Far too often, we hear about one of our neighbors or friends who has been neglected or harmed by a family member or mistreated while in some type of nursing care facility.
The problem of abuse of the elderly and adults with disabilities has become more widely recognized in recent times, and there are estimates that it may be as common as child abuse.
We all need to be aware of the care needs and well-being of the senior citizens in our community. Fortunately, the Adult Protective Services (APS) Section of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is available to help us do exactly that.
Their charge is to investigate the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of an elderly or disabled person and to provide protective services for that person.
Their mission is to respond to suspected abuse by investigating those situations and providing or arranging for whatever services are needed to alleviate or prevent any further maltreatment. I know first-hand of the caring and professional attitude that the APS employees bring to work every day.
Annually, Adult Protective Services receives as many as 60,000 reports of abuse, neglect or exploitation of adults in Texas. Approximately two-thirds of those reports are confirmed.
Full Article and Source:
Viewpoint: Improving Our Community by Protecting Our Seniors
7 comments:
Always remember when you call APS, that they may instigate guardianship -- a sentence the person may never recover from.
The problem is if APS investigates and finds nothing, the guardianship continues anyway.
APS needs to resolve this.
You're right, Anonymous, that APS is a double edged sword. But, what else are people supposed to do if they see trouble and no family to help out?
But who protects seniors from their protectors? APS can save a life and it can also take one away.
What about neighhbors, Anonymous 2? Or church communities?
I often wonder if people are too quick to call APS because they want the trouble "handled" rather than try to figure it out.
I had a person tell me that her brother (a bad and dangerous seed) kidnapped her Mom and took her to FL and was isolating and neglecting her (wasn't giving her meds, or feeding her properly, etc.)
She called APS in FL and they found and then went and got her Mom and now she has her back.
APS saved the day and her Mom's life.
It's not APS that's going to resolve the Guardianship Racket
scam, it's the People standing up and demanding reforms.
Parents who've had their kids legally kidnapped by CPS and the Guardianship Racketeers have learned 'we can't fight the Law with the Law'; they rally and picket in front of court rooms, sign/start petitions, bombard their unresponsive Legislators and Governors. They stencile their cars w/slogans for reforms, they carry business cards of their organizations and hand them out with flyers where ever they go, they file complaints with they are blogging everywhere, vocal with radio talk shows, they provide templates for court documents for parents to go ProSe when their money/assets have been bilked by the unscrupulous legal system, they follow the money and report the fraud to Federal Agencies and the Internation Criminal Court, they find out where their reps and the AG are publicly speaking and get their voices heard
Oregon has adequate laws as well, but get nop support from adult protective services, the office of the District attorney to file a report -becauise theyu claim to have no funds to pursue elder financial exploitation - they like to refer you to a civil attorney.;....and from there on it is called judicial tyranny, unless you get a first class civil rights attorney on Social Security Retirement income.
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