Newsfeed – Tuesday, March 18, 2014
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! An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here: http://ncea.posthaven.com/
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, Forbes, March 14, 2014 (Opinion)
Five Signs of Financial Elder Abuse You Can Spot Now
Author John Wasik says that some of the most insidious swindles involve exploitation of older Americans. He provides five warning signs that indicate financial abuse could occur.
NATIONAL, Huffington Post, March 14, 2014
Be on the Lookout for Elder Abuse
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-friedman-lmsw/elder-abuse_b_4953098.html
Michael Friedman, L.M.S.W., Joy Solomon, Esq. and Malya Kurzweil Levin, Esq. discuss that elder abuse is a widespread and growing problem currently affecting an estimated 3 to 4 million older people in the United States each year. The article describes physical, behavioral, and financial abuse warning signs.
ALABAMA (Decatur), 48 Waff, March 14, 2014
Caretaker facing charges of elder abuse
http://www.waff.com/story/24982126/caretaker-facing-charges-of-elder-abuse
A caretaker faces charges of elder abuse. Police said during a welfare check, they found an 87-year-old in serious need of medical attention. He was taken to the hospital for treatment.
CALIFORNIA (San Diego), 7 NBC San Diego, March 14, 2014
“She would tie him to the bed” roommate in filthy La Jolla Home
Ninety-year-old man was surrounded by clutter, trash and mice droppings the article states, with a current tenant expressing that the caregiver would "tie him up to the bed and not feed him". “It was disgusting and sad,” Mary Ledvinka said after crews discovered animal feces and urine all over the floors and the skeletal remains of a cat inside the man's home.
CALIFORNIA (San Francisco), Inquirer, March 16, 2014
Bullied by the system, Filipino senior fights eviction
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/100480/bullied-by-the-system-filipino-senior-fights-eviction
Benito Santiago, 63, has become part of a protest movement to amend California’s Ellis Act, the law that allows landlords to evict tenants in order to sell the rental apartments as condo units. He is also one of several evicted seniors who have filed criminal complaints in San Francisco of elder abuse against their landlords in early February.
CALIFORNIA (Visalia), Visalia Times-Delta, March 14, 2014
Drug case leads to elder abuse investigation
Visalia police have arrested a man and a woman on suspicion of elder abuse and other charges. Besides unspecified drugs and drug paraphernalia found in the home, officers also discovered a bedridden, elderly man who reportedly was being cared for by the two suspects
IDAHO (Blackfoot), Post Bulletin, March 14, 2014
Woman pleads guilty to financial exploitation
An Idaho woman accused of stealing more than $60,000 from a woman she was hired to help has pleaded guilty to felony financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. The 76-year-old victim needed assistance because she was undergoing medical treatment, was very sick, had a poor memory and was unable to walk, the report says.
ILLINOIS (St. Charles), Chicago Tribune Tri-Cities, March 14, 2014
Two workers at care center accused of elderly abuse
Two aides at a St. Charles nursing home have been charged for allegedly taking video of themselves striking one of the residents, an elderly woman with dementia, Kane County officials said. Each is charged with one count of aggravated battery of a person older than 60, a class 3 felony, and one count of illegal videotaping, according to St. Charles police.
IOWA (Des Moines), Globe Gazette, March 12, 2014
Lawmakers work to curb elder abuse
Iowa ranks near the top nationally for the percentage of older residents, but it lags far behind other states in protecting that often vulnerable population from abuse, neglect and financial exploitation – many times at the hands of family members and people in trust relationships. Bills pending in the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate seek to reform Iowa’s powers-of-attorney law and toughen penalties for those who prey on Iowans aged 60 years and older.
MAINE, WABI TV 5, March 17, 2014
State Collaborates With Financial Institutes to Keep Seniors Safe
http://wabi.tv/2014/03/17/state-collaborates-financial-institutes-keep-seniors-safe/
When it comes to elder abuse being reported in Maine, the article states that about 30% is financial exploitation. Joy Hollowell talks about Senior Safe, A new program in Maine that trains financial institutions to be on the front line for fraud abuse.
MASSACHUSETTS, Wicked Local, March 17, 2014
Elder abuse, both locally and nationally, often all in the family
http://www.wickedlocal.com/article/20140317/NEWS/140316946
According to statistics the Old Colony Elder Services compiled, there were 666 cases of elder abuse reported in the greater Brockton area in the past seven months. But the actual number could be far higher, because experts say that for every reported case of abuse, there are five which go unreported. Recently, a 75-year-old woman in Stoughton as found in the basement, cold, covered with sores, malnourished and dehydrated in the home according to the police.
