Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act (INDIA)

From October, law to empower elderly

By Ambika Pandit, TNN

29 September 2009

Vulnerable and voiceless for long, the elderly can now swing their sticks to good effect. If they find themselves in distress, they 

can fall back on the `Maintenance & Welfare of Parents & Senior Citizens Act, 2007' that will be implemented from October.

The Act mandates that all those children who have abandoned their parents or have made them the subject of neglect in their homes will have to face penal provisions and imprisonment of up to three months or a fine of Rs 5000 or both. Under the Act, the Delhi government is starting nine tribunals across the city to take up the cases of senior citizens and address reconciliation and maintenance issues. It will be implemented soon after the notification of the tribunals on October 1.

All nine tribunals will be headed by additional district magistrate rank officers while two members each will be drawn from social sector. These tribunals will have powers to issue summons to children and relatives of the elderly seeking help and direct police to take action.

Besides having the power to invoke penal provisions, the tribunals can also ask children or relatives to provide maintenance of up to Rs 10,000 monthly to senior citizens. However, the prime role of the Act and the tribunal is to toe a reconciliatory line. That's why, sources said, conciliation officers will be appointed to report on the status. The case will be referred to the maintenance or conciliation officer who will be appointed from among the district officers of the social welfare department. This official will contact the children of the elderly and try to reach a middle ground. If that does not work, the matter will be reported back to the tribunal.

To make the process hassle-free, the Act empowers senior citizens to contest their own case in the tribunal. In case, the victims are very old or disabled, they can authorise someone else. The tribunal can also take up a case suo motto. And to expedite the matter, it will be mandatory for tribunals to settle the case in three months. The decision can be challenged in an appellate body which the government proposes to activate over the next few months. 




Abridged
SOURCE:    Times Of India

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Man Charged With Abusing Parents (FL. USA)

Man charged with abusing parents

Staff report

September 29, 2009

A 50-year-old man recently released from prison has been jailed on charges of abusing his elderly parents.

Julian Howard Parker began mistreating his parents after his release from prison in April on drug charges, police said. Parker had moved into their Milton Avenue home.

He was first arrested on Aug. 10 and charged with elderly abuse for throwing a pack of cigarettes at his 79-year-old mother- hitting her hard enough to leave a visible mark that was still there when police arrived, according to an arrest report.

Last Thursday, Parker was charged with aggravated battery of a person over 65, false imprisonment, exploitation of an elderly person and possession of cocaine after he banged on the front door at 2 a.m., awakening his father.

A short time later, Parker pulled his 81-year-old father out of bed, dragged him into another room and demanded money, an arrest report states. When his father refused to give him money, Parker became enraged and threw his father against a wall, then dragged him back into the bedroom and held him against his will, the report states.

Parker was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail, where he remained Tuesday with bail set at $15,500.

SOURCE:    The News Journal Online
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Convicted Felons Could Be Working in Nursing Homes (FL. USA)

Convicted felons could be working in your mother or father's nursing home

By Sally Kestin, Peter Franceschina and John MainesSouth Florida Sun Sentinel

September 27, 2009

More than 3,500 people with criminal records — including rape, robbery and murder — have been allowed to work with the elderly, disabled and infirm through exemptions granted by the state the past two decades, a Sun Sentinel investigation found. Hundreds more slipped through because employers failed to check their backgrounds or kept them on the job despite their criminal past.

In Palm Beach County, a woman with pending forgery charges got a job at a nursing home, where she assaulted a patient.

Glades Health Care Center in Pahokee did a background check on Phillina Anderson in 2004, but it did not turn up the charges, said Francine Hennessy, chief operating officer of the Council on Aging of Florida, Inc., which owns the facility. If it had, the nursing home would not have hired her, Hennessy said.

Anderson was still on probation in that case when she was arrested for abusing patient Cora Edwards.


Under Florida law, certain crimes disqualify someone from working with seniors or the disabled unless they obtain an exemption by showing evidence of rehabilitation.

Until this year, the disqualifying offenses did not include financial crimes that can lead to abuse and exploitation. An expanded list takes effect Thursday — eight years after a committee of prosecutors and state regulators recommended adding crimes such as burglary, fraud and forgery.

