Regulators: Elder Justice – Administration for Community Living (ACL)

Prerequisite:   Before you complain to regulators

(video on elder resources)

Elder Justice (EJ) is a collection of resources to assist elderly people from being mistreated medically or financially.  EJ is managed by Administration of Assisted Living, Department of Health and Human Services (not to be confused with Elder Justice Initiative from the Dept of Justice).  Elderly in this case means anyone over the age of 60.  The idea is that as people get older, they may need assistance. But they are still adults and have autonomy to make their own decisions.   There is a tendency for some unscrupulous persons to take advantage of such people while pretending to be “assisting” such a person.

Some common examples of the financial mistreatment aspects may include a caretaker who might convince an elder to deposit money into a high-risk scheme in which they directly control or would receive a kickback from.   Or a disagreement among siblings on certain possessions.  (You’d actually be surprised how disagreements between siblings over estate/household possessions).  Illegally using the elder’s bank account or other finances to directly finance your own life

Elderly people are technically adults, so most crimes are punished through the normal channels of filing a police report.  But some common reasons why elderly are particularly affected is because:

• An elder may feel particularly ashamed and embarrassed by the situation.
• The majority of elder abuse is perpetrated by either family members or trusted others.   
  • There are some conflicted feelings about seeking help because they don’t want to get family members in trouble with the law, even though they want the abuse to stop.
• Often they have been warned by the person perpetrating abuse not to reveal the abuse to others. 
  • Or there may not be direct threats, but the elder may feel a dependency upon that person, so they are similarly fearful. 

Many of the resources are quite scattered for elderly people.  A lot of the gov’t articles and suggestions seem to be “feel-good” type of resources.   And while I’m not downplaying the importance of positive attitude in helping one avoid being ripped off, it would be good if there were a bonafide complaint tool that can lead to a recovery of a scam investment.   

One interesting resource is called “Adult Protective Services” (APS).   Interestingly enough, it is not called Elderly Protective Services.    APS name has some serious “big brother” implications.  APS appears to be managed on a state level, but statistics about how APS is administered on each state is available.  According to this quote (Who can participate in NAMRS):

NAMRS is a reporting system for state-level data. Each state submits a report to NAMRS annually. States with county-based APS programs or more than one agency that investigates adult maltreatment compile and submit data through a lead agency. For the last several years, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories have submitted at least Agency Component data. The number of states submitting Case Component data has been gradually increasing.

and also this quote from NCEA regarding Adult Protective Services

Adult Protective Services (APS) is the most widely used intervention to address elder mistreatment and neglect. This social services agency is charged with investigating allegations of abuse and neglect and facilitating appropriate remedies. Interventions may embrace referrals to law enforcement and result in criminal prosecution. APS may make recommendations for protective elder abuse retraining orders or guardianships. Caseworkers may also suggest and help implement restorative resolutions….APS arose out of Title XX of the Social Security Act of 1974, which provided federal funding to states to develop APS programs.

I will actually include several other resources in this article below that will hopefully cut down a lot of time trying to find on your own.   

#RegulatedFool

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