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Summit considers aid for abused elders October
16, 2003 More often than not, they are
abused by the people closest to them. Many times, they remain silent. And
when the elderly do point out their tormentors, cases of abuse can
languish in the courts because they are difficult to prosecute. About 80 advocates, attorneys,
legislators, social service officials and others were working to change
that Wednesday at the first Elder Abuse Summit. The summit -- held at the King
City Community Center and sponsored by Washington County Disability, Aging
and Veteran Services, the Elder Abuse Multi-Disciplinary Team and
Washington Mutual Inc. -- comes at a time when more Oregonians than ever
are elderly. In 1990, out of Oregon's
population of 2.8 million, 510,893 people were 60 and older. In 2000, of
3.4 million residents, 569,557 were 60 and older. On Wednesday, attorneys,
advocates and others called for a range of measures to protect the
elderly, including better screening and training for caregivers and
speedier trials and harsher sentences for abusers. Agencies and groups
that serve the elderly, they said, must work for more awareness of sexual
assault against the most vulnerable adults. "Elder abuse hasn't just
been below the radar," said Stephen Schneider, Gov. Ted Kulongoski's
deputy chief of staff. "For the most part, it has been off the
radar." Those who've worked to stop
elder abuse for years said it's nothing new. A dozen years ago, there were
few laws to protect the elderly from relatives and caregivers who wanted
to steal their money, said Washington County Circuit Court Judge Rick
Knapp. The case of John Kingery, an
83-year-old Alzheimer's patient who was taken from his nursing home in
Washington County and abandoned at an Idaho dog track by his daughter in
1992 changed that. "It made headlines, and
after that people looked at elder abuse differently," said Joyce
DeMonnin, director of the Elder Safe program at the Washington County
Sheriff's Office. But change, nearly every
speaker said, isn't happening fast enough. Grady Tarbutton, Washington
County Senior Program Coordinator, said it's vital to provide better
training for professional guardians, who often care for the elderly when
relatives cannot. Attorneys and social service
officials said financial abuse against elders is often difficult to
prosecute and called for a streamlined legal process. Often, DeMonnin said, memory
problems, shoeboxes of receipts and unwillingness to pursue relatives or
caretakers in court stand in the way. Those who work with elderly
sexual assault victims described the effects of the violence as
heartbreaking. "They're so completely
victimized," said Janelle Factora-Wipper of the Washington County
district attorney's office. "The victim of a theft of
a car is primarily angry," Factora-Wipper said. With elder abuse, the
victim is "sad, more than anything else. And depressed. And it takes
so much longer for them to get over their victimization." Tim Marble, a Forest Grove
attorney who handles wills, told the gathering that it's common to see
relatives trying to take elderly peoples' money. "Most parents feel that
they want to leave some legacy to their children," he said. Too
often, "that is not reciprocated by the children. Often, that is met
by, 'How can I get some of Mom's money now?' " Besides the pain caused to
elderly people when they are financially cheated by their children, elder
abuse is a deep financial hit to taxpayers, he said. "It's in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars paid out for people who end up on Medicare because
their children or somebody else has taken their money," Marble said. Attorney General Hardy Myers
thanked advocates for the elderly for their "sacred effort" and
said it was important not to slack off on the push for stronger
protection. "You can justifiably look back on a record studded with achievement," Myers said. But "this summit is a false summit, because we still have a very long way to climb." Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
