NCEA | Newsfeed Collection

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Newsfeed – Wednesday, November 27, 2013

The newsfeed includes articles and stories related to abuse of elders and adults with disabilities.  Articles related to elders appear in the top half of the newsfeed.  Articles related to abuse of adults with disabilities appear towards the bottom.  To subscribe to the NCEA listserv, please send an email with your name, occupation, your organization/agency name, city and state, and a statement about your professional interest or expertise in elder abuse to NCEA@UCI.edu.  Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Did you know? A calendar of upcoming elder abuse and neglect events and funding opportunities can be found at the bottom of the newsfeed.

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ELDER ABUSE NEWSFEED

CALIFORNIA, Los Angeles Times, November 26, 2013

Ex-insurance agent charged with financial elder abuse against aunt

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-former-insurance-agent-charged-with-financial-elder-abuse-20131126,0,3841101.story#axzz2lnbRtI2L

A former insurance agent has been charged with financial elder abuse for allegedly forging his aunt's signature to make withdrawals from a life insurance policy he sold to her, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said.  The 47-year-old was arrested on four felony counts of financial elder abuse. 

COLORADO, Coloradoan, November 23, 2013

Elder abuse: Seniors swindled out of $2.9 billion each year

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20131122/NEWS01/311220073

A Colorado law will take effect July 2014 and will mandate the reporting of suspected crimes against at-risk adults, or those 70 years of age and older.  Before the law, Colorado was behind the times, Davis said, as one of only three states in the country without mandatory reporting for crimes against at-risk adults.

FLORIDA (Palm Beach), The Palm Beach Post, November 25, 2013

Lantana woman accused of stealing $4,000 from her grandmother, who has dementia

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/crime-law/deputies-woman-stole-4k-from-grandmother-with-deme/nb4SY/ 

A Lantana woman is being held without bail after she was accused of stealing more than $4,000 from her 83-year-old grandmother, who is suffering from dementia, according to a probable cause affidavit.  She is being held without bond at the Palm Beach County Jail for violation of probation for a previous arrest, according to court records. 

IDAHO (Nampa), Timesunion, November 21, 2013

Nampa woman charged with elder exploitation

http://www.timesunion.com/news/crime/article/Nampa-woman-charged-with-elder-exploitation-4998788.php

A 37-year-old Nampa woman is charged with exploitation of a vulnerable adult after prosecutors said she took more than $50,000 from her grandmother over a two-year period.

INDIANA (Indianapolis), WISH TV, November 22, 2013

Woman, 88, with dementia dies after attack

http://www.wishtv.com/news/local/woman-88-with-dementia-dies-after-attack

An 88-year-old woman died after being beaten in her home Tuesday, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officials said.  The police report said the son told police he found the door unlocked, and his mother with a head wound but breathing. He told police a green blanket was covering her head, and he didn’t touch her except for poking her leg. He said he texted his brother and called 911.

IOWA, Des Moines Register, November 23, 2013

Dying man’s pleas are ignored

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20131124/NEWS/311140121/Dying-man-s-pleas-are-ignored

An eastern Iowa nursing home has been fined for allegedly ignoring a dying resident’s pleas for help.  The 88-year-old man died Aug. 3, hours after workers at the Willow Gardens Care Center in Marion reported seeing him waving his arms and calling out, “Please help me. Can’t breathe” the article states.

KENTUCKY (Lexington), Kentucky, November 25, 2013 (Opinion)

Project: Homeless – A trend of elderly, vulnerable adults being left at shelters

http://www.kentucky.com/2013/11/25/2954236/project-homeless-a-trend-of-elderly.html

Henry Sebastian, 55-years-old, spent most of the last days of October pushing his disabled wife, 66-yeras-old, through the streets of Lexington, looking for a place to stay.  No one tracks the number of elderly or vulnerable adults who end up on the streets because a caregiver leaves them. But other homeless providers in Lexington and Louisville say they, too, have seen elderly people left because caregivers can't or won't take care of them.

MAINE (Harrington), Morning Sentinel, November 22, 2013

Down east standoff ends; elderly hostage freed

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/Harrington_standoff_diverts_traffic_on_Rt__1_.html 

Elliot Robinson, 60, and Vernon Robinson, 78, were preventing the matriarch of the family – Elva Robinson, 84 – from getting treatment, according to state police spokesman Steve McCausland. Elliot Robinson had threatened violence if anyone tried to remove Elva from the home, McCausland said.  A six-hour standoff in Harrington on Thursday ended peacefully after a son and father surrendered to Maine State Police.

MAINE (Waterville), Morning Sentinel, November 25, 2013

No criminal charges in Waterville assisted living residence allegations

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/No_criminal_charges_in_Waterville_assisted_living_residence_allegations_.html

An investigation of alleged sexual abuse of a Sunset Home resident did not result in criminal charges because of a lack of evidence, according to police.  Police and the state Department of Health and Human Services opened parallel investigations on Nov. 14 after a resident reported that she had been sexually abused by an employee of the assisted living residence. 

MICHIGAN (Port Huron), Statesman Journal, November 26, 2013

Salem woman pleads guilty to manslaughter, dumping mom’s body

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20131126/NEWS/311260018/Salem-woman-pleads-guilty-manslaughter-dumping-mom-s-body

A Salem woman accused of driving her elderly mother from Oregon to Port Huron and dumping her body behind a thrift store has pleaded guilty.  Kelly Rhodes, 49, pleaded guilty Friday to manslaughter, a 15-year felony; vulnerable adult abuse fourth-degree, a one-year misdemeanor; and removing a dead body without permission of a medical examiner, also a one-year misdemeanor.

NEW YORK (Rochester), Post Bulletin, November 26, 2013

Woman gets probation for financial exploitation

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/crime/woman-gets-probation-for-financial-exploitation/article_8d6445ad-c299-5687-8237-6284eb17fdea.html

A Rochester woman accused of spending more than $17,000 of another woman's money was sentenced Monday to a 10 year probation.  The 76-year-old victim spent about six weeks during 2012 in a senior care services facility, where she was diagnosed with dementia, according to the criminal complaint. During that period, the complaint says, the accused made cash withdrawals of $11,289 on the woman's bank accounts, as well as credit card charges of $6,039.

OHIO (Athens County), The Columbus Dispatch, November 26, 2013

Elderly brother, sister removed from filthy Athens County garage

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/11/25/Athens_Co_neglected_elders.html 

An elderly brother, 73, and sister, 88, were hospitalized after an Athens County deputy sheriff found them living in a garage without a bathroom or running water on Saturday, unable to care for themselves.  Deputy Mike Burba wrote that he was horrified that trash, rotting food and feces were piled waist-high in some places in the room.

OKLAHOMA (Sallisaw), Sequoya County Times, November 22, 2013

Tag agency owner facing charges

http://www.sequoyahcountytimes.com/news/article_92ed281c-539e-11e3-bf13-0019bb30f31a.html

A Sallisaw woman was arrested on Wednesday after being charged in Sequoyah County District Court with taking more than $80,000 from an elderly woman.  Det. Sandra Girdner said that Townsend had been investigating the matter since May 2011 when it was brought to APS’s attention that the older woman’s accounts were overdrawn.

OREGON (Lane County), The Register-Guard, November 23, 2013

Inmate sues over treatment

http://www.registerguard.com/rg/news/local/30763439-75/gillette-jail-lawsuit-county-civil.html.csp 

Johan Gillette, who could face the death penalty if he is convicted of slaying his 73-year-old father and a 71-year-old University of Oregon music professor in September 2012, repeatedly claims in a hand­written civil rights suit that county jail inmates are unduly subjected to a number of “punitive” conditions and rules.

OREGON (Washington County), KOIN, November 25, 2013

Women accused of bilking 81-year-old man

http://www.koin.com/news/washington-county/women-accused-of-bilking-81-year-old-man

Two women are accused of stealing more than $80,000, jewelry and potentially the family farm from an 81-year-old man they befriended in a shopping center parking lot in 2011.  The sons said the widower and the two women instantly became friends and within a matter of months also became his caretaker.

TENNESSEE (Franklin County), The Tullahoma News, November 23, 2013

Paving contractor charged with fraud

http://www.tullahomanews.com/?p=20127

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputies and investigators have arrested a Georgia man in connection with deceptive business practices, theft of Property between $1,000 and $10,000 and abuse, neglect or exploitation of an elder person and is being held in custody under a $50,000 bond.  Statements by the victim indicted that Callaway Construction had charged them $3,850 for repairs made to their driveway, when the value of the actual work done was estimated at less than $500.

TEXAS (Corpus Christi), KIII TV, November 21, 2013

Code enforcement called out to Annaville home, owner detained

http://www.kiiitv.com/story/24038854/code-enforcement-called-out-to-annaville-home-owner-detained

Corpus Christi police decided to remove a woman from her Annaville home Thursday, having to place her in handcuffs, because of the condition of her home. Neighbors say the woman is paranoid, thinking others are after her, and so she barricaded herself in.  Due to the condition of the house, Adult Protective Services was called out to the home.

WASHINGTON, Herald Sun News, November 26, 2013

We need a hotline to stop elder abuse: Advocare CEO Greg Mahney

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/we-need-a-hotline-to-stop-elder-abuse-advocare-ceo-greg-mahney/story-fnii5thm-1226769025320

The Office of the Public Advocate investigated 117 cases of elder abuse last financial year - up 67 per cent from the previous year.  "We've suggested to the State Government that they fund an elder abuse helpline where people can phone one number and it come through to Advocare and then we'll be able to assist those people," Mr Mahney said.

INTERNATIONAL (Canada), The Star, November 24, 2013

More suspected abuse at Wexford Residence nursing home

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/11/24/more_suspected_abuse_at_wexford_residence_nursing_home.html

New Ontario inspection report shows other incidents of suspected resident-on-resident physical and sexual abuse at the Wexford Residence, a long-term care home where a 72-year-old woman was beaten to death last March.  A total of seven resident-on-resident abuse incidents — four involving physical abuse and three of suspected sexual abuse — were reported by The Wexford Residence between April and July.

INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Mail Online, November 26, 2013

Pensioner with dementia who was handcuffed by ‘heavy-handed’ police at a care home tragically died two months later after ‘never recovering from his ordeal’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2513973/Pensioner-dementia-handcuffed-heavy-handed-police-care-home-tragically-died-months-later-recovering-ordeal.html 

A dementia patient who was handcuffed by police at a care home died two months later after 'never recovering from his ordeal', his relatives claimed today.  His wife, 74, claims the grandfather-of-two was left 'terrified and shaken' by the 'brutish tactics' used by the officers and stopped eating after the ordeal.  The retired BT worker - who has suffered with Alzheimers for five years - lost half his body weight in two months and weighed just six stone when he passed away a different nursing home on November 8.

ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

IOWA (Muscatine), Des Moines Register, November 24, 2013

Register investigation: woman receives 4 Taser stuns in 8 minutes

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20131124/NEWS01/311240044?odyssey=mod%7Cmostcom

A woman with a complex genetic mental disorder was shocked with a Taser four times last month by a sergeant from the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Department in an effort to get her to change her clothing.  Five videos and 20 pages of sheriff’s department reports related to the Oct. 7 incident were obtained by The Des Moines Register under Iowa’s open-records law. Both the law enforcement consultant and three mental health advocates from Disability Rights Iowa agree that the incident, when seen in its entirety on video, is traumatic.

INTERNATIONAL (England), Redditch Standard, November 22, 2013

Taxi driver jailed for sexual contact with vulnerable woman

http://www.redditchstandard.co.uk/2013/11/22/news-Taxi-driver-jailed-for-sexual-contact-with-vulnerable-woman-90661.html

A TAXI driver who engaged in ‘heavy petting’ with a woman passenger who it was obvious had the mind of a child has been jailed for six years, the article states.  The 62-year-old had pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to two offences of causing or inciting a person with a mental disorder impeding her free choice to engage in sexual activity.

INTERNATIONAL (Northern Ireland), Belfast Telegraph, November 23, 2013

Horror of ‘sex slave house’ in Armagh: Women held in home and raped over two decades, court hears

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/horror-of-sex-slave-house-in-armagh-women-held-in-home-and-raped-over-two-decades-court-hears-29777968.html 

A malnourished Englishwoman with severe learning disabilities was raped repeatedly and imprisoned for nearly a decade at a specially adapted house in Northern Ireland, the High Court has heard.  Prosecutors claimed one of the victims, a married woman said to have gone missing from her home in 2004, weighed just six stone after being kept locked in a sparse and unlit bedroom with no inside door handle.

RELATED ISSUES  

NEVADA (Reno), 2 NEWS, November 24, 2013

Reno police looking for missing man with dementia

http://www.ktvn.com/story/24058360/reno-police-looking-for-missing-man-with-advanced-dementia

The Reno Police Department wants you to be on the lookout for a man with dementia who's been missing for a week.  The man has been diagnosed with advanced dementia and high blood pressure. 

OREGON (Eugene),  KVAL, November 25, 2013

Man, 83, who went missing found locked in a closet

http://www.kval.com/news/local/Endangered-elderly-man-missing-from-south-Eugene-residence-233392801.html 

The 83-year-old man with dementia who was feared missing in the cold after he vanished from his residential living facility Monday has been found alive locked inside a closet in the building.  Officials at the assisted living center said that the man suffers from dementia and requires medical supervision. 

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 Funding Opportunities:   

• December 1, 2013
  • Applications for noncash support from the Service Grants Program, administered by the Taproot Foundation. Grants consist of technical assistance offered by business professionals in four areas: information technology, leadership development and strategic human resources, marketing, and strategy management.  Applicants must be based in the Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington metropolitan areas.
  • Contact: Allie Hallock, Taproot Foundation, 40 Worth Street, Suite 601, New York, N.Y. 10013; (212) 257-7642; allie@taprootfoundation.org; http://www.taprootfoundation.org/getprobono/get-service-grant
• December 17, 2013
  • Letters of intent to apply for grants from the VNA Foundation. Grants will support nonprofit organizations for home and community-based health care and health services that focus on the needs of disadvantaged people in the metropolitan Chicago area. The foundation awards program, operating, and capital grants in support of home health-care services, community and school-based services, primary care and chronic disease management, and health promotion.
  • For more information contact VNA Foundation, 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 3118, Chicago, Ill. 60606; (312) 214-1521; http://vnafoundation.net/guidelinesprocedures
• December 22, 2013
  • Nominations for the Roth Award from the Mary Byron Project for programs that demonstrate promise in ending the generational cycle of domestic violence. A cash award of $10,000 will be given to a program that focuses on disadvantaged people. Such a program provides services to those who are identified as such based on characteristics that include age, race, ethnicity, gender, faith, disabilities, low socio-economic status, non-English speaking, sexual preference, and victims from suburban areas who traditionally do not know how to avail themselves of services or who are too ashamed to find them.
  • Find more information by contacting Kathy Paulin, Mary Byron Project, 10401 Linn Station Road, Louisville, Ky. 40223; (502) 992-3444; kathypaulin@marybyronproject.org; http://marybyronproject.org/index.php/our-work/the-roth-award
• January 10, 2014
  • Applications for grants from the Needmor Fund, which support community organizing projects that encourage the efforts of people who are working together for justice and the common good; encourage involvement in community affairs by people whose participation has been systematically denied; and foster the active participation of all citizens in crafting values and policies that are more equitable.
  • Contact: Needmor Fund, 42 South Saint Clair Street, Toledo, Ohio 43604; (419) 255-5560; http://www.needmorfund.org/procedures.htm

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 Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order):

·    The New York City JASA Elder Abuse Training Institute has new training classes for Fall 2013.  For more details and registration information click here: http://jasa.org/sites/default/files/NextAct_Catalog_Final_8.9.13.pdf Contact Martha Pollack for further questions: 718-286-1540 or mpollack@jasa.org

·    The 2^nd Annual National Elder Abuse Symposium, hosted by the California District Attorneys Association, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Anaheim, California on December 3-6, 2013. Register here: http://www.cdaa.org/training/seminar-conference-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=154

·    The 3^rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30, 2014 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. It is sponsored by the National Guardianship Network in affiliation with the International Guardianship Network. The theme of the conference is, “Promising Practices to Ensure Excellence in Guardianship Around the World.” Proposals for presentations are due July 31.  See http://worldcongressguardianship.org  

An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here:  http://ncea.posthaven.com/

National Center on Elder Abuse
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect
University of California, Irvine
Program in Geriatrics
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868

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This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission.

