Elder Abuse awareness workshop conducted
by Wake County Elder Abuse Task Force
Wake County Elder Abuse Task Force
 Mission:
To identify and reduce abuse of
older and at-risk adults in our communities
through collaborative partnership, education
and empowerment.
 Vision:
All Wake County older and at-risk
adults are valued and protected from abuse.
Wake County Elder Abuse Task Force
Values
We are committed to:




The belief that every older and at-risk adult
deserves to be free from abuse.
Creating a collaborative effort that involves the
entire community in keeping older and at-risk
adults safe.
Providing community awareness and education.
Educating the public on their responsibility by
law to report all suspected abuse.
Training workshop today is a highly condensed version

1. This training was developed by the Institute on
Aging’s Elder Abuse Prevention Program.
You are a volunteer trainer helping to increase
awareness of elder abuse to enhance the protection
and well-being of aging seniors in our community.

2. Share information about Elder Abuse

3. Present techniques that you can use to share this
with elders + be able to modify to suite other
audiences
How to stop Elder & Dependent
Adult Abuse


Realize
Recognize

Report
The Ugly Truth: Elder Abuse Happens
 What



“Elder Abuse doesn’t happen in our community!”
“I don’t believe that Jim could ever hurt her. She
must be making it up”.
“Gladys was never a good mother. This must be
her fault”
 What



we hear:
we know:
Elder Abuse is never justified.
Elder Abuse happens in every zip code.
People don’t want to believe that elder abuse is
real, so they often ignore the signs.
 Reluctance



of victim to admit because of:
Shame
Fear of losing independence
Fear of being moved
 Unlike
kids, older adults can quietly
disappear from society without much inquiry.
 May
 Sign
be too incapacitated to report
of abuse may be missed or mistaken for
“usual aging”.
 Difficulty
defending oneself, physically and
emotionally.
 May
be more dependent on others for
assistance than in the past
 Fear
of losing independence if a report is
made, so more susceptible to threats
 In
66% of all reports of abuse, the victim is a
woman.
 People
over 80 years of age are 2 to 3 times
more likely to be victims.
 People
with cognitive difficulties.
 People
who are isolated.
 People
with behavioral issues.
Abusers


Who are they?
What do they look like?
 90%
of abuse of elders and dependent adults
is perpetrated by family





50% are adult offspring.
20% are spouses/intimate partners.
48% are women.
52% are men.
30% are themselves over 60 years of age.
 We
don’t know for sure, but here are some
theories and predictors.





Entitlement (financial)
Stress (caregiver stress vs. resentment)
Power and control
Ageism
Mental Illness/Drug & alcohol abuse (abuser)
Anyone can be a victim.
Anyone can be a
perpetrator.
“All I want to do is live a
peaceful life, to regain my life
and be happy. I pray to God
each day to protect us, help us
endure and guide those other
senior citizens who are also
suffering”
Pictured: Mickey Rooney
Beyond Denial:
Everyone can learn to recognize Elder Abuse.
 Express
a sense of isolation – no access to
friends, family or community.
 Refer
to a family member or caregiver’s
“anger” or “temper”.
 Have
a history of alcohol or drug abuse or
suicide attempts.
 Be
presented as a “difficult” patient
 Have
repeated “accidental” injuries that are
suspicious.
 Visit
the doctor for vague complaints or
acute anxiety.
 Avoid
seeking medical attention for injuries
until days or weeks after injury occurred.
 Caregiver
or Family Member may:

Have excessive concern about costs

Attempt to dominate elder

Not let elder talk

Not let you see elder alone

Verbal abuse of elder or you

Exhibit controlling behavior
 Most
common types of abuse often occur
together

PHYSICAL – 25%

Financial/material exploitation – 30%**

Emotional/psychological – 36%

Neglect – 49% (can include self-neglect)
Based upon ‘what we know’ – Elder Abuse is a
‘hidden’ crime.
 The
use of physical force that may result in
bodily injury, physical pain or impairment.
 May
include striking, hitting, beating,
pushing, shoving, shaking, slapping, kicking,
pinching, and burning.
 Inappropriate
use of drugs and physical
restraints, force-feeding and physical
punishment.
Let’s talk about physical abuse
What
What do you think may have happened to this person?
 Rita’s
son, Mark is her live-in caregiver. He
gets frustrated because she take a very long
time to do anything. Sometimes he gets so
mad that he shakes her.
 Mr.
Brandon has Alzheimer’s Dementia and
tends to wander. His caregiver has to go to
the store sometimes and is afraid he’ll leave
so she tied him to his bed frame.
Life is
Shorter
Poorer
More Painful
 The
illegal or improper use of an elder or
dependent adult’s funds, property or assets.
 Examples





include:
Cashing a person’s checks without permission
Forging a person’s signature
Misusing or stealing a person’s money or
possessions
Coercing or deceiving a person into signing any
document (e.g. contracts or will)
The improper use of legal documents
Why are Seniors targeted?