The patchwork screening system puts Florida's most vulnerable adults at risk, the  Sun Sentinel found.


Abridged
SOURCE:     The Sun Sentinel
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Senior Sleuths A Great Initiative(AZ. USA)

Protecting Arizona's seniors from abuse and exploitation is an important function of the Attorney General's Office. Arizona's seniors are often more vulnerable to physical abuse and neglect by caretakers and many times are specifically targeted by those attempting to defraud them through home repair, living trust scams, bogus charities and other financial scams.

Senior Sleuths is an effort of the Attorney General’s office to help Arizona seniors protect themselves, and to prevent others from becoming victims of fraud and abuse.

 “Protecting Arizona seniors from abuse and exploitation is an important priority for the Attorney General's Office. Because so many crooks and con artists take aim at seniors, I will continue to keep older Arizonans in the forefront of our consumer protection work and prosecute law violations,” says Attorney General Terry Goddard.

The Attorney General’s Office will be recruiting seniors and training volunteers to identify and report scams and fraud, including Medicare fraud, and to use their knowledge to educate other seniors.  There are several ways someone can be a Senior Sleuth.  They can collect suspicious “junk” mail and keep a log of telemarketing phone calls they receive.  They can attend “free” presentations and make reports to the AG.  With additional training they can answer calls on the AG Elder Help phone line, work in the Attorney General’s satellite offices, staff AG booths at community events, or make presentations to community groups.

Goddard is pleased to launch this new project, “Senior Sleuths is a great opportunity for seniors to work with the Attorney Generals office to help detect scams against seniors and to help others avoid frauds and scams. I want all Arizonans to have the knowledge to stay safe and stop crimes before they happen,”

The Attorney General Senior Sleuths project is partnering with AARP, DES Division of Aging & Adult Services SMP (Senior Medicare Patrol) program,  APS (Adult Protective Services) the Arizona Area Agencies on Aging, Duet Partners In Health & Aging and other retiree and senior groups.

For more information:
Email: SeniorSleuths@azag.gov
Phone: 602-542-2124

SOURCE:    Arizona AG's Site

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Suspect in Elderly NorCal Woman's Rape Arrested (CA. USA)

By From staff reports
September 29, 2009

A 35-year-old rape suspect from Northern California was arrested in Santa Paula on Sunday after investigators received information that he was visiting a relative there, a spokeswoman for the Santa Rosa police said.

Audelio Martinez was taken to county jail, where he was being held on Monday on bail of $1 million.

Sgt. Lisa Banayat, a spokeswoman for the Santa Rosa Police Department, said Martinez would be transported back to Santa Rosa.

Martinez is suspected of raping a 75-year-old woman at her Santa Rosa home on Sept. 17.

In addition to rape, Martinez also is charged with elder abuse, first-degree residential burglary and kidnapping to commit another crime, according to booking information at the county jail.

Abridged
SOURCE:    The Ventura County Star
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More Elderly Suffer Abuse (KOREA)

More elderly suffer abuse

By Lee Ji-yoon

Korean Herald

 For a 74-year-old blind woman surnamed Park, what makes her life miserable is not only her visual disability but her 48-year-old son, who is an alcoholic and often treats her badly.

The mental and physical abuse started six years ago when the son moved in to his mother's house for recuperation from heart disease.

"I didn't have any problems in living alone until my son came here," Park was quoted as saying by a local welfare facility. "He began drinking, and then he sometimes pushed me against the wall, beating and throwing things."

Another 70-year-old woman surnamed Kang also sought help from the protection agency, saying her daughter-in-law often yells at her and makes insulting remarks. Through further consultation, the daughter-in-law surnamed Jeong was found to sometimes pinch Kang's face as her mother-in-law had been mostly lying sick in bed since a car accident.

Even though Kang has six sons and one daughter, Jeong was the only one who has taken care of Kang.

As seen in the examples, in over 80 percent of cases this year, children abused their own parents. Sons of the victims made up more than half the offenders, followed by daughters at 10.9 percent, daughters-in-law at 9.7 percent, spouses at 9 percent and grandchildren at 2 percent.

