Questions On Financial Crimes Against The Elderly

The Older Americans Act (OAA) funds critical services that keep older adults healthy and independent—services like meals, job training, senior centers, caregiver support, transportation, health promotion, benefits enrollment, and more. The Act is overdue for reauthorization—and Congress needs to seize this opportunity to update and renew its commitment to these programs and those they serve. To ensure America’s aging population is able to maintain and live healthy lives provisions are needed to the current OAA. These provisions include:

Congress passed he Elder Justice Act as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to combat the cases of elder abuse in the United States (FindLaw, n.d.). The EJA was implemented by congress, and signed by President Obama on March 23, 2010 (FindLaw, n.d.). The Act was proposed due to the report by the U.S. Department of Justice (FindLaw, n.d.). Dong (2012) noted that the “The EJA will also be responsible for issuing human subjects protections guidelines to assist researchers and establishing elder abuse forensic centers” (p. 7). In addition, the Elder Justice Act seek to provide grants and incentives in regards to long-term care staffing and electronic medical records technology grants programs, and will gather and distribute

Without this law many individuals were denied services, and resulted in death or more serious injury to individuals. Hospitals must have a plan in place during an emergency to triage individuals. Medical care to individuals, who lack the monetary resources, have improved because of this law. As the law states, “transfers” of clients cannot be arbitrary and based on financial loss to the hospital.

White-collar crimes are just as prevalent today as ordinary street crimes. Studies show that criminal acts committed by white-collar criminals continue to increase due to unforeseen opportunities presented in the corporate world, but these crimes are often overlooked or minimally publicized in reference to criminal acts on the street. Many street crimes are viewed as unnecessary, horrendous crimes because they are committed by lower class citizens, whereas white collar crimes are illegal acts committed by seemingly respectable people whose occupational roles are considered successful and often admired by many (Piquero, 2014). These views often allow white collar crimes to “slip through the cracks” and carry lesser charges or punishment.

According to the book, “The term trust refers to the confidence in a relationship that the other party will act honorably and fulfill legitimate expectations” (Friedrichs 9). Individuals put their faith in a corporation or individual because some people want to see the best in people. “We put our faith in the banks that store our money, the corporations that employ us, the retail stores where we purchase our items, a stockbroker in which we invest in and so much more” (Friedrichs 9). The book is trying to tell us that trust is involved in everything that we do every day. In the book it also states that, “trust and it violations are certainly key elements in white collar crimes” (Friedrichs 9) Trust between two individuals can be broken.. According to the FBI, “white collar crimes are not dependent on threat or physical violence” (FBI). The FBI wants us to note that corporations or individuals do not threaten anyone or physically harm the individual. Wells Fargo is a perfect example of trust and white collar crimes. Wells Fargo

The Elder Justice Act was passed on March 23, 2010 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) as the first piece of federal legislation to allow funds to address elder abuse, neglect and exploitation nationwide (Federal Laws, 2015). Part I of the Elder Abuse Act is the Elder Justice Coordinating Council made up of federal government representatives charged with the responsibility of coming up with programs for the promotion of elder justice. They have to provide recommendations to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on the issues of abuse, neglect and exploitation of the elderly. Then there are 27 professionals from the general public who are to give recommendations to the Coordinating Council as well. Part II of the Elder Justice Act talks about funding and enhancing long-term care. Long-term care is important because you need programs committed to training long-term staff,

The law also provides Federal Grants to agencies that fall under its guidelines. Many agencies could not exist or be of any benefit to the community without this funding. This law protects children with disabilities, by means that housing that is unique to them be defined with specialized training and equipped to do so. Abandoned infants are a unique situation that is not as easy as one would expect to solve. Even though the “client” is unable to speak for themselves, they still need protection. When dealing with near homeless or homeless families, a human service worker may find they are unsure when to become involved more, which is something that this law will help guide them through. Finally, to protect children all around, it is now apparent that certain jobs that work with children must make their employees subject to background checks.

Embezzlement seems to be a white collar crime that is victimless. However, when monies are embezzled from a non profit it affects all those involved especially those benefitting from the work of the nonprofit organization. I thought of our local community nonprofit arts foundation. They not only produce a full slate of shows each season, but also provide classes in painting, sculpting, drawing, acting, music, and dance. If they were defrauded in the amount of $93,000 it would affect educational programs and community outreach.