MICHIGAN (Midland County), Midland Daily News, March 14, 2014
Bay City woman guilty in Ponzi scheme
A Bay City woman has been found guilty of nine felony charges for her role in a Ponzi scheme that swindled seniors out of $880,000 of their life savings, and the state Attorney General’s Office plans to seek restitution for the victims at sentencing. After hearing eight days of testimony, a Midland County jury found Shawn Kristi Dicken, 40, Bay City, guilty of conducting a criminal enterprise, embezzlement from a vulnerable adult and seven counts of false pretenses between $1,000 and $20,000.
NEW YORK, The Street, March 17, 2014
1 in 5 senior citizens fall for financial scams
http://www.thestreet.com/story/12530077/1/1-in-5-senior-citizens-fall-for-financial-scams.html
Law enforcement officials and advocates for the elderly are increasingly alarmed at the rising incidence of financial abuse of senior citizens. The Investor Protection Trust, an investor information organization, said in 2012 that one out of every five citizens over the age of 65 had been victimized by a financial scam. People over 60 made up the largest age group reporting fraud to the Federal Trade Commission last year: 27% were 60 or older, up from 22% in 2011.
PENNSYLVANIA, Fox Business, March 14, 2014
Scam Watch: Long-Term Care Insurance
http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/03/04/scam-watch-long-term-care-insurance/
Four Pennsylvania men believed to have scammed dozens of seniors out of premiums for long-term care insurance. In those cases, not only were many sold worthless policies, but they were also the targets of what's known in the industry as "churning." Churning is when a client is influenced into canceling a perfectly good policy for what's represented as a better one, according to James Quiggle, director of communications for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.
VERMONT (Montpelier), Valley News, March 17, 2014
Vt. Bill would toughen laws on elder abuse
http://www.vnews.com/news/11178846-95/vt-bill-would-toughen-laws-on-elder-abuse
The Vermont Senate is considering legislation that will give investigators access to financial and medical records in certain elder abuse cases. A bill before the Senate Health and Welfard Committee, S.23, would allow investigators to subpoena relevant documents when the person suspected of exploiting a senior also has power-of-attorney.
WASHINGTON, Pekin Times, March 13, 2014
Washington woman charged with elder abuse after mother dies
http://www.pekintimes.com/article/20140313/NEWS/140319479
A Washington woman was charged Thursday in connection with the death of her mother, who weighed only 52 pounds when her body was found matted to the bed with feces. The daughter was charged in Tazewell County Circuit Court with three counts of criminal neglect of an elderly person, two as class 3 felonies, and one as a class 2 felony.
INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Essex Chronicle, March 14, 2014
Undercover Panorama filming led to suspension of seven staff at Braintree care home
At the end of February seven care staff at The Old Deanery were suspended while an investigation by an independent law firm looked into standards at this facility that cares for 156 mainly elderly people. Now it appears the “whistle-blower” that brought these concerns about patient care to the attention of management company, August Equity, was in fact the BBC undercover documentary filming team.
ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
ARIZONA (Kingman), Daily Miner, March 12, 2014
Kingman murder suspect must stay locked up
http://www.kingmandailyminer.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=797&ArticleID=60393
A man who allegedly killed the person he was supposed to be the caretaker for on Christmas Eve learned he must remain behind bars without bail until his trial, which has not been scheduled. Charged with second-degree murder and abuse of a vulnerable adult, Robert John Adkins, 52, allegedly killed his roommate, Michael Sudkamp, 53, in the home the pair shared in the 900 block of Astor Avenue.
VIRGINIA (Loudoun County), Johnson City Press, March 10, 2014
Loudon mother charged with attempting to kill disabled adult son
A Loudon County woman has been charged with attempting to kill her mentally and physically disabled son. Loudon Police Department officers answered a report of an attempted murder/suicide, according to Detective Brian Jenkins, and found the 24-year-old man with a cut to his left wrist.
RELATED ISSUES
KANSAS (Pottawatomie County), The Capital-Journal Online, March 17, 2014
Silver Alert issued for Pottawatomie County man with dementia
http://cjonline.com/news/2014-03-17/silver-alert-issued-pottawatomie-county-man-dementia
A Silver Alert has been issued for a Pottawatomie County man with the onset of dementia and a history of going missing, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said Monday. According to a news release from the Onaga Police Department, the man in the past has traveled across several states and not known how he arrived or why he was there.
