This column provides a breakdown of elder abuse statistics in the State of Minnesota which has recently established an award-winning system that audits how court appointed handle the finances of people with dementia. Elder financial abuse is a growing problem as the American population continues to age. State governments will need to adopt policies to stay ahead of this problem. In this article is a chart that represents the number of audits that were done on conservatorship accounts “under the online Minnesota’s Conservator Account Auditing Program (CAAP).” This growing concern and awareness about the problem of elder financial abuse is not just going to be limited to the State of Minnesota but is instead an issue of national importance. Policy makers should consider crafting policies to tackle this issue so that vulnerable senior citizens can be protected.
See Jim Foster, Elder abuse cases, by the numbers, Star Tribune, January 30, 2016.