Newsfeed – Friday, November 22, 2013

The newsfeed includes articles and stories related to abuse of elders and adults with disabilities.  Articles related to elders appear in the top half of the newsfeed.  Articles related to abuse of adults with disabilities appear towards the bottom.  To subscribe to the NCEA listserv, please send an email with your name, occupation, your organization/agency name, city and state, and a statement about your professional interest or expertise in elder abuse to NCEA@UCI.edu.  Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Did you know? A calendar of upcoming elder abuse and neglect events and funding opportunities can be found at the bottom of the newsfeed.

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ELDER ABUSE NEWSFEED

Senators Warren, Rubio propose stronger financial protections for veterans

http://www.warren.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=294

United States Senators Elizabeth Warren and Marco Rubio today introduced a bipartisan amendment to the  National Defense Authorization Act that would help protect older veterans from financial scams. The legislation directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to work with other federal agencies and states to crack down on scam artists who are diverting federal funds intended to support low-income older veterans.

NATIONAL, Pacific Standard, November 20, 2013

The horrible condition of assisted living facilities across America

http://www.psmag.com/health/horrible-condition-assisted-living-facilities-across-america-70313/

An examination of the multibillion-dollar industry reveals a mishmash of minimal state regulation and no involvement by federal officials, the article states.  Despite the growing demands on care in assisted living, most states set the entry bar low for facility workers, requiring little in the way of education or qualifications.  Also, the interval between having an outside inspections of the assisted living facility can be five years in some states, and in 6 states there is no requirement for regular inspections at all.   

 

CALIFORNIA (Placerville), News 10 ABC, November 20, 2013

Attorney general won’t seek new trial in Placerville elder abuse case

http://www.news10.net/news/article/263818/2/Attorney-General-wont-seek-new-trial-in-Placerville-elder-abuse-case  

California's attorney general has declined to seek a new trial against the former head nurse at a senior care facility who was accused of felony elderly abuse in the death of an Alzheimer's patient.  The Sacramento Bee reports state officials said this week they won't seek another trial against Donna Darlene Palmer after an El Dorado County judge declared a mistrial when a jury failed to reach a verdict.

 

CALIFORNIA (Santa Cruz), Good Times, November 19, 2013

Protecting our elders

http://www.gtweekly.com/index.php/santa-cruz-news/santa-cruz-local-news/5210-protecting-our-elders.html

One alarming trend found in the 2013 CAP report of Santa Cruz County is a nearly 20 percent increase in investigated cases of elder abuse from 2006 to 2012.  Kari Beuerman, division director of Adult and Long Term Care Services, states that financial abuse is one of the most prominent types of abuse in the county, and comprises 34 percent of the total reported cases that come in to APS.

 

CALIFORNIA (Ventura County), Camarillo Acorn, November 22, 2013

Caretaker charged with stealing from elderly clients

http://www.thecamarilloacorn.com/news/2013-11-22/Police/Caretaker_charged_with_stealing_from_elderly_clien.html

A Northridge woman suspected of stealing about $30,000 worth of property from two elderly couples in Thousand Oaks and Camarillo while working as their caretaker pleaded not guilty to elder abuse charges Tuesday, Ventura County court records show.  Police allege that the thefts occurred between April and September.

 

FLORIDA (St. Johns County), Jacksonville, November 21, 2013

73-year-old St. Johns man swindled; Jacksonville daughter arrested

http://jacksonville.com/breaking-news/2013-11-21/story/73-year-old-st-johns-mans-swindled-jacksonville-daughter-arrested

A 52-year-old Jacksonville woman was charged with exploitation of the elderly Wednesday after St. Johns County deputies said she took about $29,000 from her father, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.

 

FLORIDA (Weston), The Star, November 22, 2013

Retirement home that neglected residents loses its license

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/11/22/retirement_home_that_neglected_residents_loses_its_licence.html#

A Weston retirement home that abused and neglected several of its residents, many of whom suffer from dementia, has lost its operating license.  The decision comes three years after an undercover Star reporter exposed the horrid conditions and profound neglect endured by the 18 residents living at In Touch Retirement in the Weston Rd. and Lawrence Ave. area.

 

IDAHO (Nampa), Idaho Press-Tribune, November 22, 2013

Nampa woman charged with financial exploitation

http://www.idahopress.com/members/nampa-woman-charged-with-financial-exploitation/article_03834c0e-5341-11e3-9b38-001a4bcf887a.html

A 37-year-old woman faces a felony charge of exploitation of a vulnerable adult for allegedly stealing more than $50,000 over a period of two years from her grandmother, Nampa Police Sgt. Tim Randall said in his statement.

 

ILLINOIS (East Moline), Quad-City Times, November 22, 2013

State investigates EM nursing home

http://qctimes.com/news/local/state-investigates-em-nursing-home/article_0d303366-d61e-5ace-9a02-df7815d0b43c.html

An East Moline nursing home that is closing its doors is under investigation by the Illinois Department of Public Health, a spokeswoman said Thursday.  Arnold said the health department began its investigation Wednesday after receiving a complaint against the nursing home. 

 

INDIANA (Indianapolis), INDY STAR, November 22, 2013

88-year-old woman with dementia found beaten to death

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2013/11/22/88-year-old-woman-with-dementia-found-beaten-to-death/3676315/

Indianapolis police are investigating the Eastside beating death of an 88-year-old woman with dementia.  The woman was found at her home Tuesday afternoon in the 800 block of North Shortridge Road with several “blunt force trauma injuries to the head,” according to a Marion County coroner’s report. Her death was ruled a homicide.

 

MAINE (Harrington), WLBZ2, November 22, 2013

Harrington standoff ends with two arrests

http://www.wlbz2.com/news/article/263655/3/Maine-state-police-dispute-turns-into-standoff

Two men are under arrest after a six hour standoff in the Washington county town of Harrington.  State police say the son and his father are charged with preventing authorities from taking the 84-year-old wife and mother for medical treatment.

 

MISSISSIPPI (Stone County), Sun Herald, November 21, 2013

Care home residents in Stone County relocated; couple face felony charges

http://www.sunherald.com/2013/11/21/5135666/personal-care-homes-shut-down.html 

Authorities, citing deplorable conditions at a personal care home in Stone County, have helped find new housing for the home's 12 residents. The couple who ran the home is accused of neglect and of operating it illegally. A second home the couple ran, in Wiggins, also was shut down and its 16 residents removed.

 

MISSOURI (Forsyth), Branson Tri-Lakes News, November 19, 2013

Man charged with elder abuse, gun violation

http://bransontrilakesnews.com/news/article_1c0869f0-515a-11e3-a2bf-0019bb2963f4.html  

A Branson man is in jail facing charges of elder abuse and for being a convicted felon in possession of more than two dozen guns.

 

TENNESSEE (Hamilton County), News Channel 9, November 21, 2013

Elder abuse: growing problem in Hamilton County

http://www.newschannel9.com/news/top-stories/stories/elder-abuse-growing-problem-hamilton-county-8003.shtml

When an older adult’s wife passed away three years ago, his granddaughter and her husband moved in to supposedly to take care of the man.  He found out when he went to the bank one day that his account was cleared out, and the safe was empty except a roll of quarters.  He then discovered that over the past year his granddaughter and her husband had been buying expensive cars, TV's, computers, hundreds of lottery tickets, and taking lavish trips.

 

INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Express), November 21, 2013

Daughter stole life savings of dementia mum leaving nothing left to pay for funeral

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/444201/Daughter-stole-life-savings-of-dementia-mum-leaving-nothing-left-to-pay-for-funeral

A 59-year-old daughter treated herself to lavish shopping sprees and expensive holidays – including a trip to Australia – while her 81-year-old mother lay in a care home suffering with dementia.  Over three years, the daughter squandered the huge sum that had been set aside for her mother’s residential care, and on the day the mother died, the daughter cleared out her bank account of the remaining £22,000.

  

ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

 

FLORIDA (Bradenton), Bradenton Herald, November 21, 2013

Three charged in attack at Bradenton Riverwalk skate park now face life in prison

http://www.bradenton.com/2013/11/21/4843392/three-charged-in-attack-at-bradenton.html 

The three men charged with beating a disabled man at the Bradenton Riverwalk Skate Park earlier this month now face the possibility of life in prison.  The charge now alleges that assault was also a hate crime against the victim, making the charge a life felony, not a third-degree felony as filed by Bradenton police. 

 

MASSACHUSETTS, My Fox Boston, November 21, 2013

Abuse, sexual harassment alleged at center for disabled

http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/24039441/abuse-sexual-harassment-alleged-at-center-for-disabled

A former employee of an organization that provides services for adults with disabilities filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, which in April found probable cause that the woman was harassed by her boss at work.  She also filed multiple complaints against her boss with the state's Disabled Persons Protection Commission alleging abuse and retaliation.  "It seems to be that the place is very poorly run and very poorly managed and there is a supervisor there who was abusing clients and sexually harassing [my client]”, attorney Jessica Hedges said.

 

MASSACHUSETTS (Somerset), McCreary County Record, November 20, 2013

Two Pine Knot men indicted in Oakwood investigation

http://www.mccrearyrecord.com/local/x1050746202/Two-Pine-Knot-men-indicted-in-Oakwood-investigation 

Attorney General Jack Conway announced Monday that three former employees of Oakwood Manor in Somerset have been indicted on felony charges of abuse and neglect by a Pulaski County grand jury.  One of the employees was re-arrested on Monday afternoon and at press time was lodged in the Pulaski County Detention Center. He is scheduled to appear in Pulaski Circuit Court on November 26.

 

NEVADA (Las Vegas), 8 News Now, November 21, 2013

I-Team: Abuse allegations lead to changes

http://www.8newsnow.com/story/24024467/desert-regional-center-changes-following-investigations-of-abuse

An I-Team investigation and congressional action have created changes in how Nevada treats mentally disabled adults.  In February, the I-Team looked into claims of patients with broken teeth, blackened eyes and deep bruising.  Police and DRC officials investigated, but could not find enough evidence to move forward. After the stories of alleged abuse were aired on channel 8, Congresswoman Dina Titus called for an independent review.

 

INTERNATIONAL (Northern Ireland), BBC News, November 22, 2013

Disabled woman held captive for ten years, court told

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-25055936

A malnourished woman with learning disabilities was allegedly raped repeatedly and imprisoned for almost a decade, the High Court has heard.  The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, faces charges of rape, false imprisonment and sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder. 

   

RELATED ISSUES  

 

OHIO (Newark), The Columbus Dispatch, November 20, 2013

Body found along lake of Newark man showing dementia

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/11/20/mans-body-found-along-lake.html

The body of a Newark man who was last seen on Monday morning was found yesterday afternoon by a group of teenagers walking home from school.  Newark police had searched for the man through most of Monday night and into yesterday, after he was reported missing by his brother on Monday morning. The 60-year-old man, who lived alone, was admitted to Licking Memorial Hospital on Sunday with symptoms of dementia.  

 

OKLAHOMA (Stillwater), News Channel 4, November 21, 2013

UPDATED: Stillwater police look to public for help locating missing person

http://kfor.com/2013/11/21/stillwater-police-look-to-public-for-help-locating-missing-person/ 

The Stillwater Police Department are asking for the public’s help in locating 21-year old Brent Lee Stout.  Police tell us Stout is a developmentally disabled adult, who left a group home facility in Stillwater.

 

TEXAS (Spring), KHOU, November 19, 2013

Houston man with dementia remains missing after 2 weeks

http://www.khou.com/news/local/Houston-man-with-dementia-remains-missing-after-2-weeks-232584621.html 

Nearly two and a half weeks have passed since a 68-year-old man disappeared, and his daughter is demanding answers from the home where he vanished from.  The man, who suffers from dementia and other medical conditions, had been living in the house located on Country Walk Drive in Spring for more than a month. 

 

WEST VIRGINIA (Belington), National Legal and Policy Center, November 21, 2013

Ombudsman for West Virginia legal services affiliate sentenced

http://nlpc.org/stories/2013/11/21/ombudsman-west-virginia-legal-services-affiliate-sentenced 

On July 2, Phillips, an ombudsman for Legal Aid of West Virginia, a Legal Services Corp.-affiliated nonprofit group, received a 10-month sentence in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia for obtaining false reimbursements.  during January 2007-May 2010 submitted false mileage claims and time sheets to obtain more than $90,000 from the federally-funded Long-Term Care Ombudsman Fund in connection with her work for Legal Aid of West Virginia.

 

****************************************************************************************

 Funding Opportunities:   

• December 1, 2013

• Applications for noncash support from the Service Grants Program, administered by the Taproot Foundation. Grants consist of technical assistance offered by business professionals in four areas: information technology, leadership development and strategic human resources, marketing, and strategy management.  Applicants must be based in the Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington metropolitan areas.
• Contact: Allie Hallock, Taproot Foundation, 40 Worth Street, Suite 601, New York, N.Y. 10013; (212) 257-7642; allie@taprootfoundation.org; http://www.taprootfoundation.org/getprobono/get-service-grant

• December 17, 2013

• Letters of intent to apply for grants from the VNA Foundation. Grants will support nonprofit organizations for home and community-based health care and health services that focus on the needs of disadvantaged people in the metropolitan Chicago area. The foundation awards program, operating, and capital grants in support of home health-care services, community and school-based services, primary care and chronic disease management, and health promotion.
• For more information contact VNA Foundation, 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 3118, Chicago, Ill. 60606; (312) 214-1521; http://vnafoundation.net/guidelinesprocedures

• December 22, 2013

• Nominations for the Roth Award from the Mary Byron Project for programs that demonstrate promise in ending the generational cycle of domestic violence. A cash award of $10,000 will be given to a program that focuses on disadvantaged people. Such a program provides services to those who are identified as such based on characteristics that include age, race, ethnicity, gender, faith, disabilities, low socio-economic status, non-English speaking, sexual preference, and victims from suburban areas who traditionally do not know how to avail themselves of services or who are too ashamed to find them.
• Find more information by contacting Kathy Paulin, Mary Byron Project, 10401 Linn Station Road, Louisville, Ky. 40223; (502) 992-3444; kathypaulin@marybyronproject.org; http://marybyronproject.org/index.php/our-work/the-roth-award

• January 10, 2014

• Applications for grants from the Needmor Fund, which support community organizing projects that encourage the efforts of people who are working together for justice and the common good; encourage involvement in community affairs by people whose participation has been systematically denied; and foster the active participation of all citizens in crafting values and policies that are more equitable.
• Contact: Needmor Fund, 42 South Saint Clair Street, Toledo, Ohio 43604; (419) 255-5560; http://www.needmorfund.org/procedures.htm

 ****************************************************************************************

 Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order):

  

·    The New York City JASA Elder Abuse Training Institute has new training classes for Fall 2013.  For more details and registration information click here: http://jasa.org/sites/default/files/NextAct_Catalog_Final_8.9.13.pdf Contact Martha Pollack for further questions: 718-286-1540 or mpollack@jasa.org

·    The 30^th Annual Adult Protective Services Conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas from November 19-22, 2013. For more information: https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adult_Protection/Adult_Protective_Services_Conference/

·    The 2^nd Annual National Elder Abuse Symposium, hosted by the California District Attorneys Association, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Anaheim, California on December 3-6, 2013. Register here: http://www.cdaa.org/training/seminar-conference-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=154

·    The 3^rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30, 2014 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. It is sponsored by the National Guardianship Network in affiliation with the International Guardianship Network. The theme of the conference is, “Promising Practices to Ensure Excellence in Guardianship Around the World.” Proposals for presentations are due July 31.  See http://worldcongressguardianship.org  

 

An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here:  http://ncea.posthaven.com/

 

National Center on Elder Abuse
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect
University of California, Irvine
Program in Geriatrics
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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*************************************** To reply or send a message to the entire NCEA listserve, address your post to ELDERABUSE@LIST.NIH.GOV. To change your listserve status, send the following command(s) in an email directly to LISTSERV@LIST.NIH.GOV: SET ELDERABUSE NOMAIL: To TEMPORARILY SUSPEND receiving messages. SET ELDERABUSE MAIL: To RENEW listserve after temporarily suspending mail. SIGNOFF ELDERABUSE: To UNSUBSCRIBE permanently. Do not include a subject header or any other text, and remember you must send the message from the address at which you are subscribed. The NCEA ElderAbuse listserve is administered by the Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect at the University of California, Irvine, as a service of the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) and is supported in part by the U.S. Administration on Aging. Send feedback or questions to the listserve manager at ncea@uci.edu. Thank you.

