Elder Abuse/Elder Justice
Resources Available for Ombudsmen
Consumer Factsheets on Financial Exploitation (February 2014)
Developed in part through a grant from the Administration on Aging for the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), these fact sheets discuss the prevention, detection and reporting of financial exploitation in assisted living and nursing homes. There are separate fact sheets for residents of assisted living facilities and nursing homes and their family members. The consumer fact sheets provide an overview of residents’ rights and facility responsibilities related to resident finances, tips for protecting themselves and how to report incidents of financial abuse. The fact sheets for family and friends of residents also review residents’ rights and facility responsibilities, highlight warning signs and how to report incidents of financial exploitation.
Assisted Living Facilities
- Consumer Fact Sheet: How to Prevent, Detect and Report Financial Exploitation in Assisted Living Facilities
- Protecting Your Loved One: How to Prevent, Detect and Report Financial Exploitation in Assisted Living Facilities
- Consumer Fact Sheet: How to Prevent, Detect and Report Financial Exploitation in Nursing Homes
- Protecting Your Loved One: How to Prevent, Detect and Report Financial Exploitation in Nursing Homes
This session from the 37th annual Consumer Voice conference answers questions about abuse. Abuse is a crime and incidents of abuse occur in all types of long-term care settings, but incidents are often unidentified or unreported. How do you proceed if you suspect abuse or receive an allegation of abuse of a resident? Who do you call and when? How can you support the resident before, during and after the investigation? How do you get law enforcement to investigate the case, and what information do they need – especially if the resident is incapacitated? Join us to learn how advocates and law enforcement can work together to protect residents.
Session Materials:
- Kathy Lanier, North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services, Powerpoint Presentation
- Kathleen Quinn, National Adult Protective Services Association, Powerpoint Presentation
- NORC Information on Working with Other Agencies Regarding Abuse (Under Collaboration/Working with Other Agencies) & Ethics
- NORC Training and In-Services (Including Information Regarding Abuse)
- Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime
- National Center for Victims of Crime
- Montgomery County Connecting our Community Programs on Elder Abuse 1 & 2
Financial exploitation of older adults has become more prevalent over the last several years. Why? How do we combat this? This session from the 37th annual Consumer Voice conference will explore why financial exploitation is on the rise and what federal agencies are doing about it. This session will also provide training techniques and educational strategies to prevent, identify and respond to financial exploitation of older adults at the local levels. Lastly, this session will provide a real-life example of how one local coalition came together and now works to identify and prevent financial exploitation.
Session Materials:
- Esther Houser, Oklahoma State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, Powerpoint Presentation
- Lisa Schifferle, Federal Trade Commission's Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Powerpoint Presentation
This booklet produced by Kansas Advocates for Better Care details the principles of compassionate care and outlines the signs of financial exploitation and feduciary abuse.
National Resouce Center on LGBT Aging
The National Resource Center on LGBT Aging, along with founding partner organization FORGE Transgender Aging Network, launched a new website section dedicated to LGBT Elder Abuse. The multimedia resources are especially geared toward helping abuse professionals assist in these cases and for LGBT older adults and their caregivers to understand how to get help
Elder Justice Coordination CouncilThe first meeting of the Elder Justice Coordinating Council, established in the Elder Justice Act of 2009, was held on October 11, 2012 in Washington, DC. The Council is chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, includes the heads of other Federal departments and governmental entities having responsibilities, or administering programs, relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Council members included the heads of the Department of Justice (a permanent member), Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The Council will meet a minimum of twice per year, and will work on developing recommendations to the DHHS Secretary for the coordination of activities relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, as well as other crimes against seniors. The Council members heard testimony throughout the day from Panels of Experts discussing Financial Exploitation, Public Policy & Awareness, Enhancing Response, and Advancing Research. Testimony, white papers from the panelists and a recording of the Council meeting will be available online from DHHS.
