Certified guardians protect elderly from abuse
By AUDREY PARENTE
Staff Writer
Casey Holly of Ormond Beach said his 83-year-old father had always been an "independent fellow," and no one realized he had become the victim of elder abuse until authorities called.
It threw the family into a sort of "hurricane," Holly said.
"My father is 83, retired for a long time from working for the state and county. He's a World War II Infantry vet. But he had a bit of dementia, and people took advantage of him," Holly said. "I didn't realize what was happening, but we found out from the police that we needed to get there right away."
Holly learned his father had been taken advantage of financially, and was left ill and confused.
The National Center on Elder Abuse reports that more than 500,000 people over 60 become victims of abuse every year, and only a small percentage of incidents are ever reported to authorities. Given the significant underreporting, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging recently estimated as many as 5 million older Americans may be victims of abuse, neglect and exploitation every year.
As a result, a fledgling field of practice is evolving.
"A developing practice of third-party guardianship is being driven by social and economic dynamics, causing courts to turn to professional guardians," said Terry Hammond, executive director of the National Guardianship Association, which has 900 members.
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