By Russ Van Arsdale, Executive Director Northeast CONTACT
Feb. 16, 2014
A family member moved in to help an ailing 75-year-old Penobscot County woman with housework. After just two days there, she persuaded the older woman to sign the home over to her, saying this would help if the woman needed long-term care. Three months later, an eviction notice came.
In Androscoggin County, a woman convinced her 78-year-old mother that it was time to sell her house and move in with her daughter and the daughter’s husband. The couple promised to look after her medical and financial needs. Soon afterward, in the heat of summer, the woman moved her elderly mother into a camper trailer in the couple’s backyard. More than two years, the couple spent all her money and left her homeless and unqualified for Mainecare. Her health declined to the point that she needed nursing home care.
These two examples of the financial abuse of older Mainers are repeated, not just daily but many times every day. In these two cases, the victims complained to Legal Services for the Elderly, and that group’s intervention helped to ease the impact. But thousands more cases are reported every year, and many more cases go unreported.
The Bangor Daily News reported last week on a new effort to head off elder financial abuse. The initiative, called Senior$afe, aims to train employees of banks and credit unions to spot signs of financial abuse at the teller’s window, drive-through or other places where relatives or others might make transactions that are not in the best interest of the account holder.
Financial abuse can happen when a senior gives power of attorney to a family member, friend or other trusted person. That power can be abused when it’s used to take advantage of the senior’s credit, secure their property or the proceeds of sales, and even threaten harm if seniors don’t hand over cash.
The Senior$afe program will provide training to front-line employees to watch for unusual activity, such as a series of checks written to one person or large cash withdrawals. Officials say 200 people have been trained and would share their new knowledge with others at their workplaces.
For example, if a suspected victim comes into a bank or credit union alone and asks to make a large cash withdrawal, the employee might try to engage the senior in casual conversation. If someone else is with the senior, the employee might instead refer the matter to authorities who could begin an investigation.
Senior$afe is spearheaded by the Maine Council for Elder Abuse Prevention, Maine Bankers Association, Maine Credit Union League, the Maine departments of Professional and Financial Regulation and Health and Human Services, and Legal Services for the Elderly. Training is also planned for financial institution managers, who might refer troubling matters to authorities.
Jaye Martin is executive director of Legal Services for the Elderly and a member of the Maine Council for Elder Abuse Prevention. She says Senior$afe is the first program of its kind in the country. Maine Securities Administrator Judith Shaw, who co-chairs the council, said the effort will help.
“Giving front line bank and credit union personnel the tools to identify suspected elder abuse will help protect Maine’s seniors before the financial damage becomes too great,” Shaw says.
If you suspect that a senior is being abused, financially or otherwise, you can call Maine Adult Protective Services at www.maine.gov/dhhs/oads/aging or call 1-800-624-8404.
SOURCE: The BangorDailyNews
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