Average net worth for those 65+ yrs of age in US
is $250K. 70% own a car and house.

Those 50+ yrs of age own 70% of nation’s wealth

Seniors come from a generation where a
handshake meant something.
* Nationally, elders lose about $2.6 billion per year.

Financial

Irregular pattern of spending/withdrawals

Frequent purchases of inappropriate items

Withdrawals made in spite of penalties

Bills not paid

Utilities turned off

Presence of “new best friend” or “sweetheart”
(isolation)
A
55 year old woman threatens her mother
with placement in a nursing home if she
doesn’t buy her a car.
A
30 year old man befriends a widow who is
feeling lonely & depressed. He obtains the
password for her ATM card so that he can
“help” her buy groceries and then “helps”
himself to extra cash.
The infliction of anguish,
pain or distress through
verbal or nonverbal acts.
Acts such as: verbal assaults, insults,
threats, intimidation, humiliation,
harassment or isolating a person from their
family or friends.
What do you think some of
the effects of elder
emotional abuse could be?
ne·glect (n-glkt)
tr.v. ne·glect·ed, ne·glect·ing, ne·glects
 To
pay little or no attention to; fail to heed;
disregard: neglected their warnings.
 To fail to care for or attend to properly:
neglects her appearance.
 To fail to do or carry out, as through
carelessness or oversight: neglected to
return the call.
Not providing for life
necessities such as:
Food & Water
Clothing
Shelter
Personal Hygiene
Medicine
Comfort
Personal Safety
Person is lying urine and feces for hours or
days
 Person is dirty, has elongated nails and
matted hair, is living in filth
 Person becomes malnourished and
dehydrated because food and water are not
provided
 Person develops deep, open pressure sores
on their back and heels because no one
repositions them.

Signs of possible neglect in the home:
 Newspapers/mail
accumulating
 Lack of attention to house
 Large numbers of people using home
 Drug activity – people going in and out of the
home with frequency
 Odd noises
 Bad odors
(what do your senses tell you?)
Have you ever seen a
situation that you now
think may have been
neglectful?
 Angie
is the busy caretaker of her mother,
Violet. Violet has been ill and is quite weak.
She cannot sit up on her own in the bed and
can only get out of bed with assistance.
Each morning, Angie leave a bottle of water
and an apple on her mother’s bedside before
she leaves for work.
 The
behavior of an elder or dependent adult
that threatens his/her own health or safety:
for example, refusal or failure to provide
himself/herself with adequate food, water,
clothing, shelter, personal hygiene,
medication, and safety precautions.

A social worker will look for signs of dementia,
depression, drug or alcohol abuse, untreated
mental illness.
You can make a difference:
Reporting & Resources
Responsible for taking reports of abuse for
persons 65+ yrs old and younger adults with
disabilities living in the community.
Protective Services
(919) 212-7264
After hours, weekends or holidays
Call 911
If I think someone is being abused, what do I
do?
 If
 If
the elder is living in the community, call
Wake County Adult Protective Service
(919) 212-7264
the elder is living in a licensed facility, call
Long-term Care Ombudsman
919 855-4500
or call toll free 1-800-624-3004

An intake worker will listen to your concerns.

Most often a social worker is assigned and will
respond within 10 working days or less

The social worker will look into the concerns.
Their priorities are to stop abuse from happening
and to help get services in place to keep it from
recurring.

If not abuse is happening and there are other
needs for service, they will offer to assist in
getting the person connected to services
 You
don’t need to be sure.
 You
simply need to suspect the abuse.
 APS
will investigate the alleged abuse.
 You
can always call APS to consult about a
situation.
 APS
intake workers are happy to listen and to
give you advice and recommendations.
 No
– you do not have to give your name.
(Only mandated reporters are required to
give their name when reporting abuse. )
 Your
name is kept CONFIDENTIAL!
Names are NEVER revealed to the victim or
to the alleged abuser.
 However,
it is helpful if you are willing to
share your contact information in case the
intake staff member needs further
clarification or has additional questions.
 Yes,
APS remains a voluntary service and can
only act with the consent of the client.
 If
you are a mentally competent adult, who
understands the consequences of your
decisions, and you choose to engage in acts
that threaten your health or safety, you have
the “right to folly” and may refuse services
offered by APS.
 Triangle
J Council of Governments
P.O. Box 12276
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Main Telephone: (919) 549-0551
http://www.tjaaa.org
 Wake
County EATF web site –
www.TriangleElderAbuse.org
UCI Center of Excellent in Elder Abuse &
Neglect: www.centeronelderabuse.org
 Administration on Aging: www.aoa.gov
 National Center on Elder Abuse:
www.ncpea.aoa.gov
 American Bar Association Commission on Lawy
and Aging: www.aganet.org/aging
 American society on Aging: www.asaging.org
 www.generationsjournal.org
 Family Caregiver Alliance: www.caregiver.org
 Clearinghouse on Abuse and Neglect of the
Elderly: http://db.rdms.udel.edu:8080/CANE
 AARP: www.aarp.org

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