Newsfeed – Tuesday, November 19, 2013

The newsfeed includes articles and stories related to abuse of elders and adults with disabilities.  Articles related to elders appear in the top half of the newsfeed.  Articles related to abuse of adults with disabilities appear towards the bottom.  To subscribe to the NCEA listserv, please send an email with your name, occupation, your organization/agency name, city and state, and a statement about your professional interest or expertise in elder abuse to NCEA@UCI.edu.  Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Did you know? A calendar of upcoming elder abuse and neglect events and funding opportunities can be found at the bottom of the newsfeed.

 ***************************************************************************************  

ELDER ABUSE NEWSFEED

NATIONAL, The New York Times, November 18, 2013

Watchful eye in nursing homes

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/18/watchful-eye-in-nursing-homes/?_r=0

On Nov. 1, propelled by the outcry over the Mayberry case, Oklahoma became the third state — along with New Mexico and Texas — to explicitly permit residents in long-term care facilities to maintain surveillance cameras in their rooms. In the last two years, at least five states have considered similar legislation.  Although some states have administrative guidelines for electronic monitoring, most legislative efforts have stalled because of questions about liability and, in particular, privacy rights, raised by facility owners, unions, elder care lawyers and families. 

CALIFORNIA, California Healthline, November 19, 2013

Covered Calif. Warns that ACA implementation increases fraud risks

http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2013/11/19/covered-calif-warns-that-aca-implementation-increases-fraud-risks

Covered California officials are warning consumers that fraudulent activity related to the Affordable Care Act likely will increase as implementation of the law progresses, HealthyCal reports.  Clare Smith, director of the California-based Elder Financial Protection Network, said that "when changes of this scale happen people are more likely to be duped," adding, "Every day a new scheme pops up." 

CALIFORNIA (Irwindale), Baldwin Park Patch, November 18, 2013

Former Irwindale police officer sentenced

http://baldwinpark.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/former-irwindale-police-officer-sentenced

A former Irwindale police officer who stole $250,000 in cash from his 84-year-old father was sentenced today to one year in county jail and ordered to repay the money.  Dennis Alva, 47, was also sentenced to five years of probation on the grand theft count to which he pleaded no contest.

CALIFORNIA (Irwindale), San Gabriel Valley Tribune, November 15, 2013

Irwindale housing complex seniors protest alleged elder abuse

http://www.sgvtribune.com/general-news/20131115/irwindale-housing-complex-seniors-protest-alleged-elder-abuse

About a dozen seniors staged a daylong protest on Arrow Highway on Thursday alleging they have been verbally abused and mistreated by the manager of their 26-unit senior housing complex.  Residents of the Las Casitas Senior Complex on Ayon Avenue aired several complaints. “You live in fear,” said resident Maggie Guzman, an Irwindale senior commissioner. 

CALIFORNIA (Los Angeles), Beverly Hills Patch, November 18, 2013

Casey Kasem family feud escalates

http://beverlyhills.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/casey-kasem-family-feud-escalates

Ahead of Tuesday's scheduled probate court hearing, attorneys for Jean Kasem again attack the motives of her husband's children from his first marriage.  Court papers filed Monday by his wife in response to efforts by three of her husband's children by another woman to establish a conservatorship over the 81-year-old deejay.

CALIFORNIA (Vallejo), San Jose Mercury News, November 18, 2013

Brentwood caregiver allegedly abandons elderly man for hours in Vallejo

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_24546894/brentwood-caregiver-allegedly-abandons-elderly-man-hours-vallejo

Vallejo police arrested a Brentwood man early Sunday on the suspicion of abusing an elderly man under his care.  Arriving officers saw the man on the ground, unresponsive but breathing.  "The man had defecated and urinated himself," police said. 

GEORGIA (Savannah-Chatham County), Savannah Morning News – Savannah Now, November 16, 2013

Senior victim to valued friend

http://savannahnow.com/news/2013-11-16/senior-victim-valued-friend#.UoveqMRJOdQ

A retired Wall Street executive who moved to The Landings in 2000 hired a housekeeper and thought he had found a valued friend, the article states.  By the time the 88-year-old man caught on, the woman had defrauded him out of more than a quarter of a million dollars, including a four-bedroom home in Pooler and a new Toyota Camry.

IOWA (Des Moines), The Gazette, November 15, 2013

Iowa elder abuse law changes eyed

http://thegazette.com/2013/11/15/iowa-elder-abuse-law-changes-eyed/

State lawmakers are being asked to revamp laws designed to prevent elder abuse into a comprehensive approach that will better combat incidents of abuse, neglect and financial exploitation that experts say are more widespread than reports indicate.  Donna Harvey, director of the state Department on Aging, told members of the Legislature’s Elder Abuse Prevention and Intervention Study Committee Thursday that Iowa has laws dealing with dependent abuse but there are gaps and bureaucratic hurdles when problems beset people aged 60 years or older who are living independently yet may be vulnerable.

KANSAS (Cowley County), KWCH Eyewitness News 12, November 14, 2013

Dependent care manager arrested for financial abuse

http://www.kwch.com/news/local-news/dependent-care-manager-arrested-for-financial-abuse/-/21054266/22972984/-/ktqer4/-/index.html 

The manager for an Arkansas City dependent care organization has been arrested in connection to dependent financial abuse.  Officers arrested Neagle for three counts of mistreatment of a dependent adult and ten counts of theft. Captain Mark McCaslin said Neagle admitted during a police interview to making personal purchases while using dependent accounts from CCL. 

MICHIGAN (Fraser), USA Today, November 15, 2013

Motel owner tied parents to bed, left them in filth

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/15/elderly-abuse-neglect/3593695/

The son of an elderly couple found tied to a bed in a suburban Detroit motel, lying in their own feces and urine, was charged Friday with adult abuse.  The son admitted to authorities that his parents were rarely bathed and that he had tied them to the bed so they would not leave, police said. 

MISSOURI (Creve Coeur), St. Louis Today, November 17, 2013 (Opinion)

Keep your parent safe from scams

http://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/jim-gallagher/keep-your-parent-safe-from-scams/article_44de44db-3a69-58bc-b270-3876eb27a2f1.html

An older adult lost about $70,000 — wiring it off to thieves — before employees at a Dierbergs supermarket became concerned and called Creve Coeur police in 2009. The scam started by a call saying he’d won a second prize in the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes, and he just had to send in some money to cover taxes, fees and insurance, and they’d ship him his winnings.

NEVADA (Las Vegas), News 3, November 18, 2013

Behavioral health company convicted in Medicaid fraud

http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/local/story/Behavioral-health-company-Medicaid-fraud/deW-ZO5Mtk2wkIbpQRvEgA.cspx

Unity Family Services Inc., in accord with a negotiated settlement, was convicted today for the felony offense of submission of false Medicaid claims for fraud involving submission of billing to Medicaid for various behavioral health services that were never provided to Medicaid recipients.

OHIO (Coshocton County), Coshocton Tribune, November 17, 2013

Cases of elder abuse are on the rise across Coshocton County

http://www.coshoctontribune.com/article/20131116/NEWS01/311160025/Cases-elder-abuse-rise-across-Coshocton-County?nclick_check=1

Every month, at least five cases of elderly exploitation, maltreatment or neglect are reported in Coshocton County.  In 2012, the local APS office handled 36 cases of senior neglect or abuse, but so far this year, they’ve handled 48 cases, Ann Randles said.  Statewide, there were 14,227 reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation of adults age 60 and older from July 2012 through June 2013, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

OKLAHOMA (Park Hill, Cherokee County), Muskogee Phoenix, November 16, 2013

Park Hill woman faces elder abuse charges

http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/local/x520093267/Park-Hill-woman-faces-elder-abuse-charges/?state=taberU

A Park Hill woman is accused of abusing her mother and is facing felony charges.  The Department of Human Services was notified of allegations of caretaker neglect, caretaker abuse, caretaker exploitation, and financial neglect, according to court documents 

INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Mail Online, November 18, 2013

Care worker forced can of deodorant into 89-year-old dementia patient’s mouth and sprayed her in the face

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2509204/Care-worker-forced-deodorant-89-year-old-dementia-patients-mouth-sprayed-face.html

A care home worker has been jailed after it was discovered she hit a patient with slippers and forced a can of deodorant into her mouth.  Valerie Bell, who sprayed a resident with dementia in the face and called her a 'filthy animal', was sentenced to nine months in prison after she was convicted of four counts of ill-treatment or neglect, relating to two residents at Sutherland Court Care Home, in Fenham. 

INTERNATIONAL (Lancashire, United Kingdom), BBC News, November 14, 2013

Hillcroft nursing home staff trial: Accused was ‘model carer’

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-24950657

A senior staff member accused of abusing residents at a Lancashire nursing home has told a court she was "a model carer".  The court previously heard she is accused of abusing six residents - allegedly slapping one and throwing bean bags at others. 

ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

KENTUCKY (Pulaski County), Courier-journal, November 18, 2013

Three ex-Oakwood employees charged with abuse and neglect

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20131118/NEWS01/311180079/Three-ex-Oakwood-employees-charged-abuse-neglect?nclick_check=1

Three former employees at a state-run facility for mentally disabled adults were indicted by a Pulaski County grand jury Monday on charges they persuaded a disabled patient to hit another resident in September while they recorded video of the incident.  King is charged with three counts of knowing abuse or neglect of an adult. Burton is charged with two counts of complicity to knowing abuse or neglect of an adult and Ball faces one count of knowing abuse or neglect of an adult. 

MICHIGAN (Cadillac), Cadillac News, November 19, 2013

Cadillac man charged with sexually assaulting disabled adults

http://www.cadillacnews.com/news_story/?story_id=1814097&issue=20131116&year=2013

A Cadillac man’s criminal sexual conduct case has been bound over to 28th Circuit Court in Wexford County on charges he allegedly sexually assaulted two mentally disabled adults.  The man is charged with taking sexual advantage of a mentally disabled young adult female and a mentally disabled young adult male.

INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), BBC News, November 19, 2013

Solicitor ‘defrauded disabled brother and sister’

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-25001517

A severely disabled brother and sister were fraudulently persuaded to sign away the rights to their home by a solicitor, a jury has been told.  The solicitor had been recruited by two fraudsters to get the adult children to sign the documents which waived their right of residence to the family home in Wyton in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire in 2008. 

RELATED ISSUES  

MAINE, MPBN, November 15, 2013

Lawmakers seek financial relief for Maine nursing homes

http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/5347/ItemId/30977/Default.aspx

Maine falls in the lower third of all states when it comes to paying its share of the actual costs of long-term care.  A legislative commission charged with reviewing reimbursement, and other issues important to the state's 107 nursing homes, is developing final recommendations that could provide some financial relief. 

PENNSYLVANIA (Pittsburgh), Trib LIVE News, November 16, 2013

Pittsburgh police seek help finding missing dementia patient

http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/5084670-74/missing-police-lee#axzz2l84nZwc9

Pittsburgh police are asking for help finding a missing elderly man with dementia.  He was last seen Wednesday evening in Homewood, and might appear confused and disoriented. 

****************************************************************************************

 Funding Opportunities:   

• December 1, 2013
  • Applications for noncash support from the Service Grants Program, administered by the Taproot Foundation. Grants consist of technical assistance offered by business professionals in four areas: information technology, leadership development and strategic human resources, marketing, and strategy management.  Applicants must be based in the Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington metropolitan areas.
  • Contact: Allie Hallock, Taproot Foundation, 40 Worth Street, Suite 601, New York, N.Y. 10013; (212) 257-7642; allie@taprootfoundation.org; http://www.taprootfoundation.org/getprobono/get-service-grant
• December 17, 2013
  • Letters of intent to apply for grants from the VNA Foundation. Grants will support nonprofit organizations for home and community-based health care and health services that focus on the needs of disadvantaged people in the metropolitan Chicago area. The foundation awards program, operating, and capital grants in support of home health-care services, community and school-based services, primary care and chronic disease management, and health promotion.
  • For more information contact VNA Foundation, 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 3118, Chicago, Ill. 60606; (312) 214-1521; http://vnafoundation.net/guidelinesprocedures
• December 22, 2013
  • Nominations for the Roth Award from the Mary Byron Project for programs that demonstrate promise in ending the generational cycle of domestic violence. A cash award of $10,000 will be given to a program that focuses on disadvantaged people. Such a program provides services to those who are identified as such based on characteristics that include age, race, ethnicity, gender, faith, disabilities, low socio-economic status, non-English speaking, sexual preference, and victims from suburban areas who traditionally do not know how to avail themselves of services or who are too ashamed to find them.
  • Find more information by contacting Kathy Paulin, Mary Byron Project, 10401 Linn Station Road, Louisville, Ky. 40223; (502) 992-3444; kathypaulin@marybyronproject.org; http://marybyronproject.org/index.php/our-work/the-roth-award
• January 10, 2014
  • Applications for grants from the Needmor Fund, which support community organizing projects that encourage the efforts of people who are working together for justice and the common good; encourage involvement in community affairs by people whose participation has been systematically denied; and foster the active participation of all citizens in crafting values and policies that are more equitable.
  • Contact: Needmor Fund, 42 South Saint Clair Street, Toledo, Ohio 43604; (419) 255-5560; http://www.needmorfund.org/procedures.htm

 ****************************************************************************************

 Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order):  

·    The New York City JASA Elder Abuse Training Institute has new training classes for Fall 2013.  For more details and registration information click here: http://jasa.org/sites/default/files/NextAct_Catalog_Final_8.9.13.pdf Contact Martha Pollack for further questions: 718-286-1540 or mpollack@jasa.org

·    The 30^th Annual Adult Protective Services Conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas from November 19-22, 2013. For more information: https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adult_Protection/Adult_Protective_Services_Conference/

·    The 2^nd Annual National Elder Abuse Symposium, hosted by the California District Attorneys Association, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Anaheim, California on December 3-6, 2013. Register here: http://www.cdaa.org/training/seminar-conference-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=154

·    The 3^rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30, 2014 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. It is sponsored by the National Guardianship Network in affiliation with the International Guardianship Network. The theme of the conference is, “Promising Practices to Ensure Excellence in Guardianship Around the World.” Proposals for presentations are due July 31.  See http://worldcongressguardianship.org  

An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here:  http://ncea.posthaven.com/

National Center on Elder Abuse
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect
University of California, Irvine
Program in Geriatrics
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission.

This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission.

*************************************** To reply or send a message to the entire NCEA listserve, address your post to ELDERABUSE@LIST.NIH.GOV. To change your listserve status, send the following command(s) in an email directly to LISTSERV@LIST.NIH.GOV: SET ELDERABUSE NOMAIL: To TEMPORARILY SUSPEND receiving messages. SET ELDERABUSE MAIL: To RENEW listserve after temporarily suspending mail. SIGNOFF ELDERABUSE: To UNSUBSCRIBE permanently. Do not include a subject header or any other text, and remember you must send the message from the address at which you are subscribed. The NCEA ElderAbuse listserve is administered by the Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect at the University of California, Irvine, as a service of the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) and is supported in part by the U.S. Administration on Aging. Send feedback or questions to the listserve manager at ncea@uci.edu. Thank you.

Newsfeed – Friday, November 15, 2013

The newsfeed includes articles and stories related to abuse of elders and adults with disabilities.  Articles related to elders appear in the top half of the newsfeed.  Articles related to abuse of adults with disabilities appear towards the bottom.  To subscribe to the NCEA listserv, please send an email with your name, occupation, your organization/agency name, city and state, and a statement about your professional interest or expertise in elder abuse to NCEA@UCI.edu.  Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

 

Did you know? A calendar of upcoming elder abuse and neglect events and funding opportunities can be found at the bottom of the newsfeed.

