HHS Invests $9.7 Million to Prevent Elder Abuse and Exploitation

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C.— NOVEMBER 9, 2026—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Community Living (ACL), today announced more than $9.7 million in new awards to help older adults stay safe, make their own choices, and stay connected to their communities. The funding will test new ways to prevent abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation; expand legal help; strengthen advocacy for people living in nursing homes and other care facilities; and help women with the greatest economic and social need build financial know-how.

“Older Americans have earned the right to live with dignity, control their own lives, and protect what they worked hard to build,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “The Trump Administration is investing more than $9.7 million to prevent abuse and financial exploitation, expand access to legal help, and defend the rights of nursing home residents. We are putting practical tools and trusted support into communities to help older Americans safeguard their independence and financial security.”

The need is urgent. Financial exploitation alone is estimated to cost older Americans $28.3 billion annually, underscoring the need for stronger prevention, protection, and support services. At least 1 in 10 older adults experience some form of abuse each year, and concerns about residents' rights, safety, and quality of care continue to generate hundreds of thousands of ombudsman consultations and cases annually.

These awards address these concerns using a multifaceted approach. They help communities spot problems early, put legal help within reach, stand up for the rights of people in long-term care, and share the financial knowledge that helps people protect themselves. ACL does this work as part of the Elder Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC), which coordinates federal work on elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, from prevention and early help to protective services and accountability.

“Behind every one of these numbers is an older adult and a family who trusted the wrong person or had no one to turn to,” said Mary Lazare, ACL Principal Deputy Administrator and delegated EJCC chair. “Through the EJCC, federal agencies are working together to prevent harm, step in early, and hold wrongdoers accountable. These grants bring that work to communities and put practical help within reach, whether that is a lawyer who can help with a scam or a guardianship case, an ombudsman who listens to a nursing home resident, or clear information that helps a woman protect her retirement.”

Preventing Abuse and Financial Exploitation

ACL’s Office of Elder Justice and Adult Protective Services is awarding six new Elder Justice Innovation Grants, totaling more than $5.6 million over three years. These three-year grants will develop and test approaches to new and emerging elder justice problems. The goal is better outcomes for adults who are experiencing abuse, neglect, or exploitation, or who are at risk of it.

The projects will focus on preventing harm or stopping it early, lowering risk, protecting people’s ability to make their own choices, preventing repeat abuse, and improving health and well-being.

Elder Justice Innovation Grants are one way HHS contributes to the EJCC’s work. Over time, they have expanded understanding of adult maltreatment and helped build evidence-based practices nationwide.

Expanding Legal Help for Older Adults

The same office is also awarding four new Legal Assistance Enhancement Program grants, totaling $1.9 million over two years. These two-year grants will support new ways to expand or improve legal services for older adults with economic or social needs.

Each project will take on a priority legal issue under the Older Americans Act. Recipients will work with their state legal assistance developer, evaluate how well the project works, and create a plan that other communities in the state can use.

The projects aim to improve older adults’ health, financial well-being, safety, and ability to stay in their communities. They will also help legal and aging service providers spot and respond to legal needs, including abuse, neglect, exploitation, fraud, and guardianship matters.

Standing Up for People in Long-Term Care

ACL’s Administration on Aging awarded a grant to operate the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center. Working with ACL’s Office of Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs, the center will provide targeted training and expert technical assistance to 53 State Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs, including staff and volunteer representatives. It will also offer education and support to the broader aging network.

Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs help resolve concerns about the health, safety, welfare, and rights of people living in nursing homes, board and care homes, assisted living facilities, and other residential care communities. They also promote policies and consumer protections that improve long-term services and supports at the facility, local, state, and national levels.

Building Financial Know-How and Security

ACL’s Administration on Aging also awarded a grant to operate the National Resource Center for Women and Retirement. The center will provide clear, practical information on managing money, planning for retirement, and building financial skills for women with the greatest economic and social need.

The center will also work with the National Aging Network to expand financial education and share resources that help prevent identity theft, fraud, and financial exploitation.

A Coordinated Approach to Elder Justice

Together, these awards work on elder justice from several sides. They will help older adults, families, professionals, and communities spot risks early, respond to concerns, and connect people with trusted support.

