Senate Bills Passed, Aimed to Help End Elderly Abuse

A 2015 study done by the Department of Social Services found that by 2035, elders will make up around 30% of the population in cities like Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Two bills passed in the latest legislative session that are aimed to help protect this growing population.

In the last 5 years, the Department of Social Services has received 661 adult protective service calls and has made 92 charges in adult abuse in the last 10 years.

Now, in the latest legislative session two bills, senate bill 19 and 54, passed to help end elder abuse.

"People can use that weakness to kinda prey on them, if you will, and they don't always know where that's going to come from," said Jason Valder, owner of Home Instead Senior Care in Sioux Falls.
The abuse can range from physical and emotional to financial and even sexual.

And owner of Home Instead Senior Care Jason Valder says sometimes, the elderly don't know it's going on.

"There'll be contractors coming to the door, there'll be obviously people with phishing scams and emails," Valder explained. "We see folks getting duped by people over the phone, is where we see the most of it."

He noted that most people don't necessarily think of financial abuse when it comes to elder abuse.

But with the help of two senate bills, Senate Bill 19 and Senate Bill 54, he hopes to see that change.

Already a law, Senate Bill 19 made slight changes to Chapter 22-46-9 in the codified law which would require anyone who knows of abuse to report it within 24 hours or be guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor. The new changes specified who is required to report the abuse.

"We're bringing more effort and energy to the topic of elder abuse and that we're making it easier to prosecute the people, making the punishments harder," explained Jason Valder, owner of Home Instead Senior Care in Sioux Falls.

While Senate Bill 54 would adopt statutory recommendations made by the Elder Abuse Task Force.

The task force was created back in 2015 and the list of changes they made in a short amount of time isn't going unnoticed, especially by Jason Valder, "Certainly done their due diligence and gotten things accomplished. With the two bills passing, in such a short time, I commend them on their efforts."

Valder says the caretakers employed by Home Instead Senior Care go through background checks. A way, he says, to reduce the risk of elder abuse from his staff.

If you know of abuse or want to learn more about the signs of elderly abuse, the Department of Social Services offers many signs and resources. The Elderly Abuse Hotline is 605-773-3656.

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Senate Bills Passed, Aimed to Help End Elderly Abuse