 

 ***************************************************************************************  

ELDER ABUSE NEWSFEED

 

CALIFORNIA (Los Altos), Los Altos Town Crier, November 15, 2013

Los Altos man charged with assault, elder abuse

http://www.losaltosonline.com/news/sections/news/46088-los-altos-man-charged-with-assault-elder-abuse

An elderly man remains hospitalized after allegedly being attacked at home by his son Nov. 12, according to Los Altos Police, who apprehended 52-year-old Amir Imanian later that day.  The suspect fled by the time police arrived at the home, Detective Abe Velasco said, but returned that evening and was arrested without incident.   

 

CALIFORNIA (Thousand Oaks), Thousand Oaks Acorn, November 14, 2013

Thousand Oaks woman ordered to repay her 83-year-old victim

http://www.toacorn.com/news/2013-11-14/Community/Thousand_Oaks_woman_ordered_to_repay_her_83yearold.html

A Thousand Oaks woman who stole tens of thousands of dollars from an elderly Calabasas woman by forging her checks this past summer has been sentenced to eight months in county jail and a five year probation, according to Ventura County court records.

 

CALIFORNIA (Thousand Oaks), VCStar, November 10, 2013

Deputies arrest man on suspicion of elder abuse in Thousand Oaks

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/nov/10/man-restraint-by-deputies-in-thousand-oaks-call/

A 46-year-old man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of abusing an elderly woman and becoming aggressive with deputies in Thousand Oaks, officials said.  Once deputies arrived at the home, the man became combative and did not comply with deputies’ requests, officials said. Deputies thought the man was intoxicated and had mental problems. 

 

CALIFORNIA (Visalia), Visalia Times-Delta, November 8, 2013

Bail remains for Visalia elder-abuse suspect

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20131109/NEWS01/311070052/ 

A Visalia man accused of elder abuse that includes a claim he bound his 75-year-old uncle in a shed had his request to be released from jail on his own recognizance denied Wednesday.  As a result of Tulare County Superior Court Judge James Holman’s ruling, Marcos Vincent Abrego, 48, will remain in custody on $50,000 bail.

 

IOWA (Des Moines), WCF Courier, November 15, 2013

Elder abuse law changes eyed in Iowa

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elder-abuse-law-changes-eyed-in-iowa/article_f1efae9f-d3d0-5d9c-ae02-e7dc2576a187.html

Donna Harvey, director of the state Department on Aging and former director of the Hawkeye Valley Area Agency on Aging in Waterloo, told members of the Legislature’s Elder Abuse Prevention and Intervention Study Committee Thursday that Iowa has laws dealing with dependent abuse but there are gaps and bureaucratic hurdles when problems beset people aged 60 years or older who are living independently yet may be vulnerable.   

 

MICHIGAN (Fraser), USA Today, November 15, 2013

Motel owner tied parents to bed, left them in filth

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/15/elderly-abuse-neglect/3593695/ 

The son of an elderly couple found tied to a bed in a suburban Detroit motel, lying in their own feces and urine, was charged Friday with adult abuse.  The 55-year-old son, who owns the Flamingo Motel here, admitted to authorities that his parents were rarely bathed and that he had tied them to the bed so they would not leave, police said. 

 

MINNESOTA (Maplewood), MPR News, November 15, 2013

Pastor of Oakdale Catholic church accepted $120,000 check from elderly parishioner

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/11/15/catholic-church/pastor-of-oakdale-catholic-church-accepted-120000-check-from-elderly-pari

The Maplewood Police Department recently closed an investigation into the Rev. Rodger Bauman, an Oakdale priest who accepted a $120,000 check from a 99-year-old former parishioner.  No charges were ever filed. But the circumstances surrounding the money raised concerns among the man's caregivers, the woman serving as his power of attorney and a police detective, who investigated Bauman on suspicion of swindling a vulnerable adult, the article states. 

 

MISSOURI (St. Louis), KMOV, November 9, 2013

Family believes 86-year-old mother was abused by nursing home

http://www.kmov.com/news/mobile/Family-believes-86-year-old-mother-was-abused-by-nursing-home-231243981.html 

A family says their 86-year-old mother with Alzheimer’s was abused by a nursing home in west St. Louis County.  Robin Foster said her mother’s eye was swollen and closed shut after what the Delmar Garden’s West Nursing Home said was a bad fall. 

 

OHIO (Muskingum County), Zanesville Times Recorder, November 10, 2013

A silent cry for help: why elderly victims are hesitant to report crimes

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/article/20131109/NEWS01/311090055?nclick_check=1 

Each week, three elderly people in Muskingum County report maltreatment by a caretaker.  There were 175 cases of elder maltreatment reported to APS last year — a 30 percent increase since 2010.  Whether it is due to fear of retaliation, shame or a desire to save a family member from criminal repercussions, the elderly are hesitant when it comes to reporting their abuse, the article states.    

 

OREGON (Portland), The Skanner, November 11, 2013

Settlement reached as Nationstar Mortgage apologizes to Portland homeowner

http://www.theskanner.com/article/Settlement-Reached-as-Nationstar-Mortgage-Apologizes-to-Homeowner-2013-11-11

Amid charges of fraud and elder abuse, Delaware-based Nationstar Mortgage, Inc., has issued a public apology and settled out of court with a Northeast Portland couple who faced the loss of their family’s home of 50 years.  The couple was sued by Nationstar for allegedly defaulting on a mortgage loan the couple took out to pay for repairs on Judith’s mother’s home; the couple originally took out the loan from a company called World Mortgage, but the debt was resold several times until it came to rest with Nationstar.

 

PENNSYLVANIA (Lancaster County), Lancaster Online, November 12, 2013

Police: Family members bilked elderly parents out of $697,000

http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/917773_Police--Family-members-bilked-elderly-parents-out-of--697-000.html

A Pike County man and his wife will be tried for allegedly bilking her elderly parents — who were living in Lancaster County — out of nearly $700,000.  Northern Lancaster Regional police allege the couple tricked the man into signing a document in 2009 that granted them power of transfer.

 

PENNSYLVANIA (Allegheny County), Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 12, 2013

New policy focuses on elder abuse prosecution

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2013/11/12/New-policy-focuses-on-elder-abuse-prosecution/stories/201311120135

A new policy implemented by the Allegheny County district attorney requires local police officers to contact a prosecutor before issuing any criminal complaint in elder abuse cases.  The idea behind the change, District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said, is to ensure the investigation is handled quickly and thoroughly.

 

TEXAS (Fort Worth), Crime Time, November 14, 2013

Judge sentences nursing home aid accused of elder abuse to probation

http://blogs.star-telegram.com/crime_time/2013/11/judge-sentences-nursing-home-aid-accused-of-elder-abuse-to-probation-.html

A nursing home aid who was video-taped mistreating a woman with Alzheimer's disease was sentenced to a five year probation.  Maria F. Acosta was accused of pinching the leg and pulling the hair of the 84-year-old resident.

 

TEXAS (San Antonio), My San Antonio, November 13, 2013

Two sentenced in separate elder fraud cases

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Two-sentenced-in-separate-elder-fraud-cases-4981607.php

Two men who committed fraud against the elderly in separate incidents were sent to prison Tuesday. 

 

VIRGINIA, Examiner, November 9, 2013

Self-neglect in the elderly: A silent issue in elder abuse

http://www.examiner.com/article/self-neglect-the-elderly-a-silent-issue-elder-abuse

On Saturday the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services released a report showing self-neglect is the most common form of abuse in the elderly or disabled.  From July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013, Adult Protective Services in Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield received over 2,000 reports of abuse, neglect or exploitation of the elderly. 

 

VIRGINIA (Richmond), WTVR CBS 6, November 8, 2013

Self-neglect most common form of elderly abuse in VA

http://wtvr.com/2013/11/08/self-neglect-most-common-form-of-elderly-abuse-in-va/

Self-neglect is the most common form of abuse, neglect or exploitation of the elderly and disabled reported, according to numbers just released by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services.  Nearly two-thirds of the abuse and neglect reports are related to self-neglect in Henrico. 

 

WASHINGTON (Seattle), The Inquisitr, November 10, 2013

Man arrested for letting elderly mother waste away and die

http://www.inquisitr.com/1024781/man-arrested-for-letting-elderly-mother-waste-away-and-die/

A man from Seattle has been arrested and faces felony charges after neglecting his 89-year-old mother so badly that she died. The woman was found dead outside the home she shared with her son, Lester L. Kunimoto.  The woman died back in October of 2011 and following an intense two years of investigations, King County prosecutors said that they have pinned elderly abuse charges on Lester Kinimoto – as well as second-degree criminal mistreatment.

 

INTERNATIONAL (Canada), The Star, November 15, 2013

Castleview Wychwood Towers, where resident was killed, has history of problems

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/11/12/castleview_wychwood_towers_where_resident_was_killed_has_history_of_complex_problems.html

Inspection reports detail abuse, untrained staff and unsanitary conditions at the city-run nursing home where an elderly resident was killed on the weekend.  Some of those reports — 31 ministry inspection logs in 29 months — are of feces-stained furniture and broken bedside bells to complaints about residents crying in vain to go to the bathroom. In addition to a staff member being convicted of sexual assault in 2012, allegations and complaints of abuse have continued.

 

INTERNATIONAL (Devon, United Kingdom), BBC NEWS, November 14, 2013

Rydan Lodge care home abuse investigated

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-24938781

Allegations of abuse at a care home for the elderly in Devon are being investigated, police have said.  Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust said inspectors had found the home was "not meeting some essential standards" and its six residents had been moved.

INTERNATIONAL (Manchester, United Kingdom), The Telegraph, November 11, 2013

Care worker stole rings from hand of dementia patient

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10440453/Care-worker-stole-rings-from-hand-of-dementia-patient.html

A care worker at a residential home stole three rings off the wedding finger of an 88-year-old woman with severe dementia then sold them on for a fraction of their value.  On October 7, the daughter-in-law of the 88-year-old victim noticed that the three rings had disappeared from her wedding finger. A week later, it was discovered that Murphy had sold the rings, including her mother's, at a shop in Wythenshawe.

 

INTERNATIONAL (Newcastle, United Kingdom), Chronicle Live, November 9, 2013

Newcastle care home bully boss Valerie Bell facing jail for abuse

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-care-home-bully-boss-6287694

Care home bully Valerie Bell is today facing jail after subjecting elderly dementia sufferers to a campaign of terror.  Bell was accused of offences against nine elderly residents at Sutherland Court Care Home, in Fenham, Newcastle, but was only convicted with regard to two of them

 

INTERNATIONAL (Portsmouth, United Kingdom), Seacoast Online, November 15, 2013

Legal arguments filed in cop’s inheritance dispute

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20131115-NEWS-131119849

Manchester attorney David Eby is asking for a June trial to dispute the last will and trust for the late Geraldine Webber, who left an estimated $1.8 million in assets to Portsmouth police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin. Representing the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Society and The Shriner’s Hospital for Children, Eby alleges in new court documents that Goodwin befriended Webber, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2010, before helping her visit "more than one attorney for the purpose of changing her estate plan."

 

ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

 

KANSAS (Cowley County), News Cow, November 14, 2013

Care home manager accused of taking money

http://www.newscow.net/story.php?StoryID=9450

A manager at an Ark City home for the developmentally disabled has been arrested after an investigation determined she purchased items for personal use with funds from the accounts of dependent clients.  Authorities were alerted late in October when officials from Creative Community Living noticed spending that led them to suspect financial abuse.   

 

SOUTH CAROLINA (Clover), Lake Wylie Pilot, November 9, 2013

Clover man jailed for alleged neglect of bedridden girlfriend

http://www.lakewyliepilot.com/2013/11/09/2154252/clover-man-jailed-for-alleged.html 

A Clover man who called police claiming his bedridden girlfriend suffering from muscular dystrophy had hidden his medicine was jailed after police found he had not fed her or helped her to the bathroom in almost a full day, deputies said.  The 34-year-old man, described by police in a York County Sheriff’s office report as both boyfriend and care giver, remains in jail under a $5,000 bond. 

  

RELATED ISSUES

 

NEBRASKA (Omaha), Omaha, November 10, 2013

Police seek help in search for Omaha woman with dementia

http://www.omaha.com/article/20131110/NEWS/131119895

Omaha police are asking for help in finding a missing Omaha woman who suffers from dementia.  Family members last saw the woman at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday when she dropped off a grandson near 47th Street and Crown Point Avenue, said Officer James Shade, a police spokesman.

 

NEW YORK (Long Island), Daily News, November 15, 2013

Mother, disabled daughter die in tragic house fire

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mother-disabled-daughter-die-tragic-house-fire-article-1.1518116

A mother and her disabled adult daughter died in a Thursday night fire that tore through their cluttered Long Island home, Suffolk County police said.  Huntington Manor firefighters were joined by several nearby departments in fighting the blaze, with their efforts hampered by the home’s “extremely cluttered” condition, police said in a press release.

 

TEXAS (Garland), WFAA 8 ABC, November 8, 2013

Garland man with dementia remains missing after nearly a month

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/dallas/Garland-man-with-dementia-remains-missing-after-nearly-a-month-231244611.html

It’s been four weeks since an elderly Garland man disappeared, and police still need help finding him.  The man suffers from dementia and became disoriented, apparently asked at least two people for directions to Garland on the day he disappeared, the article states. 

 

INTERNATIONAL (Canada), The Star, November 10, 2013

Senior accused in retirement-home killing appears in court

http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2013/11/10/senior_accused_in_retirementhome_killing_appears_in_court.html

An 81-year-old man accused of killing his nursing-home roommate will remain in prison until his next appearance in superior court Tuesday.  Police said mental illness may have been a factor.

  

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 Funding Opportunities:   

• December 6, 2013

• Applications for grants from the Cardinal Health Foundation to support nonprofit health-care institutions to improve patient safety. Grants between $7,500 and $35,000 each will be awarded to approximately 25 organizations in the United States and Canada.
• Find out more by contacting Cardinal Health Foundation, Community Relations, 7000 Cardinal Place, Dublin, Ohio 43017; (614) 757-5000; http://www.cardinalhealth.com/us/en/CommunityRelations/Apply/E3

• December 17, 2013

• Letters of intent to apply for grants from the VNA Foundation. Grants will support nonprofit organizations for home and community-based health care and health services that focus on the needs of disadvantaged people in the metropolitan Chicago area. The foundation awards program, operating, and capital grants in support of home health-care services, community and school-based services, primary care and chronic disease management, and health promotion.
• For more information contact VNA Foundation, 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 3118, Chicago, Ill. 60606; (312) 214-1521; http://vnafoundation.net/guidelinesprocedures

• December 22, 2013

• Nominations for the Roth Award from the Mary Byron Project for programs that demonstrate promise in ending the generational cycle of domestic violence. A cash award of $10,000 will be given to a program that focuses on disadvantaged people. Such a program provides services to those who are identified as such based on characteristics that include age, race, ethnicity, gender, faith, disabilities, low socio-economic status, non-English speaking, sexual preference, and victims from suburban areas who traditionally do not know how to avail themselves of services or who are too ashamed to find them.
• Find more information by contacting Kathy Paulin, Mary Byron Project, 10401 Linn Station Road, Louisville, Ky. 40223; (502) 992-3444; kathypaulin@marybyronproject.org ; http://marybyronproject.org/index.php/our-work/the-roth-award

 

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 Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order):  

·    The New York City JASA Elder Abuse Training Institute has new training classes for Fall 2013.  For more details and registration information click here: http://jasa.org/sites/default/files/NextAct_Catalog_Final_8.9.13.pdf Contact Martha Pollack for further questions: 718-286-1540 or mpollack@jasa.org

·    The ABA’s (American Bankers Association) Annual Money Laundering Enforcement Conference in Washington DC will be held on November 18, 2013.  There will be a panel on “The Financial Institution’s Role in Preventing Elder Financial Exploitation” presenting twice.  For more information: http://www.aba.com/Training/Conferences/Pages/MLE_Schedule.aspx

·    The 30^th Annual Adult Protective Services Conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas from November 19-22, 2013. For more information: https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adult_Protection/Adult_Protective_Services_Conference/

·    The 2^nd Annual National Elder Abuse Symposium, hosted by the California District Attorneys Association, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Anaheim, California on December 3-6, 2013. Register here: http://www.cdaa.org/training/seminar-conference-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=154

·    The 3^rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30, 2014 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. It is sponsored by the National Guardianship Network in affiliation with the International Guardianship Network. The theme of the conference is, “Promising Practices to Ensure Excellence in Guardianship Around the World.” Proposals for presentations are due July 31.  See http://worldcongressguardianship.org  

 

An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here:  http://ncea.posthaven.com/

 

National Center on Elder Abuse
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect
University of California, Irvine
Program in Geriatrics
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868

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Newsfeed – Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The newsfeed includes articles and stories related to abuse of elders and adults with disabilities.  Articles related to elders appear in the top half of the newsfeed.  Articles related to abuse of adults with disabilities appear towards the bottom.  To subscribe to the NCEA listserv, please send an email with your name, occupation, your organization/agency name, city and state, and a statement about your professional interest or expertise in elder abuse to NCEA@UCI.edu.  Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Did you know? A calendar of upcoming elder abuse and neglect events and funding opportunities can be found at the bottom of the newsfeed.