Considering most victims hesitate to report their family members, the actual number of abuse could be larger.

Abridged
SOURCE:   The Korean Herald
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Elderly Abuse Victims Urged to Come Forward (New Zealand)

Elderly abuse victims urged to come foward

28/09/2009

Wellington police say most abuse of the elderly goes unreported due to the stigma associated with such offending.

Hemant Kumar was deported to Fiji over the weekend for defrauding a 94-year-old woman of $127,000 between 2004 and 2006.

Detective Mike Stone says the case highlights the fact that there are people looking to take advantage of the elderly, but he says many victims are reluctant to take action.

"The difficulty in crimes of this nature is that it is very difficult for the victims to come forward. There's a degree of shame and embarrassment that they've been taken advantage of."

Margaret Guthrie, the president of Age Concern Wellington agrees that elder abuse goes unreported due to embarrassment, the vulnerability of the victim, or fear.

"Sometimes they're afraid they may do themselves more harm than good. They're just not sure whether they're actually going to make the matter worse by bringing it to attention."

Police are encouraging anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of similar abuse to come forward and Ms Guthrie says it is important to do so, otherwise the abuser is simply encouraged.

SOURCE:    NewsTalkZB, Auckland, New Zealand

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Elderly Woman's Rapist Wins Deportation Appeal (CANADA)

Elderly woman's rapist wins deportation appeal

BY SHERRI ZICKEFOOSE,

 CALGARY HERALD

SEPTEMBER 26, 2009

A nursing home caregiver convicted of sexually assaulting an elderly woman suffering from dementia has won an appeal of his deportation order.

The immigration appeal division member hearing the case of Cesar Benjamin Guzman erred by ignoring important evidence, Judge John O'Keefe ruled in the Federal Court of Appeal.

Guzman, a 75-year-old permanent Canadian resident who was caught sexually assaulting an 87-year-old woman in 2005, was ordered deported to Peru after serving his 18-month sentence.

But he successfully appealed the deportation order when the judge agreed the immigration member was speculating and ignoring facts, according to documents obtained by the Herald.

News of Guzman's victory has outraged his elderly victim's daughter. "He has committed a crime, has served time in jail and deserves to be deported. I, for one, think he should have been deported immediately when he was released from jail," said Marjorie Starr.

"Mother's still alive, she's never been the same," said Starr of her 90-year-old mother, who cannot be identified. "She was just like a child, and to take advantage when you're in that position....We don't need these kinds of criminals in Canada."

According to an agreed statement of facts, the woman's bed sensor alarm at Wentworth Manor was triggered at about 3:45 a. m. July 24, 2005, and a nearby nurse came to her aid.

The nurse found Guzman leaning over the elderly woman, whose pajama bottoms had been removed, with her legs over his shoulders.

Guzman claimed to be changing the woman's diaper, but later confessed to sexually assaulting her.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Abridged
SOURCE:     The Calgary Herald

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Alleged Canadian Phone Scammer Loses Bid to Stop Extradition ( CANADA)

Alleged B.C. phone scammer loses bid to stop extradition

September 25, 2009

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a B.C. man facing 20 fraud charges for allegedly bilking elderly Americans out of thousands of dollars with a lottery scam will be sent to the U.S. to face justice.

Henry Anekwu's, 42, of Vancouver, was ordered extradited in 2005. During that hearing, the RCMP had a single officer present a summary of the evidence against him, rather than subpoena witnesses.

Anekwu appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada where he argued that the RCMP shouldn't have been allowed to present evidence at his extradition hearing in summary form because it amounted to hearsay.

But on Thursday court ruled that the evidence was still valid.

Abridged
SOURCE:     CBC, CANADA
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Two Arrests For Embezzling From Elderly Woman (CA. USA)

Two arrests for embezzling from elderly woman

September 25, 2009

Two people have been arrested and charged with embezzling more than $13,000 from an 81-year-old Menlo Park woman, police said.

Giovanni Orlando Digiacomo, 44, of San Carlos and Mary Stuart, 51, of Menlo Park were arrested Sept. 18 on charges of elder abuse, conspiracy to defraud, and embezzlement.