Criminal Convictions for Nurse Aides With Substantiated Findings of Abuse, Neglect, and Misappropriation - Office of the Inspector General
The objective of this memorandum report is to provide baseline information for the mandated report on the extent to which nurses aides with substantiated findings of abuse, neglect and/or misappropriation had previous criminal convictions that could have been detected through background checks and the nature of those convictions. Knowledge of this data will assist in assessing the extent to which the background check program may reduce the number of incidents of neglect, abuse and misappropriation of resident property.
Creating Effective Local Elder Abuse Prevention Networks: A Planning Guide
This Planning Guide, produced by the National Center on Elder Abuse and the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, is based on the experience of several Area Agencies on Aging in the development of local elder abuse prevention networks. It offers an outline of basic steps to take in forming, directing and assessing the success of the group. Information about how the tool was developed is provided in the Background and Overview section. Instructions for strategic planning, including sample forms, an outline and suggested small group procedures are included to help organizations begin a results-oriented planning process.
White House World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Commemoration
On June 14 the White House Office of Public Engagement held a day-long symposium on Elder Abuse & Financial Exploitation. This event, hosted in collaboration with the Administration for Community Living/Department of Health and Human Services, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department of Justice, brought together partners and elder abuse experts from around the country to discuss preventing and responding to financial exploitation. Featured speakers included representatives from the federal government, the banking industry, and national elder abuse experts.
Symposium Agenda
Click here for a list of Federal Initiatives announced during the symposium.
National Center on Elder Abuse, Take A Stand Against Elder Abuse
Includes public awareness tools such as tip sheets for involvement and prevention and fact sheets covering topics such as red flags for recognizing elder abuse and 11 things anyone can do to prevent elder abuse.
Ageless Alliance United Against Elder Abuse
The Alliance website includes videos, tips, resources, and tools for preventing and responding to elder abuse.
National Center on Elder Abuse “Abuse of Residents in Long Term Care” Fact Sheet (February 2012)This fact sheet provides a brief overview of the number of long term care facilities in the United States, and the people who live in these facilities. There is information on the prevalency of elder abuse in long-term care facilities, and the types of abuses that are occurring. The fact sheet was prepared by the Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse and Neglect at the University of California, Irvine and uses information from reports, articles and research papers.
Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime (U. S. Department of Justice)
Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime (U. S. Department of Justice) resources regarding elder abuse and mistreatment including reports, publications and videos (e.g. how to develop a multi-disciplinary specialist team to address financial exploitation known as F.A.S.T.- Financial Abuse Specialist Teams, a series of videos for various community leaders titled “Responding to Elder Abuse”).
Voices Speak Out Against Retaliation
Prompted by a resident question at the VOICES Forum in 2005, Connecticut’s Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) initiated a statewide work group and also commissioned the University of Connecticut Health Center to study fear of retaliation in skilled nursing facilities. The LTCOP designed the Voices Speak Out Against Retaliation training video to acknowledge that Fear of Retaliation is a reality for individuals living in skill nursing facilities.
An Age for Justice, Confronting Elder Abuse in America
This documentary follows the story of Vicki Bastion, 92, who became a prisoner in her own home. After her grandson moved in with her, he started allowing drug dealing, sex work and other gang activity to take place in her home. Fearing for her safety but conflicted about confronting her grandson, Vicki resorted to installing an iron security gate on her bedroom door to protect herself and her few belongings.
Also available are 100 Stories, which are intended to further draw national attention to elder abuse and support the passage of the Elder Justice Act. Select stories by state.
Coordination Between Long-Term Care Ombudsman and Adult Protective Services Programs and Related Issues
Report on a Meeting Sponsored by the Administration on Aging on October 25-26, 1993
Long-Term Care Ombudsman Activities Regarding Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation (May 2011)
This chart provides a comprehensive, but brief overview of former and current practices of Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs and their states in addressing abuse, neglect and exploitation in long-term care facilities. The information included in this chart was either received directly from State Long-Term Care Ombudsmen in the recent February 2011 questionnaire or retrieved from current news articles and previous NORC Summary Sheets, research papers and documents.
Ombudsman Initiatives Addressing Neglect and Abuse (2001)
This paper provides an analysis of 13 long-term care Ombudsman Programs and their approaches to combating neglect and abuse in long-term care facilities. See also appendices in Excel format: Overview appendix; Training Group appendix.
