Mass. elder abuse on rise
Economy adds to family stresses; Budget cuts limit options for care
By Kay Lazar
Globe Staff / February 9, 2009
More of the state's elderly are being abused or neglected, as economic stresses push family caregivers to the breaking point and the social service programs that once helped them are cut back.
Confirmed cases of financial, physical, emotional, or sexual mistreatment of elders more than doubled in each of the first four months of this fiscal year, compared with monthly averages the previous year, according to a Globe analysis of state figures.
"Many of the issues we are dealing with are simply related to overload," said Dale Mitchell, executive director of Ethos, a Boston nonprofit agency that handles the city's protective services program under a state contract.
Mounting job losses, shrinking investments, and unrelenting foreclosures have caused a new level of stress for families taking care of elders, say Mitchell and other officials on the front line of elder care.
At the same time, programs designed to help ease the burden - such as home care services and a training and stress management program for family caregivers - are being cut, they say. That fuels a rise in abuse allegations.
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