Elder Abuse
Adult children should not be naive about the prevalence of elder abuse, both financial and physical, that still takes place everyday in our society.
Aging Solutions is strongly committed to preventing the abuse of the elderly, and to prosecuting vigorously those who commit these crimes. If you suspect elder abuse, you should report it immediately both to your local law-enforcement agency, and to your local Adult Protective Services agency.
You can also call or email us. We do not charge a fee for assisting with suspected elder abuse.
In the same way that child abuse was once viewed, this is a crime most people don't like to think about, much less confront -- and it is one few law-enforcement agencies are equipped to deal with.
For a certain segment of the criminal population, the elderly are prime targets: because they are often physically weak, because they are trusting, and because shame often prevents them from telling anyone how they have been victimized. Thus, there are many out there who view your parents as among the easist of marks for swindles, ripoffs, and worse.
Elder abuse actually encompasses a much broader range of activity than financial scams, and includes physical abuse, sexual mistreatment, mental mistreatment, neglect, self-neglect, exploitation, and abandonment. It is also a sad fact that the majority of elder abuse crimes are committed by family members.
Keep in mind that as an adult child, you bear some responsibility for being alert to the signs of elder abuse, especially if you hold a power of attorney or other position of authority.
Elder Abuse Resources
Our Scams page will help you spot a few of the most common ways that crooks try to take financial advantage of the elderly.
The National Center on Elder Abuse provides valuable resources, including a graphic fact sheet on crimes against the elderly.
The law firm of Goldfarb & Abrandt in New York also has an excellent elder abuse resource web page.
The Department of Justice's Elder Justice page focuses on various actions the federal government is taking to fight crime related to the elderly.
Novelist Andrew Vachss maintains an exhaustive elder abuse page that includes heartbreaking news stories on specific recent cases.