 ***************************************************************************************  

ELDER ABUSE NEWSFEED

CALIFORNIA (Santa Barbara County), KSBY, November 8, 2013

Jury finds man guilty of elder abuse and assault

http://www.ksby.com/news/jury-finds-man-guilty-of-elder-abuse-and-assault/

Santa Barbara County District Attorney, Joyce E. Dudley, says a jury found 48-year-old Douglas John Stekkinger guilty of elder abuse, assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury, and battery with serious bodily injury Thursday.  Stekkinger was also convicted of personally inflicting great bodily injury on someone age 70 or older. 

CALIFORNIA (Visalia), Visalia Times-Delta, November 7, 2013

Bail remains for Visalia elder-abuse suspect

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20131107/NEWS01/311070052/Bail-remains-for-Visalia-elder-abuse-suspect 

A Visalia man accused of elder abuse that includes a claim that he bound his 75-year-old uncle in a shed had his request to be released from jail on his own recognizance denied on Wednesday.  The accused is charged with individual counts of false imprisonment of an elder and criminal negligence under circumstances likely to produce bodily injury.  He was arrested Oct. 30 after a woman reported to Visalia police that she saw the victim handcuffed to a chair inside a shed next to a home in the 400 block of East Sunnyside Avenue. 

CONNECTICUT, The Courant, November 8, 2013

Four nursing homes fined, one after patient dies

http://www.courant.com/health/connecticut/hc-nursing-home-fines-20131108,0,7491933.story

Four Connecticut nursing homes have been fined by the state in connection with cases of a resident dying after a fall, another being burned, others who broke a leg, hip or cervical bone and one who was sexually abused by a visitor.  In two of the citations released this week, the state Department of Public Health fined Elm Hill Nursing Center of Rocky Hill a total of $2,250 for the cases of a broken hip, the sexual abuse that was not properly reported and a resident who fell and was unresponsive. That patient died in a hospital after the fall, DPH spokesman William Gerrish said Friday.   

FLORIDA, Gainesville, November 7, 2013

Protections sought as elderly abuse escalates

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20131107/articles/131109656?p=1&tc=pg

Financial fraud is just one of the abuses against the elderly that's on the rise throughout the nation, the article states.  Thursday's conference, titled "Save Our Seniors" addressed many of these growing problems.  Every year, the Seniors vs. Crime organization recovers between $2 million and $3 million for elder victims of fraud — which is just "the tip of the iceberg," Barbara Thomas, regional director of the nonprofit said.

HAWAII (Honolulu), Hawaii News Now, November 8, 2013

Elder abuse squad getting slammed with cases

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/23911991/elder-abuse-squad-getting-slammed-with-cases

Scams against the elderly are on the rise.  And there are so many different scams, police have a hard time keeping up.  Since 2008, elder abuse cases have risen almost 300%.   Honolulu Police and prosecutors teamed up that year to form an Elder Abuse Justice Squad.  The size of the squad has since doubled in 2010, then expanded again last year.

NEBRASKA (York), Westport News, November 6, 2013

York woman convicted in adult abuse case

http://www.westport-news.com/news/article/York-woman-convicted-in-adult-abuse-case-4959856.php

A 29-year-old York woman has made a plea deal and been convicted in an abuse case involving a vulnerable adult.  Deputy York County Attorney Benjamin Dennis says an elderly woman with significant health issues employed Steider for help with daily tasks. 

OREGON, Statesman Journal, November 5, 2013

Abuse of elderly is on the rise in Oregon

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20131105/NEWS/311050028/Abuse-elderly-rise-Oregon

The new study, which analyzed 419 investigative reports written in 2011, concluded that family members were responsible for victimizing the elderly or disabled in 55 percent of the reported cases, said Christian Hale, the OAAPI investigator of financial exploitation.  The increase in cases has been closely followed by Oregon Rep. Vic Gilliam, who has helped sponsor and push legislation this year and last to better protect seniors and people with physical disabilities against these types of crimes. 

PENNSYLVANIA (Washington County), TribLIVE, November 8, 2013

Ex-bank official accused of taking $35,000 from 81-year-old woman

http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourmonvalley/yourmonvalleymore/5026094-74/manown-victim-police#axzz2k5tFXFHG

A Rostraver Township woman is accused of taking $35,000 from an 81-year-old woman.  The former manager at 1st Federal Savings Bank in Donora allegedly gained the victim's trust by telling her she would help the woman regain an automobile that had been repossessed.

SOUTH CAROLINA (Columbia), Anchorage Daily News, November 6, 2013

SC advocates for elderly push for advocacy program

http://www.adn.com/2013/11/06/3161697/sc-advocates-for-elderly-push.html

Advocates for South Carolina's elderly urged legislators Wednesday to create a statewide program of volunteers who provide a voice for abused, neglected and exploited adults in court.  After hearing from supporters, a legislative committee voted unanimously to recommend a bill putting the state Office on Aging in charge of coordinating the volunteer corps for vulnerable adults. 

TEXAS, KVUE ABC, November 7, 2013

Nursing home abuse and neglect on the rise in Texas

http://www.kvue.com/news/Nursing-home-abuse-and-neglect-231065581.html

A KVUE Defenders investigation uncovered cases of nursing home neglect on the rise across Texas. The investigation also discovered that facilities repeatedly cited for violations rarely see their contracts terminated with the state, despite getting millions in taxpayer dollars.

INTERNATIONAL (Lancaster, United Kingdom), BBC NEWS, November 6, 2013

Hillcroft nursing home staff trial: Cleaner ‘witnessed abuse’

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-24838898 

A cleaner has told the trial of three carers accused of abusing residential home dementia patients she witnessed several instances of ill-treatment.  "I had to say something seeing so many people upset by people who were supposed to care for them," she said.  The jury was told by the defense that there was "in-fighting" and that there were "cliques" at the care home. 

INTERNATIONAL (Ontario, Canada), Blackburn News, November 8, 2013

Investigating health care complaints

http://blackburnnews.com/chatham/chatham-news/2013/11/08/investigating-health-care-complaints/

Ontario is now the only province where the Ombudsman does not have the authority to investigate hospitals, long-term care facilities or retirement homes.  There have been several private members bills tabled to allow the Ombudsman the ability to investigate, but none have ever made it past the third reading Communications Director Linda Williamson said. 

ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

CALIFORNIA (Bakersfield), Courthouse News Service, November 7, 2013

Group home accused of wrongful death

http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/11/07/62722.htm

Employees of Mountain View Ranch Residential Care beat a man to death while he was restrained, his family claims in Kern County Court.  In the lawsuit, the family claims that staff members "assaulted, battered, struck, kicked, punched, kneed, choked and/or negligently touched, and used excessive, and cumulatively or in sometimes deadly force upon decedent without adequate cause, reason or justification." 

FLORIDA (Bradenton), ABC Action News, November 7, 2013

Disabled man kicked, punched at Bradenton skate park

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/disabled-man-kicked-punched-at-bradenton-skate-park

Major trouble struck the park early Wednesday, when a mentally disabled man was assaulted by three people, according to police.  According to an arrest report, investigators were tipped off about the beating from a Facebook video, which allegedly showed one 19 year-old kneeing and punching the victim in the head and chest while the other 20-year-old cheered him on.

FLORIDA (Bradenton), Bradenton Herald, November 7, 2013

Police: mentally disabled man attacked at Bradenton skate park

http://www.bradenton.com/2013/11/07/4814269/police-mentally-disabled-man-attacked.html  

Two men were arrested early Thursday and charged with beating a mentally disabled person at the Riverwalk skate park.  Both appeared before Manatee County Judge Diana Moreland in a first appearance hearing Wednesday afternoon. 

FLORIDA (Englewood), WINK NEWS, November 7, 2013

CCSO arrests man for burglary, abusing a disabled adult

http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2013-11-07/CCSO-arrests-man-for-burglary-abusing-a-disabled-adult#.Un1nnvlJOdQ

Charlotte County Sheriff's detectives arrested an Englewood man Wednesday on several charges, including abusing a disabled adult, in connection with a residential burglary reported earlier that day.  The victim reported that sometime between Sunday and Wednesday someone had entered his home and removed money and items of jewelry valued at more than $2,000, and he suspected an acquaintance.

SOUTH CAROLINA (Clover), The State: South Carolina’s Homepage, November 8, 2013

Police: Clover woman with DM neglected by boyfriend

http://www.thestate.com/2013/11/08/3084753/clover-woman-with-ms-taken-to.html

A bedridden woman suffering from Muscular Dystrophy was taken into protective services early Thursday after her boyfriend was charged with neglecting her at their Clover house.  Police found the boyfriend intoxicated at 2:30 a.m., and discovered he had not provided food or water for the woman for more than 18 hours, according to a York County Sheriff's Office report. 

RELATED ISSUES

CALIFORNIA (Los Angeles), San Gabriel Valley Tribune Breaking News

Man, 81, with dementia missing from South Los Angeles

http://www.sgvtribune.com/20131108/man-81-with-dementia-missing-from-south-los-angeles

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department today sought the public’s help in locating an 81-year-old man with dementia who went missing from an unincorporated area near South Los Angeles.  The man was last seen about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday when he left a residence in the 4000 block of Southridge Avenue in a vehicle, according to Detective C. Barnes of the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.

INTERNATIONAL (Europe), Reuters, November 9, 2013

Don’t neglect oral healthcare in frail, elderly: study

http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/11/08/us-oral-healthcare-elder-idINBRE9A710W20131108#top

"Although during recent years increasing attention has been given to improving oral health care for frail old people, there is ample evidence showing that the oral health of elderly people, in particular of care home residents is (still) poor," researchers wrote in the journal European Geriatric Medicine.  But when elderly people ignore their dental hygiene or are unable to keep their mouths clean, health problems can ensue. Plus, reduced saliva production and certain medications increase the risk of oral problems, the researchers said. 

INTERNATIONAL (Dublin, Ireland), NEWS ABC, November 7, 2013

Australian woman in Dublin released from protective custody

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-07/australian-woman-in-dublin-released-from-protective-custody/5077756

The 25-year-old Australian woman who was found in a distressed state in Dublin is free to leave protective custody. The Irish High Court said while she did have a definable condition that makes her vulnerable, it would not prevent her release.  Authorities originally believed the woman was a teenager and that she was a suspected victim of sex trafficking.

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 Funding Opportunities:   

• November 8, 2013
  • Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice Prize will honor up to three individuals under the age of 40 who have demonstrated leadership in their fields, and who show creativity, commitment, and extraordinary accomplishment in advancing positive social change.  Each winner will receive $100,000, half of which will go to an organization committed to the winner’s area of social justice.
  • Additional information is available on the foundation’s Web site. Contact: Grinnell College, P.O. Box 805, Grinnell, Iowa 50112; prize@grinnell.edu; http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/studentaffairs/chaplain/socialjusticeprize
• November 13, 2013
  • Applications for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows program.  Midcareer health professionals and behavioral and social scientists with an interest in health and health-care policy are given the opportunity to participate in the policy process at the federal level and use that leadership experience to improve health, health care, and health policy. Up to six awards of up to $165,000 each will be made.
  • For more information contact: National Academies, Institute of Medicine, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001; (202) 334-1506; info@healthpolicyfellows.org ; http://www.healthpolicyfellows.org .
• November 14, 2013
  • Pre-applications for grants from the Impact Fund for nonprofit legal firms, private attorneys, or small law firms that advance social justice in the areas of civil and human rights, environmental justice, or poverty law. Grants of up to $25,000 each will support public-interest litigation that will potentially benefit a large number of people, lead to significant law reform, or raise public consciousness.
  • Contact Impact Fund, 125 University Avenue, Suite 102, Berkeley, Calif. 94710; (510) 845-3473; http://www.impactfund.org/index.php?cat_id=71 to find out more.
• December 6, 2013
  • Applications for grants from the Cardinal Health Foundation to support nonprofit health-care institutions to improve patient safety. Grants between $7,500 and $35,000 each will be awarded to approximately 25 organizations in the United States and Canada.
  • Find out more by contacting Cardinal Health Foundation, Community Relations, 7000 Cardinal Place, Dublin, Ohio 43017; (614) 757-5000; http://www.cardinalhealth.com/us/en/CommunityRelations/Apply/E3
• December 17, 2013
  • Letters of intent to apply for grants from the VNA Foundation. Grants will support nonprofit organizations for home and community-based health care and health services that focus on the needs of disadvantaged people in the metropolitan Chicago area. The foundation awards program, operating, and capital grants in support of home health-care services, community and school-based services, primary care and chronic disease management, and health promotion.
  • For more information contact VNA Foundation, 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 3118, Chicago, Ill. 60606; (312) 214-1521; http://vnafoundation.net/guidelinesprocedures
• December 22, 2013
  • Nominations for the Roth Award from the Mary Byron Project for programs that demonstrate promise in ending the generational cycle of domestic violence. A cash award of $10,000 will be given to a program that focuses on disadvantaged people. Such a program provides services to those who are identified as such based on characteristics that include age, race, ethnicity, gender, faith, disabilities, low socio-economic status, non-English speaking, sexual preference, and victims from suburban areas who traditionally do not know how to avail themselves of services or who are too ashamed to find them.
  • Find more information by contacting Kathy Paulin, Mary Byron Project, 10401 Linn Station Road, Louisville, Ky. 40223; (502) 992-3444; kathypaulin@marybyronproject.org ; http://marybyronproject.org/index.php/our-work/the-roth-award

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 Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order):  

·    The New York City JASA Elder Abuse Training Institute has new training classes for Fall 2013.  For more details and registration information click here: http://jasa.org/sites/default/files/NextAct_Catalog_Final_8.9.13.pdf Contact Martha Pollack for further questions: 718-286-1540 or mpollack@jasa.org

·    The ABA’s (American Bankers Association) Annual Money Laundering Enforcement Conference in Washington DC will be held on November 18, 2013.  There will be a panel on “The Financial Institution’s Role in Preventing Elder Financial Exploitation” presenting twice.  For more information: http://www.aba.com/Training/Conferences/Pages/MLE_Schedule.aspx

·    The 30^th Annual Adult Protective Services Conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas from November 19-22, 2013. For more information: https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adult_Protection/Adult_Protective_Services_Conference/

·    The 2^nd Annual National Elder Abuse Symposium, hosted by the California District Attorneys Association, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Anaheim, California on December 3-6, 2013. Register here: http://www.cdaa.org/training/seminar-conference-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=154

·    The 3^rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30, 2014 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. It is sponsored by the National Guardianship Network in affiliation with the International Guardianship Network. The theme of the conference is, “Promising Practices to Ensure Excellence in Guardianship Around the World.” Proposals for presentations are due July 31.  See http://worldcongressguardianship.org  

An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here:  http://ncea.posthaven.com/

National Center on Elder Abuse
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect
University of California, Irvine
Program in Geriatrics
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission.

