior citizens are said to be victims of some sort of abuse or exploitation. But the notice also acknowledges that the number is likely underestimated. From 2002 to 2006, the number of cases handled by the Adult Protective Services office in New York City almost doubled to about 10,000 while no new staff members were added.
Monroe County's Adult Protective Services unit has 13 workers who investigate allegations of elder abuse. In 2006 they handled 500 cases, said Tom Corbitt, manager of the office. But the county agency handles only cases in which the alleged victim has a serious mental or physical impairment.
Mason has a staff of four workers who investigate cases that don't meet the county's criteria. In 2006, his workers identified 348 elder abuse incidents. About 40 percent of those cases involved financial abuse; 33 percent involved psychological abuse. In 49 percent, the perpetrator was a son or daughter
.
Although Mason and other senior citizen advocates would prefer a mandatory reporting system, they recognize that it's not likely. Still, they hope the study results will support a request for funding to provide educational and intervention programs. They also will advocate for funds to support assistant district attorneys who will focus on elder abuse cases.
The study will include a telephone survey of about 4,000 elderly people, said Paul Caccamise, Lifespan's vice president for program."We're hoping that this prevalence study will lay the groundwork for statutory changes," Caccamise said. "We're also hoping this will be a model for other states to look at."
SOURCE: DemocratandChronicle.com
A comment on the Article:
Why have mandatory reporting of elder abuse, when local agencies are reluctant to intervene? Three years ago, may husband and I discovered his Aunt 91 years old at the time, was being neglected, physically and financially, by his niece. To make things easier on our Aunt, we did all the work to take over POA, and the physical care of our Aunt. We had absolute proof of abuse, and neglect, so contacted the Sheriffs" department. The deputy would not enter the home, and would not look at any of our documentation of neglect, and financial abuse. The deputy stated that because the offender had POA at the time of the abuse, there was nothing we could do! So, we notified Adult Protective to help with the investigation. Because we wanted to prosecute the offender, there was nothing they could do, they don't help prosecute criminal cases. Next we notified the State Police, but because we had contacted the Sheriffs" office, they would not investigate, but the officer would contact the deputy and see what was going on, and get back to us. Our lawyer even wrote a letter to the State Police, which has yet to be responded to. So, are our Senior citizens being exploited? You bet! Is it easy to get away with exploitation of the elderly? Apparently so, as we had very blatent proof of abuse, we still have it. Should the offender, in this case, be in prison? We believe so. Does more need to be done? A LOT more needs to be done. Do we think the offender almost got away with murder? You bet ! Who would question the death of a 91 year old woman? So I sincerely hope the Lifespan organization can find ways to get the attention of the legislators, to enact laws which prohibit caretakers form exploiting the elderly. By the way, I also e-mailed my State Senator, and have yet to receive a reply from him.
bettyrn
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I have included this comment because what 'bettyrn' said is so true. Many, including myself, have tried to get help for victims. Even if you are armed with concrete evidence; often, you get the 'runaround' or 'pass-the-buck' game.
More must be done by the government or state agencies that are supposed to protect the elderly and vulnerable.
Worst still - The reporters of EA get investigated!
For leaders of government agencies, or policymakers: If they were serious about the protection of the elderly -- this aspect of elder abuse must be urgently dealt with.
Andrew
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