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Elderly Abuse, Neglect Victims Know No Socioeconomic Bounds
By Robert Barron, Enid News and Eagle
December 26, 2004
They may be lying in their own filth while family members live in the same house spending their money and ignoring them.
Some are victims of neglect, victims of outright abuse, but most just are victims of being old, lonely and vulnerable. They have become a forgotten society.
This is the plight of some of Oklahoma's elderly.
In 2004, there were 411 referrals to the Adult Protective Services division of Department of Human Services. Of those, 314 were self-neglect - people no longer able to care for themselves.
"They don't have the mental faculties anymore, or there is mental illness or for other reasons they are unable to care for themselves, said Billie Strait, Adult Protective Services field liaison for Area I, which includes 22 counties.
"They are a forgotten society. Family lives out of the area and think someone is taking care of them. They talk to them on the telephone twice a week, and they sound fine, and they assume everything is fine," said Don Henderson, Garfield County DHS director.
Then, something happens, and APS becomes involved.
Economic status has little to do with needs. Some of the victims are poor and some are wealthy. Their common denominator is they are alone and no longer able to care for themselves.
"Some people are wealthy, but you can't tell it. Their homes are littered with papers and clothing and all types of things. Sometimes you have to climb over stuff to get in the door," he said.
There are many local resources available to help people, and APS often relies locally on Community Development Support Association, churches, the Salvation Army or other agencies.
State law requires individuals be kept in the least restrictive environment.
Many of those included in APS programs are considered young but are mentally or physically handicapped. The key is vulnerability, and their numbers are growing.
In 2000, there were 12,632 investigations in Oklahoma. In 2004, there have been 16,803.
In Garfield County this year, there have been 33 cases of caretaker neglect, 13 cases of caretaker abuse, 45 cases of exploitation and six sexual abuse cases, said Larry Frey, APS supervisor.
Referrals increase by 5 percent to 10 percent a year, Strait said.
If APS finds it must take guardianship of someone - if the person does not have adequate mental capacities - APS must become the legal agent for that person, which means approving whatever medical treatment is necessary and caring for other needs.
APS works closely with the district attorney for legal input.
Still, APS cannot just come into someone's home and remove the person.
"As long as they are competent, they have the right to live how they want to," Strait said. "We can recommend, but they have the right to choose."
Henderson said he has gone to people's homes that are in such poor condition due to termites or other problems that the house shifts with every step they take.
APS came into being in 1977. Prior to that, caring for adults was just another part of social work.
"Society has changed. People go farther for their jobs. Once people worked closer to their homes and close to Mom and Dad. Family also had more emphasis at one time than it does now," Henderson said. "Now people are trying to survive, and where the kids once lived in the next town, now they live on the coast."
When family members are notified of a problem with a next of kin, they cooperate only 75 percent to 80 percent of the time.
Sometimes they cooperate because APS is involved, and often families do not know what help is available.
In fact, some people can care for themselves in some ways but not in others. There also is the problem of elderly people rebelling against what they see as their loss of independence.
"There is lots of trash and substance abuse involved in taking advantage of the elderly," Henderson said.
It also is a difficult decision for families to take their parents out of their family home and place them in a nursing home.
"It's a decision between the person's rights and their safety. You have to protect both," Strait said.
Frey said the worst case he has seen was an elderly woman lying in her bed, soaked in urine and covered with feces while the rest of her family lived in her home and spent her money.
In another case, police were called because a woman had died and her husband thought she was merely sleeping.
Although he does not know particular studies, Henderson thinks it is more likely some people who abuse their elderly parents were abused as children.
Child welfare often receives more compassion from the public, because people are compassionate for children.
"But when they see that smelly old person standing in line in front of them at McDonald's they wonder why they don't go home and take a bath. They treat adults differently. It's a different type of problem," Henderson said.
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