The money was stolen through unauthorized credit card purchases, said Menlo Park police spokeswoman Nicole Ackerman. Ms. Stuart, a relative who lives with the victim, allegedly intercepted the credit card bills in order to hide the purchases, Ms. Ackerman said.

The two suspects, who are unemployed, allegedly made thousands of dollars in purchases between May and July of this year, Ms. Ackerman said. The case originated from a report by San Mateo County Adult Protective Services, she said.

SOURCE:    The Almanac News

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Alberta Man Who Abused Elderly Mother Gets Probation (CANADA)

 EDMONTON JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 25, 2009

A 73-year-old man who bound his elderly mother to a chair and threatened her was given 12 months of probation Thursday, seven years after the victim died at age 87.

Clifford Leo Morin loved his mother, Elizabeth Lussin, deeply but was in no position to care for her when she moved into his home in 1999, said Judge Jack Watson.

"You were charged with a responsibility that you could not cope with," Watson told the grey-haired man, who uses an electric scooter and is in ill health.

Morin was initially charged with assault, assault with a weapon, unlawful confinement, and uttering threats against his mother. Watson found him not guilty of the assault charges earlier this year.

The case first came to court in 2005 and gained notoriety as an example of elder abuse. The case was delayed repeatedly due to Morin's poor health.

"I'm sorry for anything I may have done wrong but I did the best I could," Morin wrote in a statement read in court.

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

SOURCE:   Canada.Com

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The 'Elder Abuser' in this case is a senior himself.  We have to ask the questions:  Where were the state services?  Why was the man (at 73 years of age) not been given the assistance for himself and his mother?

This case should not have happened, if the various levels of government had in place proper Aged Care services.  

..................... AC

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Elder Citizens Ignored By Their Own Children (THAILAND)

Elder citizens ignored by their own children

By The Nation
September 25, 2009 

Senior citizens in Thailand are increasingly neglected and abused, both by their own children and by caregivers in state-run shelter homes, the author of a study on the subject said yesterday.

The findings of research by Jiraphorn Katesaphitchayawatthana were discussed at a Bangkok seminar.
Jiraphorn said violations against the elderly included verbal, physical and sexual abuse; failure of respect for private property; and alterations of conditions and statements in legal documents by children or other heirs to reap more profit for their own benefit.
The various kinds of abuse result in elders suffering from distress, depression and other mental disorders while physical and sexual abuses cause injuries and disease.



To solve problems on the caregiver's end, children should agree to take turns caring for their old and ailing parents to spread the burden of stress that often comes with the task.

(c) 2007 NMG News Co., Ltd.

Abridged
SOURCE:    The Nation MultiMedia
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73-Year-Old Man Gets Probation For Elder Abuse (CANADA)

73-year-old man gets probation for elder abuse

By TONY BLAIS, COURT BUREAU

24th September 2009

A 73-year-old former Edmonton man convicted of tying his mother to a chair and threatening to throw her off a balcony was today placed on 12 months probation.

However, the judge in the case told the wheelchair-bound Clifford Morin if he had been younger, healthier or without reasons for his behaviour toward his now-deceased mother, he would have sent him off to a penitentiary.

“I would not have had the slightest hesitation in sending you to jail,” said Justice Jack Watson, noting the elderly members of society must be protected by the law.

Watson called it a “very difficult” and “tragic” case and said he accepted that Morin’s criminal behaviour was the result of him being stressed due to being “overwhelmed” by having to care for both himself and his mother.

Abridged
SOURCE:     The Edmonton Sun
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Boom time For Geriatric Law (AUSTRALIA)

Boom time for geriatric law

By Debbie Guest

September 25, 2009

IT is an area of law full of new concepts that is set to produce big windfalls for lawyers due to Australia's ageing baby boomers.

Dubbed "elder law'', specialists in the field say come 2011 the niche area will be booming, with lawyers in demand to solve a range of complex family dilemmas including whether elderly parents have the capacity to make their own decisions.

Brian Herd, elder law specialist and partner at Queensland-based Carne Reidy Herd Lawyers, said baby boomers would produce more work for lawyers than their parents because of the greater complexity of their lives.