Award Recipients 

Learn more about the work of ACL and the Elder Justic Coordinating Council to protect rights and prevent abuse here: Acl.gov/programs/protecting-rights-and-preventing-abuse 

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HHS Invests $9.7 Million to Prevent Elder Abuse and Exploitation 

Port St. Lucie cooking class helps adults with disabilities build skills, independence

 The participants are part of the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County’s Guardian Advocacy Program, which provides guardianship support to people with developmental disabilities

By: Brooke Chau 

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A recent cooking class in Port St. Lucie is helping adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities learn valuable life skills and gain more independence.

The participants are part of the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County’s Guardian Advocacy Program, which provides guardianship support to people with developmental disabilities.

Some of the participants are young adults who have aged out of foster care and don't have family members to rely on for support.

Through a partnership with GL Homes that has lasted nearly a decade, participants are given hands-on experiences and opportunities to develop skills that can help them in everyday life.

During the latest class in October, participants learned how to prepare a healthier meal, with Mediterranean chicken on the menu.

From chopping vegetables and preparing ingredients to following a recipe and practicing kitchen safety, the lesson was about more than just cooking.

Brooke Chau, WPTV

Organizers say the goal is to give participants experiences and opportunities that are often not readily available to them while helping them become more self-sufficient.

"We wanted to give them these experiences that they just don't have and the rest of us take for granted," said Sarah Alsofrom, Vice President of Community Relations at GL Homes.

Jessica Kelson with the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County says watching participants learn new skills and take part in activities can make a meaningful difference.

"Being able to watch them learn a new skill or participate in something that's not typically offered to them is just really heartwarming and nice to see them be able to grow," Kelson said.

Brooke Chau, WPTV

By the end of the class, participants had prepared their meal and sat down to enjoy what they made.

For one participant, the accomplishment was something to be proud of.

"I'm proud of it," she said. "I am going to try this at home."

Organizers hope these experiences will give participants the confidence and practical skills to take greater control of their daily lives — one meal at a time.

Full Article & Source:
Port St. Lucie cooking class helps adults with disabilities build skills, independence 

California Reformed a Major Conservatorship Law. Is It Making a Difference?

By:  HSJC Newsroom 

Three years ago, California lawmakers promised a fix for one of the state’s most persistent mental health challenges: how to get severely ill people into treatment when they are unable or unwilling to seek help on their own. Senate Bill 43 was supposed to widen the net for involuntary, year-long mental health conservatorships, giving counties more tools to intervene before a crisis turned deadly.

But a new analysis suggests the law hasn’t delivered the sweeping change many had hoped for.

Reporting shows that among California’s largest counties, most have seen no meaningful rise in conservatorship numbers since the law took effect. Toni Navarro, who leads behavioral health services for Santa Barbara County, put it plainly: the law simply hasn’t had the impact officials anticipated.

That’s not to say SB 43 accomplished nothing. Behavioral health leaders in several counties credit the law with pushing mental health and substance abuse teams to collaborate more closely — a meaningful shift given how often Californians struggling with addiction are also battling serious mental illness.

Still, for families who lost loved ones to crises that went unresolved, the law’s limited reach is a painful reality. Annis Pereyra, whose son Joaquin Anthony “Tony” Pereyra was fatally shot by Walnut Creek police during a mental health episode in February, believes a conservatorship could have forced her son into taking antipsychotic medication — and possibly saved his life. “His needs were ignored at every turn that happened,” she said. “Every single turn.”

Her story underscores the gap between the law’s intent and its practical effect, a gap that continues to frustrate families and officials alike as California works to reform its mental health system.

Original source: CalMatters 

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California Reformed a Major Conservatorship Law. Is It Making a Difference? 

Disability advocacy groups face funding cuts amid NDIS overhaul and rising demand for support

By News Desk 

People with disability facing major changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) may have fewer places to turn for help, as longstanding disability advocacy organisations confront funding cuts of their own.

A decades-old government program that funds disability advocacy groups is due to be replaced at the end of the month. Several established organisations in multiple states have been told by the Department of Health they will not be included in the new funding arrangements.

Disability advocates help people navigate systems including the NDIS, health care, housing and guardianship. They can also explain and challenge decisions affecting a person, such as reductions to an NDIS plan. Advocates are generally non-profit organisations and operate separately from service providers, which deliver paid services.

Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service, a regional Victorian organisation, says it will lose 30 per cent of its total funding. Chief executive Annie Nash said the reduction would have an “immediate and significant” impact, including job losses and a major reduction in the support available to people with disability.

