Find books provided by the National Care Planning Council written to help the public plan for Long Term Care. Learn More...
The NCPC publishes periodic articles under the title "Planning for Eldercare". Each article is written to help families recognize the need for long term care planning and to help implement that planning. All elderly people, regardless of current health, should have a long term care plan. Learn More...
Become a member of the National Care Planning Council. Click here to learn about the benefits of membership.
From its inception, the goal of the National Care Planning Council has been to educate the public on the importance of planning for long term care. With that goal in mind, we have created the largest and most comprehensive source of long term care planning material available anywhere. This material -- "Guide to Long Term Care Planning" -- is free to the public for downloading and printing on all of our web sites. Learn More...
All states have laws regarding the physical and sexual abuse of minors. Most states feel it is important to protect vulnerable adults from abuse as well. As a result most states have passed legislation to protect older individuals, mentally incompetent adults and severely disabled adults from abuse. The definition of abuse for adults is typically a little more broad than the definition for minor abuse and might include misconduct such as sexual abuse, emotional abuse, financial exploitation, active and passive neglect by caregivers and self-neglect which means an individual is failing to care for his or her own self needs. Most of these abuse descriptions are self explanatory; however for those who question it, here is an explanation of what active and passive neglect means:
"Active neglect is the willful failure by a caregiver to fulfill care-taking functions and responsibilities. This includes, but is not limited to, abandonment, deprivation of food, water, heat, cleanliness, eyeglasses, dentures, or health-related services. Passive neglect is the non-willful failure to fulfill care-taking responsibilities because of inadequate caregiver knowledge, infirmity, or disputing the value of prescribed services."
Vulnerable adult and elder abuse can occur in any setting and in recent years there has been much concern about the treatment of residents in nursing homes. But most abuse occurs in the home and is most generally perpetrated by family members. Estimates are that 5% to 10% of the elderly and vulnerable adults in America are suffering abuse. The public knows little about elder abuse at home because this kind of treatment goes mostly unreported. It is the so-called "dirty little secret" of caregiving. Workers in this field often refer to elder abuse as being like an iceberg; we are only seeing the tip of it and 90% of it is hidden from our view.
The term commonly used by most states to describe the department responsible for adult abuse is "adult protective services." But not all states use this term. A few states have put adult protective services under their social service, health or human service or children and family services departments. But most states have put protective services under the state aging units described above. This is because the Older Americans Act already requires services for elder abuse and also some funding. In addition, local area agencies on aging are in a good position to report abuse and help with abuse problems. Many states that have elder abuse laws combine legislative funding and other federal funding with OAA funding and give the responsibility for elder and vulnerable adult abuse to the state unit on aging.
State laws require that reports of abuse must be investigated. A few states require anyone aware of elder or vulnerable adult abuse must report it to authorities. Failure to do so can be a criminal offense. But most states only require mandatory reporting from people or professionals who deal with a vulnerable adult population. Here is an example of one state's list of mandatory reporters.
(This section is taken from a report by the MetLife Mature Market Institute) Mistreatment of older adults is a growing problem with devastating consequences for those affected. New data show that as many as one in ten older adults are victims of mistreatment, with a higher percentage being victims of financial exploitation. Only a small percentage of elder abuse events are ever referred to agencies that can assist victims.
Adult Protective Services (APS) caseworkers are the first responders in most states to reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse at the U.S. Administration on Aging. They respond by investigating the reports, monitoring and evaluating the situation, and, in some cases, arranging for medical care, long-term services and supports, housing, and legal services for their clients.
An AARP Public Policy Institute funded national survey of state units on aging in 2010 found that 24 states plus the District of Columbia reported increased calls for APS in state fiscal year 2010. All of these states named financial exploitation as a cause of increased calls.
The 2004 national Survey of State Adult Protective Services revealed that victims range in estimated numbers from a low of 100,000 to a high of one million a year. These numbers will undoubtedly grow as the number and economic value of seniors continue to grow. Elder financial abuse is commonly linked with other forms of abuse and neglect and threatens the health, dignity, and economic security of millions of older Americans.
It is estimated to cost Americans tens of billions of dollars annually in health care, social services, investigative and legal costs, and lost income and assets. Elder financial abuse is a problem in every community and among all social strata. It is underrecognized, underreported, and underprosecuted. While underreported, the annual financial loss by victims of elder financial abuse is estimated to be at least $2.6 billion dollars
In the review of NAPSA/NCEA Newsfeeds from April 2008 through June 2008, the media reported a total dollar value of elder financial abuse of approximately $396,654,700, with the largest percentage of cases involving close associates of the victim - families, friends, caregivers, and neighbors - as the perpetrator of the abuse, accounting collectively for almost 40% of reported cases. Family members, even more so than strangers, financially exploit their elderly relatives.