"It's the baby boomers in particular, the next older generation that we're really targeting because they're the ones that are going to have significant wealth, significantly complex lives, complex families,'' he said.

"All of that is a pot for lawyers, in terms of legal issues arising out of that vast vat of complexity that older people take with them into retirement. The current generation is a bit simpler in terms of their circumstances.''

Herd said a wealth of legal work stemmed from people growing old and this was not confined to the traditional areas of power of attorney and wills. 

Abridged
SOURCE:   The Australian News
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Yes, I agree that there will be more jobs for lawyers. Some of these jobs are created by the inadequacy of current laws (e.g on Power of Attorney, Guardianship rulings, etc). 


................AC

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Families Train As Carers to Cut Health Bill (IRELAND)

Families train as carers to cut health bill

By Geraldine Gittens

Thursday September 24 2009

Nursing home bills have forced family members to train as carers because they cannot afford to keep their elderly loved ones in expensive residences.

A growing number of people are signing up for Safe Pass To Care courses, in order to save on costly nursing home bills.

Liam Donnelly, from Sandra Cooney's Health Care, who set up the newly opened Northside Training Centre in Ballymun, calls the carer profession 'the new IT' because of the increase in demand.

"To be cared for in the home is cheaper than a nursing home. The elderly person can keep their independence, too.

"It seems to be the new IT. It's a new profession that has only started in the last few years. It was totally unregulated before."

The average nursing home costs between €1,100 and €1,200 per week in the east of the country, and around €800 in the cheaper north west, according to Age Action.

Burden

Liam said many people cannot afford to pay for a home carer to look after their loved ones, either.

With HSE funding and tax rebates available to people who want care in their own homes, many people are now asking local priests, community nurses and social workers about where they can turn.

Abridged
SOURCE:   The Herald, Ireland
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Allegations of Sub-Standards and Rape At Care Homes (VIC. AUSTRALIA)

Rape at care homes alleged

By NICK MCKENZIE

September 24, 2009

VULNERABLE women in state-monitored care homes are reportedly being raped and are trading sex for cigarettes and money in cases that highlight years of neglect and inaction by the State Government, according to its own watchdog.

The Public Advocate, Colleen Pearce, says Victorians would feel ''ashamed'' if they visited some Government-monitored private nursing homes.

''We have left vulnerable Victorians without support. It is a shameful situation,'' said Ms Pearce, who was appointed in 2007 to protect the rights of the disabled and vulnerable.

Ms Pearce said she had decided to speak out to highlight years of Government inaction over reports from Office of the Public Advocate monitors about conditions facing mentally ill, disabled and elderly residents of state-supported accommodation.

She said there was particular concern about women in so-called supported residential services. ''When you have got women who need to get basic necessities, they will often provide sexual favours to get them and then feel really abused by that. It is not uncommon for us to hear about women either trading cigarettes for sex or else being raped.''

A second Office of the Public Advocate report states that supported-accommodation monitors found ''that the physical environments of the visited facilities are substandard''.

Ms Pearce told The Age: ''We are seeing a deterioration in the well-being of many of the residents over a period of time. They are people we may have visited as community visitors or we may have under guardianship.

''It is the deterioration of the physical and mental welfare of these human beings that drives us to knock at the Government door and to try and get the system reviewed.''

Abridged

SOURCE:    The Age Newspapers

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Help For Elders Delayed By Shrinking State Funds (MA. USA)

Help for elders delayed by shrinking state funds

WAITING FOR ASSISTANCE

September 23, 2009

By Lee Hammel TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Sylvia Castle has never been one to apply for help, even at age 96. 

Neither the macular degeneration that dims her eyesight nor a heart problem severe enough to cause her to pass out from time to time could get her to consent to fill out applications for help from agencies. 

“They have been very, very independent,” Jan Castle said of her parents-in-law. 

Jan Castle, 72, lives a five-minute walk from her husband's parents and is there nearly daily. Sometimes she takes Mrs. Castle shopping or does it herself, and the couple's grandchildren offer to help as well, Jan Castle said. 