Newsfeed – Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The newsfeed includes articles and stories related to abuse of elders and adults with disabilities.  Articles related to elders appear in the top half of the newsfeed.  Articles related to abuse of adults with disabilities appear towards the bottom.  To subscribe to the NCEA listserv, please send an email with your name, occupation, your organization/agency name, city and state, and a statement about your professional interest or expertise in elder abuse to NCEA@UCI.edu.  Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Did you know? A calendar of upcoming elder abuse and neglect events and funding opportunities can be found at the bottom of the newsfeed.

***************************************************************************************  

ELDER ABUSE NEWSFEED

CALIFORNIA (Castro Valley), SF Gate, November 3, 2013

Resident of Castro Valley center found in San Jose

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/Resident-of-Castro-Valley-center-found-in-San-Jose-4952004.php

The 64-year-old mentally ill man who walked out of the now-shuttered Valley Springs Manor in Castro Valley a week ago has been found in the San Jose area, authorities said Saturday.  A joint investigation involving the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, the FBI's Health Care Fraud Division, the California Department of Justice and the elder abuse unit of the Alameda County district attorney's office is underway. The state Department of Social Services, which revoked the center's license, is also reviewing what went wrong, the article states.

CALIFORNIA (Castro Valley), Contra Costa Times NEWS, November 1, 2013

Reports show state worker left Castro Valley care facility in hands of a cook and two others

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_24439158/911-tapes-reports-reveal-dire-situation-at-castro 

Newly released 911 calls and state inspection reports reveal alarming health conditions and confusion as a small crew of inexperienced and unpaid workers struggled to take care of residents after the state ordered the home's closure and most of the workforce walked off.  Not only was there not enough bread, eggs and other perishable food, but workers told her they were not giving out medicine because they couldn't find it, the article states.

CALIFORNIA (Orange), Orange County Register, November 6, 2013

Heroes honored for fighting elder abuse

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/elder-534324-abuse-center.html

Three UC Irvine affiliated organizations joined together Oct. 29 to honor more than 100 social workers, law enforcement officers, district attorney officials, and ombudsmen for their efforts to stop and prevent elder abuse in Orange County.

CALIFORNIA (Santa Barbara), Prudential, November 2, 2013

Scam artist faces lengthy prison sentence

http://santamariatimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/scam-artist-faces-lengthy-prison-sentence/article_2bcfa86a-4379-11e3-b2fc-001a4bcf887a.html

The woman convicted of defrauding the victims of two devastating wildfires — the 2008 Tea Fire and subsequent Jesusita Fire in 2009 — could spend more than 35 years in state prison for the multitude of crimes related to the fraud.  The 64-year-old woman was charged with more than 25 felonies, including diverting construction funds, grand theft, theft by false pretenses and theft from an elder or dependent adult, in connection to the fraud aimed at wildfire victims. 

CALIFORNIA (Visalia), The Fresno Bee, November 1, 2013

Visalia nephew charged in elder abuse case

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/11/01/3585288/visalia-nephew-charged-in-elder.html

A Visalia man was charged Friday with two counts of felony elder abuse after police say he handcuffed his 75-year-old uncle to a chair in a shed.  The charges stem from a 911 call made Wednesday from a woman who saw an emaciated elderly man handcuffed to a chair in a shed, screaming for help.

FLORIDA (New Port Richey), Tampa Bay Times, November 5, 2013

New Port Richey woman charged with exploiting her dementia-plagued father

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/new-port-richey-woman-charged-with-exploiting-her-dementia-plagued-father/2150927

A woman was arrested Monday after deputies say she swindled her father, an Alzheimer's patient, out of $10,000.  The 53-year-old tried for the first time in May to get her father's money when she went to Achieva Credit Union and applied for a credit card on her father's account but was declined, a Pasco Sheriff's report states.

ILLINOIS, Daily Herald, November 3, 2013

Siblings worry dad’s “friend” is now legal tenant

https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20131103/entlife/711039943/

A concerned son wrote in to Daily Herald for help saying that after his mom’s death, a woman “befriended” his 81-year-old dad and has since helped herself to more than $100,000 of his parents savings.  He stated that his dad felt sorry for the woman and her daughter and has willingly bought them a car and paid for many things. 

MINNESOTA, Perham Focus, November 1, 2013 (Opinion)

Their view: new bill aims to put a stop to scams targeting seniors

http://www.perhamfocus.com/content/their-view-new-bill-aims-put-stop-scams-targeting-seniors

In Minnesota, there are an estimated 30,000 documented senior fraud cases each year, but sadly, most of these crimes go unreported – only 1 in 44 seniors actually report that they are victims of a fraud scheme, and victims often face confusion on where to turn for help.  A proposed bill would help increase coordination between the agencies charged with protecting consumers and law enforcement, requiring the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to monitor the market and identify fraud schemes targeting seniors, the article states.

NEBRASKA (York), The Republic, November 6, 3013

York woman convicted after making deal in abuse case involving vulnerable adult

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/57aaec0268a741b8b20871b24f7f4094/NE--Adult-Abuse

A 29-year-old York woman has made a plea deal and been convicted in an abuse case involving a vulnerable adult.  Deputy York County Attorney Benjamin Dennis says that when the caregiver went grocery shopping for her employer, she bought items for herself but charged them to the woman's food stamp card. 

OKLAHOMA (Tulsa), Tulsa World, November 1, 2013

Caregiver charged with exploiting ‘vulnerable adult’

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/crimewatch/caregiver-charged-with-exploiting-vulnerable-adult/article_58dd98c6-4365-11e3-8ed0-0019bb30f31a.html

A Tulsa woman was charged Friday with three counts of exploiting a vulnerable adult on allegations that she stole more than $26,000 from an elderly woman while working as a caregiver.  Her arrest report states that the alleged victim told police that $18,700 was drawn out of her bank account without her permission over a period of months.

OREGON, The Oregonian, November 6, 2013

Elder financial abuse reports increasing; usually the work of relatives or friends

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/11/elder_financial_abuse_rising_a.html 

Family, acquaintances and unrelated caregivers are most likely to exploit an older or disabled person’s finances, a new state study of the increasingly reported problem has found.  The Oregon Office of Adult Abuse Prevention and Investigations found abuse remains difficult to prove, with only 30 percent of alleged abuses reported by seniors and disabled people substantiated. The rest were either unsubstantiated or inconclusive. 

OREGON, OPB, November 5, 2013

Statesman journal: Abuse of elderly is on the rise

http://www.opb.org/news/article/abuse-of-elderly-is-on-the-rise/

Oregon Rep. Gilliam’s legislative assistant, Betsy Schultz, said that currently in Oregon, there are various definitions of “elder abuse,” and they can change in meaning and application, depending on the situation and context. This creates confusion among law enforcement and other reporters of abuse as they try to sort out if a crime has been committed.

PENNSYLVANIA (Allentown), The Morning Call, November 4, 2013

DA withdraws homicide charge in man’s killing by elderly father

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-allentown-homicide-charge-withdrawn-father-kill-20131104,0,6360074.story

Authorities said Monday they are withdrawing a homicide charge in the case of an 87-year-old Allentown man suffering from dementia who shot and killed his son last year.  In a news release issued Monday, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said that doctors have opined there was no chance that the man would ever regain his competency.

TEXAS, News-journal, November 5, 2013

Gregg County JP’s family alleges nursing home abuse

http://www.news-journal.com/news/local/gregg-county-jp-s-family-alleges-nursing-home-abuse/article_30492eb9-442e-5d6a-8201-189aef2075e6.html

The daughter of a Gregg County justice of the peace, who was shot in March, has filed a complaint against his nursing home alleging the facility’s negligence led to her father’s recent hospitalization.  On Sept. 25, Clairmont was cited for failing “to make sure that the resident with pressure sores receives appropriate treatment and services” and failing “to establish and maintain an infection control program,” according to citations documented on the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services website.

WASHINGTON (Seattle), Q13FOX, October 31, 2013

Elderly woman weighed 58 pounds after neglect, prosecutor says

http://q13fox.com/2013/10/31/son-charged-after-neglect-leads-to-mothers-death/#axzz2jiT5xxxv

A 57 year old man has been charged with criminal mistreatment, for being reckless and holding out on the basic necessities that would have saved his 89-year-old mother’s life.  According to charging papers, Kunimoto hadn’t taken his mother to the doctor in over two years. She was diagnosed with dementia and needed 24-hour care. 

INTERNATIONAL (Bangalore, India), The Times of India, November 5, 2013

Old, abused and harassed – the story of Bangalore’s elderly

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/man-woman/Old-abused-and-harassed-the-story-of-Bangalores-elderly/articleshow/25261448.cms 

Close on the heels of an UN-backed study where India stands at a dismal 73rd in the list of 91 countries on the wellbeing of the elderly, a shocking survey by a city-based organization says 47% of Bangalore's elders experience abuse.  Elder abuse in India, the latest report released by non-profit organization HelpAge India, reveals that one in every four elderly people faces abuse across India.

INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Mirror, November 5, 2013

Hillcroft care home trial: dementia sufferers were ‘pelted with bean bags’

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/hillcroft-care-home-trial-dementia-2679449 

Cruel carers mocked, bullied and assaulted elderly residents in a nursing home for laughs, a court has heard.  Victims with dementia were tormented because they would have no memory of the abuse, with one man having his foot stamped on deliberately and another tipped out of his wheelchair, the article states. 

INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Mail Online, November 5, 2013

Dementia home carers ‘mocked, bullied and assaulted patients for their own amusement and laughed when they got upset’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2487804/Hillcroft-nursing-home-carers-mocked-bullied-assaulted-patients.html 

Carers at a nursing home pelted vulnerable dementia patients with beanbags for ‘laughs’ in a sustained campaign of abuse, a court heard yesterday.  They targeted eight residents with severe dementia because they would have no memory of the assaults, a jury was told.  The four carers slapped and dragged the screaming patients from their beds and threw the beanbags at their heads during the assaults which went on for 17 months, it was claimed.

INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), This is Gloucestershire, November 2, 2013

Concern over vulnerable adults in Gloucestershire grows

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Concern-vulnerable-adults-Gloucestershire-grows/story-20024519-detail/story.html#axzz2jigS0uRq

Concern about the safety of vulnerable adults in the county is growing, according to new statistics.  Gloucestershire Safeguarding Adult's Board received 61 per cent more reports from worried residents in 2012/13 compared to the previous year.  Most concerns related to allegations of physical injury, neglect or financial crime, with 64 per cent of reports about incidents occurring in their own home or a care home.

RELATED ISSUES

NATIONAL, Huffington Post, November 5, 2013

Making communities LGBT aging friendly

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-feather-phd/lgbt-friendly-communities_b_4170360.html

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older people face daunting challenges as they grow old, such as being less likely to have someone to take care of them when they are older.  They are also less likely to feel welcome in the places where many older people socialize.  The research from this article shows the harmful effects of such social isolation can include depression, delayed care-seeking, poor nutrition, and premature mortality.

CALIFORNIA (Cupertino), Los Gatos Patch, November 4, 2013

Man suffering dementia missing since Monday afternoon

http://losgatos.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/man-suffering-dementia-missing-since-monday-afternoon

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office is looking for help finding a 60-year-old man suffering from dementia missing from his Cupertino home, sheriff's officials said.  He was last seen wearing a white and blue Hawaiian polo shirt, blue jeans and gray shoes and may be wearing a gray sweatshirt. 

NEVADA (Las Vegas), News 3, November 11, 2013

Behavioral health worker sentenced for Medicaid fraud

http://www.mynews3.com/mostpopular/story/medicaid-fraud-williams-sentence-las-vegas/x7lHOGxX0ESuM_CIkRkb_A.cspx

A Las Vegas woman was sentenced today in a Medicaid fraud case involving the submitting of false Medicaid claims.  Sherice Joann Williams, 39, was sentenced for one felony offense of submitting false claims Medicaid fraud.  District Court Judge Lee Gates sentenced Williams to 12 to 48 months in prison and payment of $9,783 in restitution, penalties, and costs.

VIRGINIA (Albemarle County), The Daily Progress, November 6, 2013

Woman’s disappearance in Albemarle sheds light on dementia

http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/woman-s-disappearance-in-albemarle-sheds-light-on-dementia/article_10d8ee86-45cc-11e3-8fd6-0019bb30f31a.html 

A 75-year-old woman who had dementia disappeared from the Albemarle County home of her daughter and son-in-law early Friday evening, was found dead Sunday afternoon in a wooded area behind a home at the end of Tennis Drive in the Four Seasons neighborhood following a two-and-a-half day search.  A cause of death has not been determined. 

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 Funding Opportunities:   

• November 7, 2013

• Pre-applications for grants from the Impact Fund for nonprofit legal firms, private attorneys, or small law firms that advance social justice in the areas of civil and human rights, environmental justice, or poverty law. Grants of up to $25,000 each will support public-interest litigation that will potentially benefit a large number of people, lead to significant law reform, or raise public consciousness.
• For more information contact: Impact Fund, 125 University Avenue, Suite 102, Berkeley, Calif. 94710; (510) 845-3473; http://impactfund.org/?page_id=698

• November 8, 2013

• Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice Prize will honor up to three individuals under the age of 40 who have demonstrated leadership in their fields, and who show creativity, commitment, and extraordinary accomplishment in advancing positive social change.  Each winner will receive $100,000, half of which will go to an organization committed to the winner’s area of social justice.
• Additional information is available on the foundation’s Web site. Contact: Grinnell College, P.O. Box 805, Grinnell, Iowa 50112; prize@grinnell.edu; http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/studentaffairs/chaplain/socialjusticeprize
• November 13, 2013
  • Applications for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows program.  Midcareer health professionals and behavioral and social scientists with an interest in health and health-care policy are given the opportunity to participate in the policy process at the federal level and use that leadership experience to improve health, health care, and health policy. Up to six awards of up to $165,000 each will be made.
  • For more information contact: National Academies, Institute of Medicine, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001; (202) 334-1506; info@healthpolicyfellows.org ; http://www.healthpolicyfellows.org .
• November 14, 2013
  • Pre-applications for grants from the Impact Fund for nonprofit legal firms, private attorneys, or small law firms that advance social justice in the areas of civil and human rights, environmental justice, or poverty law. Grants of up to $25,000 each will support public-interest litigation that will potentially benefit a large number of people, lead to significant law reform, or raise public consciousness.
  • Contact Impact Fund, 125 University Avenue, Suite 102, Berkeley, Calif. 94710; (510) 845-3473; http://www.impactfund.org/index.php?cat_id=71 to find out more.
• December 6, 2013
  • Applications for grants from the Cardinal Health Foundation to support nonprofit health-care institutions to improve patient safety. Grants between $7,500 and $35,000 each will be awarded to approximately 25 organizations in the United States and Canada.
  • Find out more by contacting Cardinal Health Foundation, Community Relations, 7000 Cardinal Place, Dublin, Ohio 43017; (614) 757-5000; http://www.cardinalhealth.com/us/en/CommunityRelations/Apply/E3
• December 17, 2013
  • Letters of intent to apply for grants from the VNA Foundation. Grants will support nonprofit organizations for home and community-based health care and health services that focus on the needs of disadvantaged people in the metropolitan Chicago area. The foundation awards program, operating, and capital grants in support of home health-care services, community and school-based services, primary care and chronic disease management, and health promotion.
  • For more information contact VNA Foundation, 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 3118, Chicago, Ill. 60606; (312) 214-1521; http://vnafoundation.net/guidelinesprocedures
• December 22, 2013
  • Nominations for the Roth Award from the Mary Byron Project for programs that demonstrate promise in ending the generational cycle of domestic violence. A cash award of $10,000 will be given to a program that focuses on disadvantaged people. Such a program provides services to those who are identified as such based on characteristics that include age, race, ethnicity, gender, faith, disabilities, low socio-economic status, non-English speaking, sexual preference, and victims from suburban areas who traditionally do not know how to avail themselves of services or who are too ashamed to find them.
  • Find more information by contacting Kathy Paulin, Mary Byron Project, 10401 Linn Station Road, Louisville, Ky. 40223; (502) 992-3444; kathypaulin@marybyronproject.org ; http://marybyronproject.org/index.php/our-work/the-roth-award

 ****************************************************************************************

 Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order): 

.     The 2nd Annual Elder Planning Symposium, hosted by the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), will be held at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on November 7,  2013. Register here: http://www.ficpa.org/Public/Conference/Description.aspx?courseID=13ELDR. You can also visit https://www.facebook.com/events/518843064859824/ for more information.

