The Roadmap outlines newly launched educational programs and policy steps designed to increase reporting and prosecution, but it mainly focuses on encouraging individuals, families and institutions to identify risks and take steps toward prevention.
Elder law attorney Michael Gilfix recently authored an article entitled “Addressing Financial Elder Abuse: Should the Bar be Lower?” that will appear in the September issue of Trusts & Estates Magazine. He agrees that planning and prevention are the best defenses against elder abuse.
“Decreased cognitive ability and financial strain are two major risk factors for elder abuse,” Gilfix said. “The facts of this report confirm that every family should consider concrete safeguards long before a serious threat or scam appears.”
The Roadmap’s publication followed President Barack Obama’s vow to eliminate the victimization of older Americans. On June 11, President Obama proclaimed World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, stating that the government must improve the criminal justice response and work harder to ensure all Americans have the “right to enjoy their retirement years with a basic sense of security.”
The map attempts to simplify a complex set of decisions that magnify in importance over time. Families can plot their place on the Roadmap to find missed, current and upcoming actions to take. “Durable power of attorney, asset protection and long-term care insurance planning make excellent starting points for many families,” Gilfix added.
According to an article by Kathy Greenlee, Assistant Secretary for Aging, the Elder Justice Roadmap is the product of an ongoing collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that began in 2012.
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US Government Unveils New Resource to Fight Elder Abuse
Will they be fighting the guardianship gang?
ReplyDeleteI just wonder how much money went into this. We spend, spend, spend on studies and ideas.
ReplyDeleteThere needs to be away to protect our elders and disabled from guardianship abuse!
ReplyDeleteWhen families abuse they are criminally charged the same needs to be applied to guardians.
Does this new resource do anything to trigger an alert in any situation like the one recorded by the 3-minute video which ABC News presents online at http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8486577?
ReplyDeleteDoes even one person who reads this comment care enough about such situations to write their state and federal legislators in order to recommend legislation that has been proposed to address the needs which are evident from this video?