“My husband has been after them for quite a while to get housekeeping,” she said. “They said ‘No, Dad can do the washing.' ” 

That means that Alfred H. Castle, who is 97, had to go up and down the stairs to the washing machine at their Worcester home. 


All that was until a week-and-a half-ago. She passed out once again and wound up with a goose egg on her head. The hospital that treated her discovered she had a damaged heart valve and thickened aorta, Jan Castle said. 

But Sylvia Castle's acquiescence to outside help was poorly timed. It was the same week that the state Office of Elder Affairs was driven by budget cuts to create a waiting list for home care for the elderly. 

About 15 percent to 25 percent of the clients of Elder Services of Worcester Area will qualify for an exemption from the waiting list that was established Sept. 8, according to executive director Lou Swan. Waivers go to people who are victims of abuse, who have been recently discharged from a hospital or nursing home, or have a terminal illness with hospice care. 


Mr. Swan said, “You've got people who are doing their best. Nobody's paying them. 

“Sometimes a little help to these families makes a lot of difference. The minute they go into a nursing home, it's all paid help.” 

He noted, “The daughter's old enough to be one of our clients.” 

“I just think it's shortsighted to not fund the community services that prevent people from going to more expensive services.” 


Abridged
SOURCE:    The Telegram
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African American Elders in Peril (USA)

    

23 September 2009

By Linnie Frank Bailey,

New America Media, News Report 

Elder advocate Jackie Melendez reports seeing a marked increase in a special kind of elder abuse these days.  It doesn’t involve those who usually prey on elders, the abusive caregiver or financial scam artist. In this case, those targeting seniors—are themselves.  “They give up. They stop taking their prescriptions, they stop shopping for food, they stop cleaning their houses and they let their appearance go. Many times it is the physician who first notices something is wrong,” said Melendez, co-founder of Inland Senior Caring Connection.  The nonprofit coordinates assistance for elders such as Meals-on-Wheels, housing and home care.

Melendez said the increased cases of elder self-neglect are one sign of widespread angst among seniors over the deteriorating economy and fear about what the future holds.

This fear of the future is aggravated by recent budget cuts in California affecting senior services and programs.  Many elders are living a retirement a lot broker than they planned, and they don’t know where to turn for help. Melendez said her organization is one of many that try to help seniors find resources, however it is harder as programs are cut.

Abridged
SOURCE:   The Black Voice News


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I must point out that elder abuse is not gender, race, country or social status based.  It happens right across all kinds of divides. Unless we keep highlighting the fact and the urgency to correct the situation, many more vulnerable seniors will be abused. 
I would also like to add that we often come across horrible elder abuse cases in the media; but more must be done to protect the elderly in the general community. Those who prefer to stay independent and are living in their own homes.  These are the majority and frequently forgotten ones.  Yes, forgotten by the media, governments etc.


Let us put our collective effort to highlight the plight of the elderly. Don't forget the changes we are putting our effort into; may one day be our only saviour.


................. AC

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Knifeman Gets 48 Years for Slashing Elderly Woman's Throat (USA)

Knifeman gets 48 years for slashing elderly woman's throat

By: SCOTT MCCABE
Examiner Staff Writer
September 23, 2009

A Germantown man was sentenced to 48 years in prison -- 10 years more than the sentencing guidelines recommend -- for robbing and slashing the throat of an 80-year-old woman.

Elwood Green, 20, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Circuit Court to second-degree attempted murder and faced 22 to 38 years. But Judge Louise G. Scrivener imposed the harsher sentence because of the violence of the attack and the vulnerability of the elderly woman.

"This was a heinous crime against a particularly vulnerable victim," said State's Attorney John J. McCarthy. "Elwood Green preyed on those he knew he could overpower easily."

Abridged
SOURCE:    The Washington Examiner

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Govt. of Canada Supporting Elder Abuse Awareness Campaigns

Minister of State (Seniors) speaks with Oshawa seniors at Town Hall meeting

OSHAWA, ONTARIO,

September 22, 2009

The Honourable Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister of State (Seniors), met with seniors in Oshawa today at a Town Hall meeting to discuss a variety of issues affecting seniors, including elder abuse.

