Elder Abuse Legislation: Is it doing what it should?

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Recommended: Mandated reporting of elder abuse in Missouri

Background on Mandatory Reporting Laws Elder abuse is causing emotional, physical or sexual harm, financial exploitation, or intentional or unintentional neglect to someone of greater age, whether it be from a family member or a stranger. Elder abuse has been a social issue for many years prior to any kind of legislation being made. Victims of elder abuse are often older adults ages 60 to 75 and the person abusing the elder is usually someone the victim knows, but could be a stranger in certain cases. Laws are created to protect and prevent unacceptable actions from happening. As the awareness of abuse became apparent to advocate groups there was a push toward the creation of legislation. The first initial movement toward incorporating elder care in legislation was in the 1960s with the Older Americans Act. The Older Americans Act assigned guardianship or institutionalization to cases of abuse. This trend continued into the 1970s with the creation of Adult Protective Services. The Adult Protective Services was created through the Social Security Act to protect adults 18 or older who suffer from abuse, neglect, or exploitation through funding for welfare programs. Just three years into the new millenium the Elder Justice Act was introduced. In 2010, the Elder Justice Act was made into a law and began receiving funding from the federal government as part of President Obama’s health care reform bill. The focus of this paper is to look at whether or not mandatory reporting laws increase the likelihood that cases of elder abuse and neglect will be reported. More specifically looking at the effectiveness of having mandatory reporting laws and to see if other variables contribute to the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the laws. Wh... ... middle of paper ... ...hospital and hospital-based care providers. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 48(1), 110-115. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2007.11.002 Rodríguez, M. A., Wallace, S. P., Woolf, N. H., & Mangione, C. M. (2006). Mandatory reporting of elder abuse: Between a rock and a hard place. Annals of Family Medicine, 4(5), 403-409. doi:10.1370/afm.575 Rudnick, J. D., & Teaster, P. B. (2013). Elder abuse and neglect: A survey of clergy awareness, knowledge, and intervention preferences. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 25(4), 323-338. Salend, E., Kane, R. A., Satz, M., & Pynoos, J. (1984). Elder abuse reporting: Limitations of statutes. The Gerontologist, 24(1), 61-69. Sengstock, M. C., & Hwalek, M. (1986). Domestic abuse of the elderly: Which cases involve the police? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1(3), 335-349. doi:10.1177/088626086001003006

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