What We Need to Protect Vulnerable Adults

June 14, 2013 | Kristen Johnson, PhD, Senior Researcher, NCCD

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Tomorrow, June 15, is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Unfortunately, this is not the only day elders face physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional and financial exploitation, and neglect. Every year, approximately one in ten adults age 60 or older are reported as a victim of some type of maltreatment, but research suggests that for every report of maltreatment, as many as five incidents go unreported.

Tomorrow, June 15, is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Unfortunately, this is not the only day elders face physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional and financial exploitation, and neglect. Every year, approximately one in ten adults age 60 or older are reported as a victim of some type of maltreatment, but research suggests that for every report of maltreatment, as many as five incidents go unreported. Reports of elder abuse have been increasing steadily and significantly and are expected to continue increasing as baby boomers age, mandated reporting laws are implemented, and public awareness of warning signs grows.

Until recently, responses to elder abuse in the United States were primarily state-driven. States established adult protective service (APS) systems in the 1980s to respond to allegations of harm against elders and other vulnerable adults. These systems have been chronically underfunded, but we have reason to hope. The Elder Justice Act, signed into law in 2010, dedicates federal resources to “prevent, detect, treat, understand, intervene in and, where appropriate, prosecute elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.” In 2013, 2 million federal dollars were allocated to this effort (compared to several billion dollars spent for child welfare).

Today, a coalition of organizations are working with state and federal governments to help prevent elder abuse. For example, NCCD and the National Adult Protective Services Resource Center staff recently partnered to conduct a review of evidence on effective interventions for the prevention and intervention of elder abuse. NCCD staff also recently completed a joint effort with APS in New Hampshire to construct and evaluate an actuarial risk assessment that estimates the likelihood of future maltreatment reports.

We are currently working with the state of New Hampshire, the state of Texas, and Norfolk County (Virginia) APS staff to evaluate the transferability of the actuarial risk assessment and additional research-based assessments. These assessments compose a decision-support system to help inform critical decisions made by APS workers when assessing whether harm occurred and what interventions are needed to reduce the likelihood of future harm. NCCD staff are hopeful that these efforts will increase the effectiveness of APS services in reducing future abuse and neglect of elders and other vulnerable adults.

For more information, see:

NCCD’s work in adult protective services

A review of landmark studies on prevalence of elder maltreatment

Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse and Neglect

Kristen Johnson, PhD is a Senior Researcher at NCCD.