MINNESOTA, KSTP ABC News, March 17, 2014
Alzheimer's Advocates to Rally at State Capitol for 'Dementia Training Act'
http://kstp.com/article/stories/S3364435.shtml?cat=12681
The Alzheimer’s Association of Minnesota will be rallying at the Minnesota State Capitol on Monday in support of the Dementia Training Act. The proposal would require better training in treating dementia in long-term care facilities in Minnesota. The bill is currently in the House of Representatives.
RHODE ISLAND, Daily News, March 14, 2014
Dead alone: man suffering from dementia lives with wife’s corpse for two days
A condemnation notice was posted by Rhode Island health officials after the body of a 67-year-old woman was found in the home she had shared with her husband, who has dementia. She had been dead for at least two days inside the squalid home. The body of the couple’s dog was also found inside.
INTERNATIONAL (Vancouver, Canada), News Vancouver, March 16, 2014
Strangers step up, divert dementia disaster
http://bc.ctvnews.ca/strangers-step-up-divert-dementia-disaster-1.1731243
An 87-year-old man with dementia who became lost and made his way from Vancouver Island to the mainland is back home thanks to two Good Samaritans who didn’t hesitate to lend a hand. The man had made it from Victoria to Swartz Bay, boarded a ferry to Tsawwassen, then taken public transit to New Westminster where he started asking for his daughter.
INTERNATIONAL (China), Medical Press, March 14, 2014
Older Chinese adults with dementia and depression have a significantly higher risk of mortality
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-03-older-chinese-adults-dementia-depression.html
Older adults with dementia and depression living in rural China have a significantly higher risk of mortality than their urban counterparts, according to a new report by UK and Chinese scientists. The team found a significant association between the rural–urban variable and dementia or depression, with dementia and late-life depression significantly associated with increased mortality.
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Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order):
- 14th Annual International Family Justice Conference “The Root of All Crime” is April 2-4, 2014 in San Diego, CA. The conference will include training and interactive peer to peer discussions on issues related to the handling of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, elder abuse and stalking cases with special focus on law enforcement response, criminal prosecution, civil legal assistance, and advocacy. For more information click here: https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/default.aspx?EventID=1231094
- The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), and various senior advocacy and criminal justice experts will be speaking on April 10, 2014, for a free, day-long, online event to learn how to spot the warning signs of elder abuse and financial fraud, and how to combat these heinous crimes. This event is available to the public, and seniors, seniors’ caregivers, law enforcement, social services, adult protective services, and people with elderly relatives are highly encouraged to attend. Those who wish to attend can register here: http://engage.vevent.com/index.jsp?eid=2155&seid=268
- The American Psychological Association and American Bar Association will hold a National Conference on Violence, May 1-3, in D.C. This 3-day APA/ABA continuing education national conference will address a broad range of issues related to the exposure of children, youth, and families to violence in and around the home, community, and society. For registration information go here: http://www.apa.org/about/offices/ogc/apa-aba/conference.aspx. For inquiries, email: APAABAViolenceConf@apa.org.
- The 7th Annual Forensic Investigations Conference will be held in the Kansas City Convention Center May 12-17, 2014. The conference will focus on a broad array of emerging forensic issues, including sexual assault, interpersonal violence, ballistics, strangulation, and child and elder abuse in both urban and rural environments. This year’s conference is designed to provide an interactive joint educational opportunity and promising practices when working with victims of violence. To find more information, see here: http://www.saintlukeshealthsystem.org/forensic
- The 3rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30th , 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
- The 2014 Consumer Voice Annual Conference will be held in Arlington, Virginia from November 15-19, 2014. There will be speakers in the field, long-term care policy updates from key experts, and tools and resources for advocacy. Registration and the conference agenda details will be coming soon. For questions, contact: info@theconsumervoice.org.
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Funding Opportunities:
- The National Institute of Justice is seeking proposals for research and evaluation related to the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of elderly individuals. Research that includes residents of residential care facilities also will be considered. Research proposed may be focused at the state, local, tribal, federal, juvenile justice policy and/or practice level. The closing date for the application is April 25, 2014. Click here for more information: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=251247
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
Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868
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