Texas Task Force Targets Elder Abuse
Officials in South Texas have formed a task force to fight elder abuse. Reported crimes against the elderly were up 15% in Texas last year, and the task force will attempt to fight this problem by focusing on training for nursing home staff and financial exploitation of the elderly.
The task force is made up of law enforcement and Family and Protective Services officials, in addition to lawmakers and experts on aging issues. It will focus on developing recommendations for policymakers to protect seniors, both those living alone and those living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
One of the areas the task force will focus on is guidelines for employee training at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. This is due to the fact that the increase in elder abuse cases is mostly due to incidents of physical neglect by caretakers and family members. Ann Cortez, regional director of Adult Protective Services, says that of the 235 cases of elder abuse opened in Hidalgo County in May, the majority were neglect by caretakers.
Financial exploitation is another focus of the task force. This is a serious problem because most cases of financial exploitation go unreported and are perpetrated by those closest to the victims, such as family members and nursing home employees.
For more information on caretaker neglect due to lack of training, visit the Nursing Home Advocates' Untrained Workers information page.
For more information on financial exploitation of seniors, visit the Nursing Home Advocates' Financial Exploitation information page.
