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Too Many Elder Abuse Cases Go Unreported
Oregon Governor Releases Report
on Elder Abuse
By Brayton Purcell,
Elder Abuse Information
December 3, 2004
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski recently released a report by the state's Elder Abuse Task Force about how to better protect seniors. The group gathered its information from the community, law enforcement professionals, medical providers, social service providers, and judges. It also looked at various types of elder abuse, including neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and financial exploitation.
In 2003, over 10,000 cases of elder abuse and neglect were reported in Oregon. However, this figure may not provide a complete picture, since experts estimate that as many as 1 in 5 elder abuse cases go unreported each year and there are only 57 adult protective service workers in the state (Hillsboro Argus, November 16, 2004).
Suggestions for Reducing Crime Against the Elderly
The report included these recommendations for improving law enforcement and reducing the number of crimes against seniors:
. The Department of Human Services should develop a quick response process to speed up criminal background checks. It should also provide stricter guidelines for supervising those employees on provisional status in nursing homes and other facilities who are awaiting completion of their background checks.
. The state should create a criminal history registry to alert care providers if an applicant has been identified as someone who has committed elder abuse or other crimes. This would eliminate the need for duplicate criminal background checks and provide warnings to employers throughout the health care system.
. Banking staff should be trained concerning the signs of senior financial exploitation and how to prevent it.
. The state, in partnership with long-term care facilities, should develop a best practices curriculum and training video to teach proper care techniques and to alert caregivers of the early signs of elder abuse. Part of the training would be about reporting elder abuse to the proper authority.
. The Department of Human Services should make a list of crimes that may potentially disqualify applicants from becoming caregivers at a long-term care facility. The list might include sexual abuse crimes and thefts.
. Services for elderly crime victims should be a priority.
. Multidisciplinary teams should join with county medical examiners to help form panels that would investigate deaths of seniors that might be attributed to elder abuse.
Elder Abuse Legislation Proposed for 2005
Both the task force and Gov. Kulongoski said that they would support passage of legislation to be known as the Oregon Elder Justice Act of 2005. The Act's goals are to:
. Provide additional protection for seniors who have been victims of financial exploitation, theft, or physical abuse.
. Assist in the prosecution of sexual abuse against the elderly by including sexual abuse as part of the statutory definition of elder abuse.
. Enhance the mandatory reporting law to protect elders from abuse.
"Providing additional tools to law enforcement and prosecutors" can improve the safety of the elderly, the task force concluded. "A comprehensive elder crimes initiative would be a significant step to better protect elder victims and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions."
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