The Government of Canada is also supporting seniors through a national elder abuse awareness campaign. Entitled Elder Abuse – It’s Time To Face The Reality, the campaign was launched on June 15, 2009, which was Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and will run again for four weeks starting September 28, in time for International Day of Older Persons, October 1.

The campaign – which is supported through funding of $13 million over three years provided in Budget 2008 – aims to help Canadians recognize the signs and symptoms of elder abuse and provides information on available support. The Government will also be working with professional associations that have frontline workers who often deal with seniors. These organizations will be able to draw on the federal elder abuse awareness materials in order to help reduce the incidence of abuse.

For more information on the Government’s programs and services for seniors, please visitwww.seniors.gc.ca.

This news release is available online at: www.actionplan.gc.ca.

SOURCE:    News GC Centre
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Man Charged With Attempted Murder and Elder Abuse of His Wife (CA. USA)

A Costa Mesa man has been charged with attempted murder and elder abuse in the shooting of his wife of 50 years.

The Orange County district attorney's office said Monday that 75-year-old Kenneth Leake shot his 72-year-old wife five times while she was napping Thursday afternoon.

Prosecutors say Doris Leake was shot in the head four times and once in the wrist with a handgun. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition, but prosecutors say she is stable and expected to survive.

Neighbors called 911 and Kenneth Leake was arrested outside their home.

He's being held on $1 million bail.

If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 60 years to life in state prison.

SOURCE:    SF GATE.COM
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Getting Physicians' Help With Elder Fraud (USA)

Getting Physicians' Help With Elder Fraud

sEPTEMBER 22, 2009

U.S. state securities regulators could soon be turning to health-care professionals for help treating a growing problem: investment fraud against the elderly.

Denise Voigt Crawford, newly elected president of the North American Securities Administrators Association, or NASAA, helped launch a pilot program in Texas that enlists physicians and other health-care professionals in identifying and assisting seniors at risk of financial exploitation. She is Texas' securities commissioner.

"Am I going to promote a broader national reach for the program? You bet," said Voigt Crawford.

      SOURCE:    Wall Street Journal Online

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Tougher Measures Urged, to Punish Those Who Target Elderly (IRELAND)

Grandfather of entertainer dies

September 22, 2009, 20:35

The elderly grandfather of a well-known entertainer has died in hospital almost a week after he was left unconscious following a break-in at his home in Waterford city.

Paddy Barry (82) died at around 5.30am in Waterford Regional Hospital having sustained head injuries during the robbery at his home in the Mount Sion area of the city between 8pm and 10pm last Wednesday.

One man was questioned by detectives in Waterford following the incident under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. He was released on Thursday and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

His grandson, the magician Keith Barry, and family paid tribute to Mr Barry.

Keith Barry had criticised the Irish criminal justice system over the weekend on the Marian Finucane Show radio show.

During the programme Mr Barry called on the Department of Justice to introduce tougher laws to punish those who target older people. He said other elderly people living in the usually quiet Mount Sion area of the city were petrified following the attack.

“These thugs have no fear. They have no fear for the law. They have no fear for the justice system and they have no fear of us in our homes,” he said.

I think anybody who enters a pensioner’s home uninvited . . . should get a mandatory sentence, without bail, without excuses,” he told the programme.

Abridged
SOURCE:   The Irish Times

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Daughter Is Charged with Neglecting her 74 -year-old Mother (CA. USA)

By JON CASSIDY

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

September 20, 2009

 A 48-year-old Garden Grove woman was in court this morning to face a felony charge of inflicting injury on an elderly adult.

Cheryle Ann Ross, who lived with her mother at the El Dorado Mobile Home Park on Euclid Street, is accused of letting her mother's bedsores deteriorate into a life-threatening condition.

Ross' public defender, Steve Daniels, declined to comment.

She entered a plea of not guilty on July 20.

On June 29, an ambulance took Doris Ross, 74, to the hospital in critical condition after her skin ulcers became infected.

Cheryle Ross is scheduled to be back at Westminster Justice Center Oct. 16 for a pre-trial hearing.

Abridged

SOURCE:     OC Register

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