What are the risk factors of elder financial exploitation? In a study conducted by the University of Virginia, there are four predominant types of elder maltreatment. This includes pure financial exploitation (PFE), physical abuse, neglect by others or self, and hybrid financial exploitation (HFE). PFE is elder financial exploitation without any other abuse cited. PFE is usually conducted by unknown individuals to the elderly victim, as in mortgage or home improvement scams. HFE is a combination of elder financial exploitation that includes neglect and/or abuse. HFE usually occurs when the victim is dependent on their caregiver who has power and authority over them. This study addressed the understudied societal problems of financial

Too often seniors refuse to report abuse, neglect, or crime against them out of fear of losing independence. It is a common misconception that being victimized will deem you unfit to live independently and will result in being placed in a facility of some sort. It is important that seniors feel they can turn to those around them with concerns and incidents that occur. In the event that a senior is not forthcoming with information there are a number of avenues that may involve reporting of suspected incidents. Hospitals, doctors, community service organizations, and long term care facilities can report suspected crimes to authorities or Department of Social Services in an effort to protect the individual. If a senior cannot properly protect themselves then health care professionals from all areas should have the ability to act on behalf of the individual to seek help but not dictate the overall outcome as a result. For example: simply finding that a person has been a victim of exploitation should not mean that a person be moved immediately into a facility forfeiting their right to care for themselves. All facilities acting to protect a senior should aim to preserve senior

The Elder Justice Act amendment establishes new requirements for employees and individuals associated with long-term care facilities. These requirements create shorter reporting deadlines for reporting crimes and abuse and higher fines for non-compliance. All staff will

You did a good job of explaining the elder justice act. Before reading your post, I did not know such thing even existed. The elder justice act was passed by president Obama on march 23, 2010, as part of the patient protection and affordable care act. The main goal of the law is to give resources to help protect, prevent and act upon any forms of elder abuse. The law requires the Department of Health and Human Services to overlook and manage all federal resources to protect the elderly. The law also requires the Department of Justice to help prevent elderly abuse through education, programs, and leadership. The law also allows that all care facilities employees receive a background check and any elderly abuse in long term care facilities be

Most of the laws concerning the abuse of the elderly were exact replicas of the state’s child abuse laws. A doctor’s note, along with a note from another social worker, is required in 43 states to establish a case, which is exactly what is needed for a child abuse case. These necessities may not be peculiar for a case concerning a child who does not have the ability to speak for his or her self, but are most definitely unnecessary for an elder (Shapiro 1992). Elders should have patient-doctor confidentiality, and the right to make their own decision considering most elders are independent, and are financially secure. In conclusion, I do not agree with this current law.

There is no doubt that many elderly individuals will eventually need assistance with managing their finances, which includes making purchases on their behalf. Thus the older adult may provide their caregiver with cash, cheques and in some cases they may implement a power of attorney. Essentially, powers of attorney grant considerable power to named individuals, over both finances and property. Unfortunately, over time what evolves is an over spending of the older adults money solely benefiting the caregiver, moreover, these caregivers begin to develop a sense of entitlement (Gibson & Honn Qualls, 2012, p. 27). When considering financial abuse committed by strangers, many simple scams against older adults have surfaced over the years. For example, individuals may offer handyman services, recognizing that many older adults struggle with chores such as exterior window washing. However once paid, the individuals do not return to complete the job. It is interesting to note that of all reported elder abuse cases, financial abuse makes up more than half of all complaints (Friese & Collopy, 2010, p. 60).

One program that is often over looked is the protection of older Americans. This programs has reporting systems to protect the elderly who may be suffering from neglect or abuse. We may not think of the elderly population being abused but it happens in nursing homes and even in the elderly person’s home from caregivers of family member neglecting their care. The ACL is providing much needed programs for elderly adults and raising awareness for Alzheimer’s. By doing this they are keeping health care costs down by keeping people in their homes and not in nursing homes. They are helping fund research for Alzheimer’s. This program can continue to grow and will be a great necessity as we are experiencing the baby boomer’s reaching the age where they will need extra care either in nursing homes or help staying in their own homes.