Ms Nash said the organisation could no longer accept new clients, despite demand rising amid widespread NDIS plan cuts. She warned that reduced advocacy could leave people with less help to contest unlawful evictions, alleged misuse of guardianship or administration powers, and disputes involving disability services and debts.

“This is a win for every dodgy provider unlawfully evicting an NDIS participant from their home,” she said.

“It is a win for every person using guardianship or administration powers to commit family violence against a person with disability.”

Ms Nash said the decision was difficult to reconcile with a Department of Health review conducted in March, which recognised Villamanta as a sector leader providing an “invaluable service”. She said the organisation had received a surge of messages from supporters, who valued its trusted and high-quality assistance.

Disability Advocacy Network Australia acting chief executive Cherry Baylosis described the changes as “out of touch” with the needs of people with disability. She said advocates were already struggling to meet demand and often supported people through crises, including hospital visits and the search for emergency accommodation.

“Advocates are the person who will stand in somebody’s corner … without that we can expect to see people navigating a crisis without appropriate support,” Ms Baylosis said.

She warned that people could be left to manage difficult situations alone, or that responsibility would fall to families and carers who were often already under pressure.

The Department of Health did not directly answer questions about how many advocacy organisations had lost funding, or whether the funding allocation was designed to limit people’s ability to seek support.

A department spokesperson said the new funding model responded to recommendations from the Disability Royal Commission. Up to $184 million, excluding GST, was available over six financial years from 2026–27 to 2031–32. The spokesperson said an open competitive grant process had allowed existing and new organisations to demonstrate their capacity to deliver the program.

Organisations funded under the current model will continue receiving support until February 2027 to assist with the transition, the department said.

The funding changes come as the Albanese government overhauls the NDIS, which costs more than $50 billion and supports more than 782,000 participants. The government expects about 240,000 people to leave the scheme over the next four years, with the changes projected to save more than $38 billion.

Cuts to a funding category participants use to pay for therapies, as well as a category that can cover support workers accompanying people to appointments, work and social activities, began on October 1.

The scheme has been growing by 10.5 per cent a year—about half the rate recorded when Labor came to power in 2022. The government aims to bring annual growth down to 2 or 3 per cent. Advocacy organisations say, however, that many have long been unable to meet demand for their services. 

Full Article & Source:
Disability advocacy groups face funding cuts amid NDIS overhaul and rising demand for support 

Pasadena woman fights to bring home mother she says was taken by caregiver

A woman is desperate to reunite with her mother and says a caregiver took her.

A Pasadena woman is desperate to bring her mother home after she says her mother's caregiver took her and married her.

By Rob McMillan

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Pasadena woman who was granted conservatorship over her 85-year-old mother says she does not know where she is.

She alleges her mother's caregiver, who she says later became her mother's husband, took her away despite court orders intended to return her to San Bernardino County.

Sarah Bull became emotional while discussing her mother, Bonnie Bull, whom she says has dementia.

“I love her… I miss her,” Sarah Bull said.

Bull said she was recently granted conservatorship over her mother by a Superior Court judge but now does not know her whereabouts.

“I have no idea where my mom is,” she told Eyewitness News.

Bull said she reported her mother missing to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Rancho Cucamonga station but was frustrated by the response.

“They said they've contacted her and that she said she's fine… and that they've taken her off the missing persons list,” Bull said.

According to Bull, her mother's caregiver had previously taken her away.

“In 2022, he took her to Nevada, and I found out which hotel she was staying at through bank records, and I went out there and I picked her up and I took her back,” Bull said.

Bull said the caregiver had been caring for her mother at a Rancho Cucamonga home. She said she had been concerned about him for years.

“He scared me,” Bull said. “Just the way he looked at me, and he's very volatile. There's just something not right with him.”

Bull also recorded a February interaction with the caregiver that she said occurred when he was attempting to prevent her from visiting her mother. In the video, Bull asked her mother whether she wanted her to visit her, and she said she did.

Bull said concerns about her mother's care led her to hire an attorney and pursue a conservatorship. She also said she used an AirTag attached to her mother's car to track its location to a business in Alhambra called One Hour Marriage.

“It says that they're at a place called One Hour Marriage in Alhambra, and I was like, that can't be right. And so, I called over there,” Bull said. 