NCEA Elder Abuse Prevention Coalition and Task Force Search
The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) believes community education and outreach is critical in combating the problem of elder abuse and neglect. NCEA provides a summary of active Elder/Vulnerable Adult Abuse related coalitions by state as well as a directory of state-specific elder/vulnerable adult abuse resources, statistics, laws and agencies.
The Role of Long-Term Care Ombudsman in Preventing, Reporting and Investigating Abuse: LLTCO NORC Questionnaire (March 2011)
The role of Long-Term Care Ombudsmen in preventing, reporting and investigating abuse in long-term care facilities varies widely across the country. The purpose of this brief is to summarize the responses received in the March 2011 questionnaire from Local Long-Term Care Ombudsmen regarding their program’s role. Additionally, this brief highlights barriers to Ombudsmen addressing abuse, promotes successful practices, and identifies potential topics for future training opportunities and further discussion.
The Role of Long-Term Care Ombudsman in Preventing, Reporting and Investigating Abuse: SLTCO NORC Questionnaire (Februrary 2011)
The role of Long-Term Care Ombudsmen in preventing, reporting and investigating abuse in long-term care facilities varies widely across the country. The purpose of this brief is to summarize the responses received in the February 2011 questionnaire from State Long-Term Care Ombudsmen regarding their program’s role. Additionally, this brief highlights barriers to Ombudsmen addressing abuse, promotes successful practices and identifies potential topics for future training opportunities and further discussion.
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect Financial Abuse Resources
The Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect has compiled a list of resources for older and disabled veterans who are being targeted for financial abuse.
Reports on Elder Abuse
Elder Abuse and Its Prevention: Workshop Summary (October 2013) Institute of Medicine and National Research Council of the National Academies
Research Brief: Mistreatment of Asian Pacific Islander (API) Elders (October 2013) National Center on Elder Abuse
The MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse: Crimes of Occasion, Desperation, and Predation Against America’s Elders (June 2011)
R2P Brief – Healthcare costs and utilization of vulnerable elderly people reported to APS for self-neglect (August 2012) National Adult Protective Services Resource Center
Many Shortcomings Exist in Efforts to Protect Residents from Abuse (March 2002) General Accounting Office
More Can Be Done to Protect Residents from Abuse (March 2002) General Accounting Office
For More Information
- Go to the Consumer Voice website for information about the Elder Justice Act, pending federal legislation that would provide federal resources to support State and community efforts on the front lines dedicated to fighting elder abuse with scarce resources and fragmented systems.
- National Center for Elder Abuse
- American Bar Association’s Commission on Law and Aging – Elder Abuse
- View "Color My World Free From Elder Abuse," a video created for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2011.
Ombudsman Best Practices
California
The Governor signed into law AB 40, which amends the State’s Elder & Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act. Prior to AB 40, mandated reporters of abuse and neglect in long-term care (LTC) facilities had the option of reporting abuse to either the LTC Ombudsman Program or local law enforcement. Because of disclosure and confidentiality provisions, Ombudsman representatives could not always cross report and disclose the identities of abuse victims. The Act now requires mandated reporters of physical abuse in LTC facilities to report first by telephone to local law enforcement and then by written report to the LTC Ombudsman Program and the licensing agency. Reports of physical abuse will now get into the hands of local law enforcement, and there will be better coordination of abuse cases between Ombudsman Programs and local law enforcement agencies.
Maryland
A Montgomery County local long-term care ombudsman participates in the county’s Elder & Vulnerable Adult Abuse Task Force (EVAATF) and two local TV shows (linked below) discussed elder abuse (featuring Bob Blancato, National Coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition) in response to their task force’s 2013 WEAAD Event (World Elder Abuse Awareness Day).
New Hampshire
Approximately 250 people attended the New Hampshire Abuse Prevention Conference, “Supporting Elders: Prevention, Planning and Possibilities”, held on November 10 in West Lebanon. The conference was presented by the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman (OLTCO) and the NH DHHS Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services (BEAS)-Adult Protective Services, and sponsored by the Friends of the NH OLTCO. (November 2011)