·    The New York City JASA Elder Abuse Training Institute has new training classes for Fall 2013.  For more details and registration information click here: http://jasa.org/sites/default/files/NextAct_Catalog_Final_8.9.13.pdf Contact Martha Pollack for further questions: 718-286-1540 or mpollack@jasa.org

·    The ABA’s (American Bankers Association) Annual Money Laundering Enforcement Conference in Washington DC will be held on November 18, 2013.  There will be a panel on “The Financial Institution’s Role in Preventing Elder Financial Exploitation” presenting twice.  For more information: http://www.aba.com/Training/Conferences/Pages/MLE_Schedule.aspx

·    The 30^th Annual Adult Protective Services Conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas from November 19-22, 2013. For more information: https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adult_Protection/Adult_Protective_Services_Conference/

·    The 2^nd Annual National Elder Abuse Symposium, hosted by the California District Attorneys Association, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Anaheim, California on December 3-6, 2013. Register here: http://www.cdaa.org/training/seminar-conference-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=154

·    The 3^rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30, 2014 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. It is sponsored by the National Guardianship Network in affiliation with the International Guardianship Network. The theme of the conference is, “Promising Practices to Ensure Excellence in Guardianship Around the World.” Proposals for presentations are due July 31.  See http://worldcongressguardianship.org  

An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here:  http://ncea.posthaven.com

National Center on Elder Abuse
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect
University of California, Irvine
Program in Geriatrics
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission.

Newsfeed – Friday, November 1, 2013

The newsfeed includes articles and stories related to abuse of elders and adults with disabilities.  Articles related to elders appear in the top half of the newsfeed.  Articles related to abuse of adults with disabilities appear towards the bottom.  To subscribe to the NCEA listserv, please send an email with your name, occupation, your organization/agency name, city and state, and a statement about your professional interest or expertise in elder abuse to NCEA@UCI.edu.  Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Did you know? A calendar of upcoming elder abuse and neglect events and funding opportunities can be found at the bottom of the newsfeed.

 ***************************************************************************************  

ELDER ABUSE NEWSFEED

NATIONAL, AARP BLOG, October 29, 2013

Managing mom’s money? Do it right.

http://blog.aarp.org/2013/10/29/managing-moms-money-do-it-right/ 

Stacks of unopened bills, calls from creditors, compulsive purchases from websites or TV shopping networks, donating sums of money to questionable charities — these may be the signs that it’s time to talk to your mom and dad about managing their finances, the author states. The guides are designed to help educate people who act as fiduciaries, meaning their decisions are in the parents’ best interest.   

NATIONAL, Bankrate, October 29, 2013

What’s a fiduciary look like?

http://www.bankrate.com/financing/retirement/whats-a-fiduciary-look-like/ 

Today the CFPB introduced four guides written to help financial caregivers understand their responsibilities and how to carry them out. Eisenhower estimates that 22 million people in the United States have taken on these kinds of formal and informal responsibilities, including simply agreeing to hold power of attorney for a spouse or someone close to them in the event that it becomes necessary to make a financial decision on their behalf.

NATIONAL, Forbes, October 30, 2013

Four rules for managing your aging parents’ money

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleaebeling/2013/10/30/four-rules-for-managing-your-aging-parents-money/ 

About 22 million people age 60 or older have named someone in a power of attorney to make financial decisions for them—and millions of others have court-appointed guardians or other fiduciaries, according to the CFPB.  The guides released by CFPB are meant to help people with legal authority to handle other people’s money—but they could be used to serve as a warning for people who are handling other people’s money without the appropriate legal authority.   

NATIONAL, National Mortgage Professional, October 30, 2013

CFPB publishes guidelines for financial caregivers

http://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news44425/CFPB-Publishes-Guidelines-Financial-Caregivers 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has published four guides to help financial caregivers, particularly those who handle the finances of older Americans, carry out their duties and responsibilities in managing someone else’s money.  The CFPB released guides that explain the four main responsibilities of a fiduciary.    

NATIONAL, Reverse Mortgage Daily, October 29, 2013

CFPB releases new fiduciary guides to protect senior population

http://reversemortgagedaily.com/2013/10/29/cfpb-releases-new-fiduciary-guides-to-protect-senior-population/ 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today released a series of guides, “Managing Other People’s Money,” for caregivers and fiduciaries spanning family members and friends who manage money for their older parents, friends or relatives.  The four booklets are geared toward people who serve different roles from power of attorney to court-appointed guardian, trustees, and those appointed by a government agency to manage certain types of finances, such as Social Security payments.

NATIONAL, The New York Times, October 30, 2013

New guidelines aim to help financial caregivers

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/your-money/new-guidelines-aim-to-help-financial-caregivers.html?_r=0 

Many people don’t have experience acting in the capacity as a lay fiduciary, so the CFPB this week published a series of guidelines to help agents and others make sure they’re following the rules.  The “Managing Someone Else’s Money” guides —four in all, depending on the legal situation that results in you having responsibility for someone else’s finances — are available free online. They will also be distributed to banks, social service agencies and Area Agencies on Aging.  

ALABAMA (Gardendale), ABC 3340, October 31, 2013

Gardendale couple arrested for stealing over $24,000 from 88-year-old woman

http://www.abc3340.com/story/23842994/gardendale-couple-arrested-for-elder-abuse 

Deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office say a Gardendale Couple stole more than $24,000 from a victim.  Detectives say the niece of the 88-year-old victim reported there was suspicious transactions on her checking account and credit card accounts.   

CALIFORNIA (Castro Valley), San Francisco Chronicle, November 1, 2013

Cook, janitor heroes when caregivers walked away

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/johnson/article/Cook-janitor-heroes-when-caregivers-walked-away-4944896.php

Miguel Alvarez, 33 recalls being (at times) the only person caring for the abandoned residents of Valley Springs Manor last week, in his home that he shares with his mother, wife, son and step son October 31, 2013 in San Leandro, Calif. Alvarez started working as a part time janitor at Valley Springs Manor on October 7th and says he was supposed to be paid on the 25th but now he doesn't know if he will ever receive payment.

CALIFORNIA (Castro Valley), NBC Bay Area, October 28, 2013

Castro Valley assisted living facility shut down, patients abandoned

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Castro-Valley-Nursing-Home-Shut-Down-Patients-Abandoned-229414581.html

Sheriff's deputies removed more than a dozen senior patients from a Northern California assisted living facility in Saturday after it was determined that they had been left "abandoned" there by the owners and staff.  Responding paramedics became concerned after they found that most of the staff had left and only a skeleton crew remained, Sgt. J.D. Nelson said.

CALIFORNIA (Castro Valley), Contra Costa Times News, October 30, 2013

Castro Valley senior home residents moving to nursing homes as investigators launch elder abuse probe

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_24422483/castro-valley-senior-home-residents-moving-nursing-homes 

One former resident of Valley Springs Manor is missing and about 14 others are moving from hospital rooms to skilled nursing homes as the Alameda County Sheriff's Office pursues a criminal investigation into whether elders were abused at the now-shut residential care facility.  Investigators from an FBI health care fraud unit and the state Attorney General's office are convening with local law enforcement officials Thursday to discuss a probe that could last for months.

CALIFORNIA (Napa), Napa Valley Register, October 29, 2013

Daughter enters no-contest plea for abuse of mother

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/daughter-enters-no-contest-plea-for-abuse-of-mother/article_26d0f25c-40f3-11e3-9a26-001a4bcf887a.html?comment_form=true 

A woman arrested after allegedly assaulting her 76-year-old mother Oct. 14 has pleaded no contest to elder abuse, according to court records.  The elderly woman had previously obtained a restraining order after her daughter allegedly tried to grab her 12-year-old daughter from a vehicle, according to the restraining order. Dukes’ mother has guardianship of the girl, according to court documents. 

CALIFORNIA (San Francisco), Lawyers and Settlements, October 31, 2013

Elderly doctor ripped off for $3.5 million fraud

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/financial-elder-abuse/interview-financial-elder-abuse-4-19231.html#.UnQ5yvlJOdQ 

In 2004, a young San Francisco attorney, Wade Anthony Robertson, met a wealthy 77-year-old doctor from Maryland and convinced him to put his money into scheme.  In September 2013, nine years after the older man’s unfortunate first meeting with Robertson, a judge in the case found Robertson “culpable of moral turpitude by engaging in a scheme to defraud, misrepresentation and abusing the legal process,” as noted in the California Bar Journal. 

IOWA (Des Moines), USA Today, October 30, 2013

Nursing home chief fined in sex assault case

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/30/iowa-nursing-home-administrator-fined-in-sex-assault-case/3319179/

An Iowa nursing home administrator has been fined $500 for allegedly failing to protect residents from a convicted sex offender.  The board said former administrator of the nursing home should have known resident William Cubbage posed a threat to other residents of the home and that she failed to protect those residents from the threat. 

MICHIGAN (Wayne County), Observer & Eccentric, October 29, 2013

Case involving Canton dementia patients heads to trial

http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20131030/NEWS03/310300016/Case-involving-Canton-dementia-patients-heads-trial 

A Westland woman is facing trial on felony larceny charges after police say she is suspected of stealing jewelry from two dementia patients while working as a health care employee at Crystal Creek, a Canton assisted living center.  Relatives of the victims notified the assisted living center’s administration, which in turn contacted police to report the alleged thefts.

NEW HAMPSHIRE (Portsmouth), Sea Coast Online, October 30, 2013

Judge: Officer’s inheritance dispute must be heard in public

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20131030-NEWS-131039980 

A Rockingham Superior Court judge has ruled that details related to a dispute over a police officer's $1.8 million inheritance should remain public.  The estate is being disputed by multiple parties, which allege the woman had dementia when she executed the new estate plans and that Sgt. Aaron Goodwin unduly influenced her before she named him her primary beneficiary.

NEW JERSEY (Leonia), Cliff View Pilot, October 30, 2013

Police: women conned Leonia man, 89, out of $134,000, went after his house

http://cliffviewpilot.com/police-women-conned-leonia-man-89-out-of-134000-went-after-his-house/ 

Two women accused of scamming an 89-year-old Leonia man out of $134,000 were about to get him to leave his half-million dollar home to them when a social services worker called borough detectives who rescued the man from financial ruin, authorities told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this morning.  Edwards, 24, and Butch, 26, were being held on $150,000 each in the Bergen County Jail, charged with theft by deception and improper behavior.

NEW YORK (Brooklyn), The Jewish Voice, October 30, 2013

Brooklyn DA Hynes announces $400,000 Federal grant to address elder abuse

http://jewishvoiceny.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5688:brooklyn-da-hynes-announces-400000-federal-grant-to-address-elder-abuse&catid=112:new-york&Itemid=295 

Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes in partnership with the Jewish Association Serving the Aging (“JASA”) recently announced that Brooklyn is one of only nine jurisdictions in the country, and the first in New York City, to win a $400,000 federal elder abuse grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women.  The grant will fund a program called “Enhanced Training and Services to End Violence Against and Abuse of Women Later in Life,” that will bring together the expertise of the Brooklyn D.A.’s Elder Abuse Unit, NYPD and JASA. 

OHIO (Cleveland), Pro Publica, October 29, 2013

Elderly, at risk, and haphazardly protected

http://www.propublica.org/article/elderly-at-risk-and-haphazardly-protected 

Workers found 82-year-old Vincenzina Pontoni submerged in a deep whirlpool bathtub. She had drowned.  Her care chart stated that facility workers were to stand by while she was bathing “for safety”, but records show she had been unsupervised for at least an hour that day in 2010, with deadly consequences.  Despite the growing demands on care in assisted living, most states set the entry bar low for facility workers, requiring little in the way of education or qualifications the article states.

OHIO (Huron), Sandusky Register, October 29, 2013

Daughter arrested after alleged elder abuse incident

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/article/crime/4826246

A Huron woman was arrested Wednesday after she allegedly hit her 86-year-old mother. The mother told authorities the abuse has been ongoing for more than a year, according to a Huron police report.

WASHINGTON (Snohomish County), Edmonds Beacon, October 30, 2013

Elder abuse an ‘invisible’ problem in Snohomish County

http://edmondsbeacon.villagesoup.com/p/elder-abuse-an-invisible-problem-in-snohomish-county/1075392 

Though many aren’t aware of it, elder abuse is a problem in Snohomish County.  A panel of experts discussed on Oct. 23 the invisible issue of abuse of older adults in Snohomish County due to underreporting and a shortage of resources, as well as the county’s efforts to prevent elder abuse and provide services to victims.

INTERNATIONAL (Ottawa, Canada), Sun News, October 30, 2013

Four Ottawa men convicted of stealing $577,000 from ING clients

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2013/10/20131030-142454.html

A jury convicted four men Wednesday who leached away $577,000 from two ING customers.  Ahmed Adam, 38, the inside man, set the wheels in motion for the gang to siphon $497,000 from an 80-year-old Toronto senior, the article states. 

INTERNATIONAL (Cheshire, United Kingdom), Mirror, October 30, 2013

OAP who beat wife to death after row over heating bill is jailed for five years

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/douglas-bailey-oap-who-beat-2652989

A dementia patient who beat his elderly wife to death after a row over the heating bill was today jailed for five years.  "Our investigation has uncovered a history of domestic abuse between the couple, which unfortunately was never reported to police” Detective Inspector Helen Spooner said. 

INTERNATIONAL (Gloucestershire, United Kingdom), This is Gloucestershire, October 31, 2013

‘Safeguarding message getting through’ after huge increase in reports of vulnerable adults

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Safeguarding-message-getting-huge-increase/story-20016350-detail/story.html#axzz2jQloOfjv 

The nationally reported rise in safeguarding concerns is a result of UK-wide media interest in adult safeguarding issues following the Government’s Winterbourne View Report.  When combined with work from safeguarding board partners in Gloucestershire to raise awareness of safeguarding, this has informed greater understanding of how to keep vulnerable adults safe, the board said.

ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

MINNESOTA (Beltrami County), Star Tribune, October 29, 2013

A Beltrami County inmate was jailed, beaten-then freed

http://www.startribune.com/local/229802021.html 

A mentally ill inmate was severely beaten in the Beltrami County jail last month — and then abruptly released from custody by a judge so the county would not have to pay his medical bills, according to documents obtained by the Star Tribune.  The judge also failed to ensure that the inmate would be returned to custody — and receive proper psychiatric care — after being released from the Minneapolis hospital where he was treated, according to court officials. 

PENNSYLVANIA (Philadelphia), The Pennsylvania Record, October 30, 2013

Mother of Tacony ‘dungeon’ captive sues Philly and city officials over daughter’s placement

http://pennrecord.com/news/11894-mother-of-tacony-dungeon-captive-sues-philly-and-city-officials-over-daughters-placement 

The mother of one of the captives in what came to be known as the Tacony dungeon’ case has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of  Philadelphia and various officials over allegations that officials negligently placed her daughter in the care of the girl’s aunt, Linda Ann Weston, despite the woman’s prior criminal convictions.  U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger previously said that Weston, her daughter and three other people ran a criminal enterprise by detaining the 10 adults, all of who suffered from developmental disabilities.

RELATED ISSUES

NATIONAL, Yakima Herald, October 30, 2013

Aging LGBT community often forced back into the closet

http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/latestnational/1565326-8/aging-lgbt-community-often-forced-back-into-the

But older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, including those among the first to come out as a political and social force, are increasingly apprehensive about encountering discrimination as they grow older and more dependent on strangers for care.  Fear of discrimination from other residents was almost as high as fear of discrimination from staff, the survey found, and 43 percent said they had experienced mistreatment at facilities. 

