While seniors often are the target of a variety of telephone and Internet scams, some of the most common forms of elder abuse are committed by those closest to vulnerable adults, such as in-home caregivers.
As there are few requirements for an individual to become a caregiver, it can be difficult to find a reliable, trustworthy caregiver, Kalkaska County Commission on Aging (KCOA) Director Gay Rowell said. The KCOA can place caregivers in homes and does full background and reference checks, as well as helping families work out payment methods.
"We put caregivers in the home," Rowell said. "We do in-home services and we encourage the family to let us help."
According to nationwide statistics from independent studies compiled by the National Center on Elder Abuse, an estimated one to two million Americans age 65 and older have been injured, exploited, or mistreated by a caregiver.
"The sad reality is that most of the financial exploitation that we see is committed by somebody known to the victim," said Lynne McCollum, Legal Services Developer and Elder Abuse Prevention Specialist for the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging.
Full Article and Source:
Up to 10 Percent of Nation's Elderly Suffer Abuse from In-Home Caregivers
2 comments:
I don't believe that. I believe most people take good care of their loved ones. Some don't, of course, but most do.
Abuse & exploitation wear many faces. If you don't believe these statistics, go on down to your county probate court and sit in a few hearings on petitions to appoint guardians and conservators because a trusted person has exploited an elder. Then pay attention, as the same concerned loved ones file more petitions to prove that the fiduciaries have exploited the people they've been appointed to protect. These statistics don't even include court-sanctioned abuse, in addition to which there is also the matter of court-instigated exploitation.
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