“And (an employee) said, oh yes, they're just finishing up,” she added.

Bull said the marriage occurred in April. She said that despite a judge granting the conservatorship in October, approving a temporary restraining order against the caregiver, and authorizing a warrant intended to help return her mother, she has not been able to reunite with her.

“The (authorities) are acting like this is just a silly piece of paper,” Bull said.

In a statement, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said detectives learned that the mother had relocated outside San Bernardino County and notified law enforcement in the new jurisdiction.

“Investigators from that agency conducted an independent review of the case including in-person interviews with both the mother and the husband,” the statement said. “The investigators reported to our department that the mother had left voluntarily, did not appear to be mistreated, and expressed no desire to return to her daughter.”

The department also said it was recently informed of a court order directing that the mother be returned to San Bernardino County.

“Under the California Conservatorship Jurisdiction Act, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department cannot physically detain an individual outside of the Department’s jurisdiction,” the statement said.

Bull said her goal is to bring her mother home so she can care for her.

“I want her to be returned here so she can live with me and I can take care of her,” she said with tears running down her face. “She’s the most important person in the world.”

The court-appointed guardian ad litem for Bonnie Bull said she believes Bonnie Bull is currently in Idaho and that her caregiver may be trying to take her to Canada.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said it has again added Bonnie Bull to the missing persons list and has informed Idaho authorities about the court order.  

Full Article & Source:
Pasadena woman fights to bring home mother she says was taken by caregiver

2 Baton Rouge caregivers arrested after 74-year-old woman found dead

Two people were arrested after deputies found a 74-year-old woman dead inside a Baton Rouge home. 

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2 Baton Rouge caregivers arrested after 74-year-old woman found dead 

Caregiver Arrested for Stealing from Patient

 Press Release

Suffolk County Police last night arrested a caregiver who stole jewelry from an 89-year-old woman in Selden.

Devika Ramcharran was a home health aide employee from Senior Helpers of Smithtown, located at 35 Manor Road, Suite 104, in Smithtown. She was working at a residence on Oakdale Avenue in Selden for an 89-year-old woman. Ramcharran stole jewelry, valued at approximately $1200, on September 28, 2026. The woman contacted police when she noticed jewelry missing.

Following an investigation by Sixth Squad detectives, along with Sixth Precinct Investigative Unit officers, Ramcharran was arrested at approximately 11:10 p.m. 

Ramcharran, 37, of North Bellport, was charged with Grand Larceny 4^th Degree. She was issued a desk appearance ticket and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip later this month.

Detectives are asking anyone who believes they could have been a victim of Ramcharran to contact the Sixth Squad at 631-854-8622.

A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

Source:
Caregiver Arrested for Stealing from Patient 

Jackson business owner arrested for $100k loan theft of elderly victim

by: Chris D. Johnson

(FOX40.COM) — An Amador County business owner is under arrest for multiple felonies including theft and elder abuse, officials announced Thursday.

According to the Amador County Sheriff’s Office, 66-year-old Gregory Brotherton, owner of Posey’s Hearing Aids in Jackson, was arrested after an investigation that began in May 2026. The sheriff’s office was notified of allegations regarding an elderly victim and began an “extensive” investigation.

Officials said Brotherton approached the victim and persuaded them to provide a “substantial” loan under the pretense that the money would be repaid. The investigation led them to believe the loan was never repaid, causing financial losses of over $100,000 to the victim.

Brotherton was arrested for felony violations related to theft by false pretenses and elder abuse after detectives developed probable cause to do so. He was taken into custody and booked into the Amador County Jail.

The case remains active and ongoing. Those who may have information related to the investigation or believe they know another victim of Brotherton are encouraged to contact the Amador County Sheriff’s Office Investigation Bureau at 209-223-6511. 

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Jackson business owner arrested for $100k loan theft of elderly victim 

71-year-old slept in her car — then these deputies stepped in to help

Two deputies in Clay County, Florida, are receiving accolades for providing a meal and some gasoline and cash to a 71-year-old motorist who was stranded in their jurisdiction while waiting for a lifeline. “People should look for opportunities to help, if you can, even if it’s just buying a sandwich and a couple bucks in the gas tank. Because it meant a lot to her,” one of the officers, Deputy Mark Maertz, told “Jesse Weber Live” on Wednesday.  

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71-year-old slept in her car — then these deputies stepped in to help