Although there is no definitive estimate of the number of older adults who experience financial abuse by family members, community service providers and other professionals agree that cases actually reported to authorities represent only the very "tip of the iceberg." Like King Lear, when people in their later years encounter health problems that diminish their physical or cognitive capacities, they usually first turn to family members for assistance and support.
In most situations, family members nobly assume their caregiving role; but in others, family members - sons, daughters, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews - take advantage of the elders' dependencies and become perpetrators of financial abuse. Approximately 60% of substantiated Adult Protective Services (APS) cases of financial abuse involve an adult child, compared to 47% for all other forms of abuse.
The elder's grandchildren and other relatives are almost equally as likely to be perpetrators of financial abuse (9.2% and 9.7%, respectively). In the primary literature, male and female relatives are equally likely to be financial abusers of older adults. However, the media-reported instances revealed that elder financial abuse was 2.5 times more likely to be committed by sons than daughters. Overall, 45 incidents (16.9%) of elder financial abuse described in the media involved immediate relatives.
Family perpetrators often misuse their powers of attorney to steal money from bank accounts, obtain credit cards to make unauthorized purchases, and embezzle large sums of money by refinancing the elder's home, among other examples of financial abuse.
It is unknown what factors contribute to the likelihood of family members financially exploiting their elderly relatives, as no rigorous research has been done. Scholars and practitioners speculate that, like perpetrators of other types of elder abuse, family members who exploit their elders are dependent upon them for their own survival (e.g., shelter and finances) and their actions may be influenced by problems with alcohol, drug abuse, and gambling, and many may suffer from antisocial behavior disorders.
Tensions and inequalities between the elder and family member, perhaps stemming from the relative's dependency and mental health issues, enhance the likelihood of financial abuse. For example, an unemployed adult child living in the home of a parent might be more likely to exploit the elder than an adult child with a steady income and their own place of residence, or one generation abused another and then the "abuser role" is reversed.
Some family members also feel a sense of entitlement and believe that they have a right to the money and material goods their parents or older relatives have accumulated. They often start with small crimes, such as stealing jewelry and blank checks, before moving on to larger items or coercing elders to sign over the deeds to their homes, change their wills, or liquidate their assets. They feel justified in taking "advance" control over assets that they perceive to be "almost" or "rightfully" theirs.
Relatives may believe they are entitled to "reimbursement" for providing care for the elder, or/and may even take preemptive steps to secure assets to prevent their presumed inheritance from being exhausted to pay for the elder's care and medical bills. Approximately 60% of substantiated Adult Protective Services (APS) cases of financial abuse involve an adult child, compared to 47% for all other forms of abuse."
A significant reason for the underestimation of the occurrence of elder financial abuse is the victims themselves do not report elder financial abuse for a variety of reasons. Among the multitude of reasons uncovered, the victims:
Financial and other professionals who deal with elders generally feel a responsibility to help protect their elderly clients from harm or abuse of any kind. However, they often fail to get involved when they suspect elder financial abuse because they:
One of the challenges in describing and documenting financial abuse stems from the variability in terminology between disciplines and the laws in different states. But, when in doubt, it is always better to err on the side of caution and report suspected financial abuse to the appropriate agencies such as Adult Protective Services, a law enforcement agency, or compliance department of the financial institution. Reports can be made confidentially and the reporting person is protected from civil and criminal liability.
Successful prevention of elder financial abuse involves multiple strategies. There are a variety of actions individuals, family members, financial service professionals, businesses, and organizations can do to help protect elders from getting tangled in the web of elder financial abuse. Older adults themselves can take several precautions to avoid falling prey to financial abuse. Such actions include:
Families, particularly those who find themselves in a caregiving role, also need to be aware of situations that place their older loved ones at risk for financial abuse. Family members should periodically inquire about their older family members' financial resources and perceived limitations that may stem from their financial situation. They also need to keep an eye out for such things as:
Financial service and other professionals, such as bankers and lawyers, are well positioned to contribute to the prevention of elder financial abuse by:
Note that some of these steps may not be appropriate for all professionals, and that elder financial abuse situations vary and must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.