Elder Abuse in the U.S. and Possible Solutions

According to Tracy Breton, Response to elder abuse varies widely across U.S., projo.com, Dec. 16, 2007:

Every year, an estimated 2.1 million older Americans are victims of physical, psychological or other forms of abuse[.] ***

But the nation’s safety net for seniors is not nearly as good as it is for children.

A survey of all 50 states conducted by The Providence Journal over the past several months shows that even though most states have mandatory reporting laws for elder abuse, fewer than half of them have statewide, 24-hour-a-day hot lines to record complaints and offer immediate response. ***

If the Elder Justice Act — introduced in the U.S. Senate nearly six years ago — ever passes, it would provide hundreds of millions more in federal financing for adult protective services to the states — money to detect, investigate, prevent, prosecute and study elder abuse and to train more people who interact with victims.

Special thanks to Neil E. Hendershot, Esq. (Attorney at law, Goldberg Katzman, P.C., Adjunct Professor, Widener University School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.