PENNSYLVANIA (Philadelphia), CBS Philly, October 30, 2013

Police: missing Phila. Man with dementia killed in NY car accident

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/10/30/police-missing-man-with-dementia-killed-in-ny-car-accident/ 

Police now say a missing man suffering from dementia was killed in an auto accident on Tuesday.  The ninety-eight-year-old Philadelphia man went missing on October 28th. Police were actively searching for him as of Tuesday, Oct. 29th.

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 Funding Opportunities:   

• November 7, 2013

• Pre-applications for grants from the Impact Fund for nonprofit legal firms, private attorneys, or small law firms that advance social justice in the areas of civil and human rights, environmental justice, or poverty law. Grants of up to $25,000 each will support public-interest litigation that will potentially benefit a large number of people, lead to significant law reform, or raise public consciousness.
• For more information contact: Impact Fund, 125 University Avenue, Suite 102, Berkeley, Calif. 94710; (510) 845-3473; http://impactfund.org/?page_id=698

• November 8, 2013

• Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice Prize will honor up to three individuals under the age of 40 who have demonstrated leadership in their fields, and who show creativity, commitment, and extraordinary accomplishment in advancing positive social change.  Each winner will receive $100,000, half of which will go to an organization committed to the winner’s area of social justice.
• Additional information is available on the foundation’s Web site. Contact: Grinnell College, P.O. Box 805, Grinnell, Iowa 50112; prize@grinnell.edu; http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/studentaffairs/chaplain/socialjusticeprize

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 Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order): 

·    The 2nd Annual Elder Planning Symposium, hosted by the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), will be held at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on   November 7, 2013. Register here: http://www.ficpa.org/Public/Conference/Description.aspx?courseID=13ELDR. You can also visit https://www.facebook.com/events/518843064859824/ for more information.

·    The New York City JASA Elder Abuse Training Institute has new training classes for Fall 2013.  For more details and registration information click here: http://jasa.org/sites/default/files/NextAct_Catalog_Final_8.9.13.pdf Contact Martha Pollack for further questions: 718-286-1540 or mpollack@jasa.org

·    The ABA’s (American Bankers Association) Annual Money Laundering Enforcement Conference in Washington DC will be held on November 18, 2013.  There will be a panel on “The Financial Institution’s Role in Preventing Elder Financial Exploitation” presenting twice.  For more information: http://www.aba.com/Training/Conferences/Pages/MLE_Schedule.aspx

·    The 30^th Annual Adult Protective Services Conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas from November 19-22, 2013. For more information: https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adult_Protection/Adult_Protective_Services_Conference/

·    The 2^nd Annual National Elder Abuse Symposium, hosted by the California District Attorneys Association, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Anaheim, California on December 3-6, 2013. Register here: http://www.cdaa.org/training/seminar-conference-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=154

·    The 3^rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30, 2014 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. It is sponsored by the National Guardianship Network in affiliation with the International Guardianship Network. The theme of the conference is, “Promising Practices to Ensure Excellence in Guardianship Around the World.” Proposals for presentations are due July 31.  See http://worldcongressguardianship.org  

An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here:  http://ncea.posthaven.com

National Center on Elder Abuse
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect
University of California, Irvine
Program in Geriatrics
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868

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Newsfeed – Monday, October 28, 2013

The newsfeed includes articles and stories related to abuse of elders and adults with disabilities.  Articles related to elders appear in the top half of the newsfeed.  Articles related to abuse of adults with disabilities appear towards the bottom.  To subscribe to the NCEA listserv, please send an email with your name, occupation, your organization/agency name, city and state, and a statement about your professional interest or expertise in elder abuse to NCEA@UCI.edu.  Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Did you know? A calendar of upcoming elder abuse and neglect events and funding opportunities can be found at the bottom of the newsfeed.

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ELDER ABUSE NEWSFEED 

NATIONAL, FED week, October 24, 2013

Retirement & financial planning report

http://www.fedweek.com/item-view.php?tbl=5&ID=3803

According to the Senate Special Committee on Aging victims, of financial scam have totally loses approaching $3 billion.  The committee warned that financial exploitation continues to be a growing problem, calling for steps including reforms of rules regarding release of financial records to adult protective services and law enforcement agencies investigating suspected cases of elder financial exploitation.

NATIONAL, FOX Business, October 25, 2013

Warning signs of elder financial exploitation

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2013/10/25/warning-signs-elder-financial-exploitation/

Elder financial abuse has become a growing problem in the U.S. making it harder to protect older people from potential threats by doing due diligence and finding honest financial advisors, the article states.  A 2011 study by MetLife showed 51% of the fraud cases are perpetrated by strangers—and their scam tactics aren’t always obvious. 

CALIFORNIA (Los Angeles), Easy Reader News, October 24, 2013

South Bay domestic violence agencies confront difficult challenges

http://www.easyreadernews.com/75545/south-bay-domestic-violence-agencies-confront-difficult-challenges/ 

Four panelists who work on the frontlines of the battle against domestic violence briefed the lawmakers and members of the public in the audience on the difficulties plaguing their work.  Some challenges discussed are a lack of focus on victim services and intervention, survivor housing scarcity, and the shrinking capacity of the court system, which a H.E.L.P. community services specialist said is particularly disadvantageous for victims of elder abuse.

CALIFORNIA (Napa County), Napa Valley Register, October 24, 2013

Daughters plead not guilty in separate assaults on mothers

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/daughters-plead-not-guilty-in-separate-assaults-on-mothers/article_31a0deb4-3cf1-11e3-a5a0-001a4bcf887a.html

Two women accused of assaulting their elderly mothers in separate, unrelated incidents on the same day last week have pleaded not guilty in Napa County Superior Court to multiple felonies.  One woman allegedly stabbed her 75-years-old mother multiple times, while the other allegedly assaulted her 76-year-old mother.

CALIFORNIA (Oakland), The Sacramento Bee, October 22, 2013

Former Calif. Judge sentenced in elder abuse case

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/10/22/5841649/former-calif-judge-sentenced-in.html 

Former Alameda County Superior Court judge, 58-year-old Paul Seeman, received his sentence Monday as part of a plea deal in which he was found guilty of one count of financial elder abuse and one count of perjury.  He was also ordered to pay back the $5,600 that he stole.

CALIFORNIA (San Luis Obispo), The Tribune, October 24, 2013

Al Moriarty, ex-Grover Beach financier loses another bid for lower bail

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/10/24/2749071/al-moriarty-fraud-grover-beach.html 

Former Grover Beach financier Al Moriarty remains in San Luis Obispo County Jail with bail set at $5 million after a second failed attempt at a bail reduction.  The claims, which vary in amount, allege fraud, elder abuse and breach of contract by not repaying loans as promised and a lack of required security licenses needed to make investments. 

CALIFORNIA (Sacramento), The Sacramento Bee, October 22, 2013

Sacramento caregiver to stand trial in death of 88-year-old

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/10/22/5844058/care-home-owner-to-stand-trial.html 

Following a three-hour preliminary hearing, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Ernest W. Sawtelle found sufficient evidence that the Super Home Care facility owner be tried on felony charges of elder abuse and involuntary manslaughter.  In addition to the felony counts, the case against the owner moves forward with two special allegations that the elderly victim suffered great bodily injury, and that neglect and abuse caused her death.

CALIFORNIA (Ventura), Huffington Post, October 23, 2013

87-year-old advocate wants to protect seniors from financial abuse

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/23/87-advocate-seniors-financial-abuse_n_4147849.html 

Driven by personal experience, 87-year-old June Glasmeier proposed two proposed bills related to elder abuse.  Working with retired school principal Larry Hartmann, of Ojai, she wrote a proposed law that would make notaries mandated reporters of elder financial abuse.      

MICHIGAN (Coldwater), The Daily Reporter, October 24, 2013

Vulnerable adult cases up

http://www.thedailyreporter.com/article/20131024/NEWS/131029740

Since a June workshop aimed at preventing elder abuse, the number of cases reported to local law enforcement has increased according to Branch County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Mike Gatke — especially in areas of financial concern.  A Bronson woman, Linda Hogan, 59, turned herself into the jail and will be arraigned Nov. 4 on charges of larceny in a building, two counts of illegal use of a credit card — all four-year felonies, and victimization of a vulnerable adult, a 93-day misdemeanor. 

MICHIGAN (Flint), M LIVE, October 25, 2013

Genesee Township woman sentenced after charged with embezzling money from mother

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2013/10/genesee_township_woman_sentenc.html 

An embezzlement charge against a Genesee Township woman was amended to a lesser charge after she was able to pay back the money.  Authorities claimed Lilly stole more than $4,000 from her elderly mother and used the money to pay her own personal bills as well as fund personal vacations.

NEW YORK, The New York Times, October 24, 2013

To combat elder abuse, doormen are enlisted to keep a watchful eye

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/25/nyregion/doormen-are-enlisted-to-combat-elder-abuse.html?_r=0 

The effort to combat elder abuse comes as many buildings have growing concentrations of older residents, in part because the baby boomer generation is moving into retirement.  The program, which was developed by the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, offers free on-site training and assistance to doormen, concierges, porters and other building staff across New York City.

WASHINGTON (Seattle), Lawyers and Settlements, October 24, 2013

Washington state tough on elder fraud

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/financial-elder-abuse/interview-financial-elder-abuse-19203.html#.UmqeovlJOdQ

King County prosecutor Page Ulrey calls the growing number of financial abuse cases “outrageous.” There are two prosecuting attorneys in her office who work on financial elder abuse but she says they need more like five prosecutors to handle the work.  Ulrey said that unfortunately she has seen a lot of cases where “victims are so demoralized and devastated by financial exploitation that they often deteriorate, and many of my victims are dead before we get to trial”. 

INTERNATIONAL, Las Vegas SUN, October 24, 2013

What to know about global elder abuse and neglect

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/oct/24/elder-abuse-what-to-know/

The Associated Press spent months reporting across formats on elder abuse and neglect for an occasional series, Old World and compiled some of the information in this article.  They mention that only a handful of countries legally require the reporting of suspected elder abuse, compared to dozens for child abuse. 

INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Express, October 24, 2013

Grandmother with dementia sent to wrong address from hospital in taxi half-naked

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/438796/Grandmother-with-dementia-sent-to-wrong-address-from-hospital-in-taxi-half-naked 

A dementia-stricken grandmother was sent home from hospital in a taxi – naked but for a flimsy bed gown during a rainstorm, the article states.  Medical staff also gave the driver the wrong address for the 76-year-old woman, who was alone, and could not tell the driver where she lived.

INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Mail Online, October 25, 2013

Manager who oversaw ‘institutionalised abuse’ at care home where4 five pensioners died of neglect was handed new job by firm that took it over

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2471435/Orchid-View-inquest-Manager-institutionalised-abuse-care-home-STILL-job.html?ico=home%5Eheadlines 

The manager of a care home where five pensioners died of neglect was handed a new job looking after the same home by the firm that took it over, it emerged today.

Sarah O’Mara was personally criticized for failing to take responsibility for medical blunders and staff shortages at an inquest into 19 deaths last week.

INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Manchester Evening News, October 23, 2013

Shame of care home staff who abused patient

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/shame-rochdales-carders-court-care-6226704

85 year-old-woman was given repeated doses of the sedative Promazine, which is used to treat severely agitated behavior, at Carders Court care home in Castleton.  An investigation by social  worker Kate Hilt found that between October and December 2011, the drug was given on a near-nightly basis, and when records did not show she needed it. 

ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Spiked, October 23, 2013 (Opinion)

Keep the law out of disabled care

http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/keep_the_law_out_of_disabled_care/14190#.Umqj_vlJNwZ

This week, the Supreme Court hears its first-ever appeal from the Court of Protection, which takes decisions for adults lacking mental capacity.  The issue is how to determine whether there is a ‘deprivation of liberty’ for the purposes of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

RELATED ISSUES

CALIFORNIA (Salinas), The Californian, October 23, 2013  

SPCA rescues cats in Salinas hoarding case

http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20131024/NEWS01/310230047/SPCA-rescues-cats-Salinas-hoarding-case

For the sixth time during the past year, and the second time this week, the SPCA for Monterey County on Wednesday rescued neglected pets from an animal hoarder.  Salinas Police Department, Code Enforcement, Adult Protective Services and Social Services are also involved in this case. The house has been deemed uninhabitable by Code Enforcement officers, an SPCA official said.

NEW YORK, Digital Journal, October 24, 2013

NYS cuts red tape, saves $$ for guardians who care for loved ones in other states

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1545265

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed into law an AARP-backed bill that will cut red tape and save money for guardians by simplifying the process for exercising their rights when their loved ones live in another state.  The article states that this law reduces elder abuse by barring someone who wrongfully seeks control and assets of an elder (or anyone else) from taking a person across state lines and immediately being named guardian.   

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 Funding Opportunities:   

• October 31, 2013

• Applications for the Innovations in Rural Health Award from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, which seeks ideas to focus on rural health care challenges. One winner will receive $25,000 and up to three finalists will receive $7,500 each for their innovative and inspiring ideas.
• For more information: Delvon Worthy, Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust ruralprize@kbr.org; http://kbr.org/sites/default/files/New%20Rural%20Award%202014_FINAL.pdf

• November 1, 2013

• The Lawrence Foundation awards grants in support of the environment, education, human services, disaster relief, and other causes. The foundation awards both program and operating grants with no geographic restrictions to nonprofit organizations that qualify for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as well as public schools and libraries.
• For more information: http://www.thelawrencefoundation.org/grants/guidelines.php

• November 7, 2013

• Pre-applications for grants from the Impact Fund for nonprofit legal firms, private attorneys, or small law firms that advance social justice in the areas of civil and human rights, environmental justice, or poverty law. Grants of up to $25,000 each will support public-interest litigation that will potentially benefit a large number of people, lead to significant law reform, or raise public consciousness.
• For more information contact: Impact Fund, 125 University Avenue, Suite 102, Berkeley, Calif. 94710; (510) 845-3473; http://impactfund.org/?page_id=698

• November 8, 2013

• Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice Prize will honor up to three individuals under the age of 40 who have demonstrated leadership in their fields, and who show creativity, commitment, and extraordinary accomplishment in advancing positive social change.  Each winner will receive $100,000, half of which will go to an organization committed to the winner’s area of social justice.
• Additional information is available on the foundation’s Web site. Contact: Grinnell College, P.O. Box 805, Grinnell, Iowa 50112; prize@grinnell.edu; http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/studentaffairs/chaplain/socialjusticeprize

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 Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order): 

·    The 37^th Annual Consumer Voice Conference will be held in Arlington, Virginia October 24-27, 2013. For additional information: http://www.theconsumervoice.org/events/annual-meetings

.    The 21st Annual New Mexico Adult Abuse Conference will be held on October 24 and 25, 2013 in Albuquerque, NM . This year’s theme is “A Cornucopia of Learning, Knowledge and Services”.  For information, contact Agapito J. Silva at Agapito.silva@state.nm.us or 505-841-4550.

·    The 2^nd Annual Elder Planning Symposium, hosted by the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), will be held at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on November 7, 2013. Register here: http://www.ficpa.org/Public/Conference/Description.aspx?courseID=13ELDR. You can also visit https://www.facebook.com/events/518843064859824/ for more information.

·    The ABA’s (American Bankers Association) Annual Money Laundering Enforcement Conference in Washington DC will be held on November 18, 2013.  There will be a panel on “The Financial Institution’s Role in Preventing Elder Financial Exploitation” presenting twice.  For more information: http://www.aba.com/Training/Conferences/Pages/MLE_Schedule.aspx

·    The 30^th Annual Adult Protective Services Conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas from November 19-22, 2013. For more information: https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adult_Protection/Adult_Protective_Services_Conference/

·    The 2^nd Annual National Elder Abuse Symposium, hosted by the California District Attorneys Association, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Anaheim, California on December 3-6, 2013. Register here: http://www.cdaa.org/training/seminar-conference-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=154

·    The 3^rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30, 2014 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. It is sponsored by the National Guardianship Network in affiliation with the International Guardianship Network. The theme of the conference is, “Promising Practices to Ensure Excellence in Guardianship Around the World.” Proposals for presentations are due July 31.  See http://worldcongressguardianship.org  

An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here:  http://ncea.posthaven.com

National Center on Elder Abuse
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect
University of California, Irvine
Program in Geriatrics
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868

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