State Response to Elder Abuse

States respond to growing elder abuse trend. 

State legislatures have become increasingly cognizant of the need to protect the elderly as a class from abuse. Adult Protective Services (APS) are currently in place in all of the states. These agencies are tasked with investigating reports of abuse, providing services to victims, and in some cases prosecuting perpetrators. Additionally, APS is authorized to test the victim’s competency to make informed decisions and to intervene if necessary. In some situations the consent of the victim is not required.
Though the framework is in place and generally uniform across the states, funding issues have plagued APS in many jurisdictions. Congress responded to this problem with the 2010 Elder Justice Act (EJA), passed as part of the Patient Affordable Care Act. The EJA authorizes significant funding increases to state APS as well as new programs such as criminal background checks for care providers and inter-state database access. While the EJA is an important step in the right direction, so far Congress has yet to appropriate any of the mandated funds.

If sufficiently funded, APS can offer important services where it determines abuse has occurred. Investigation of fraud, prosecution of perpetrators and providing education about available services are among its primary functions. Consequently, reporting of abuse by third parties is crucial if a state APS is to function correctly. Almost all of the states have mandatory reporting requirements, though jurisdictions differ on who is required to report and what penalties and protections a reporter can expect to encounter. For example in Delaware all persons are required to report abuse to the Delaware Department of Health and Human Services. Delaware also grants civil and criminal immunity to those that report in good faith. Other states such as Arizona require only specified professionals to report abuse. Failure to report abuse in Arizona is a misdemeanor. A few states have no mandatory reporting requirements. The only universal commonality across the states is the difficulty of enforcing mandatory reporting laws.