[Senate Hearing 108-382]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 108-382
ELDER JUSTICE AND PROTECTION: STOPPING THE FINANCIAL ABUSE
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AGING
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION,
LABOR, AND PENSIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
EXAMINING FINANCIAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF THE ELDERLY, FOCUSING ON
ISSUES THAT ELDERLY CONSUMERS FACE IN TODAY'S INVESTMENT MARKETPLACE
__________
OCTOBER 30, 2003
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
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COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS
JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire, Chairman
BILL FRIST, Tennessee EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut
LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee TOM HARKIN, Iowa
CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland
MIKE DeWINE, Ohio JAMES M. JEFFORDS (I), Vermont
PAT ROBERTS, Kansas JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico
JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama PATTY MURRAY, Washington
JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada JACK REED, Rhode Island
LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina
JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York
Sharon R. Soderstrom, Staff Director
J. Michael Myers, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
______
Subcommittee on Aging
CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri, Chairman
LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland
MIKE DeWINE, Ohio EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts
PAT ROBERTS, Kansas PATTY MURRAY, Washington
JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina
JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York
Kara R. Vlasaty, Staff Director
Rhonda Richards, Minority Staff Director
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
__________
STATEMENTS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2003
Page
Bond, Hon. Christopher S., a U.S. Senator from the State of
Missouri....................................................... 1
Mikulski, Hon. Barbara A., a U.S. Senator from the State of
Maryland....................................................... 2
Chambers, Richmond D., Chevy Chase, MD........................... 11
Curran, Jr., J. Joseph, Attorney General, State of Maryland,
Baltimore, MD.................................................. 13
Scott, Carol, Missouri State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and
President, National Association of Long-Term Care Ombudsmen,
Jefferson City, MO............................................. 15
Blancato, Robert, President, National Committee For the
Prevention of Elder Abuse, Washington, DC...................... 16
Hammond, W. Lee, board member, American Association of Retired
Persons, Salisbury, MD......................................... 19
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc.:
J. Joseph Curran, Jr......................................... 31
Carol Scott.................................................. 32
Robert B. Blancato........................................... 35
W. Lee Hammond............................................... 40
Richmond D. Chambers......................................... 43
Franklyn S. Greene........................................... 43
Pamela B. Teaster and Lisa Nerenberg......................... 45
.............................................................
(iii)
ELDER JUSTICE AND PROTECTION: STOPPING THE FINANCIAL ABUSE
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2003
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Aging,
of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:13 a.m., in
room SD-430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Senator Bond
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Present: Senators Bond and Mikulski.
Also Present: Senator Breaux.
Opening Statement of Senator Bond
Senator Bond. The Subcommittee on Aging of the Senate
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will come to
order.
I would like to thank all of you for joining us, the
witnesses in particular. We thank all of you for attending this
hearing today on ``Elder Justice and Protection: Stopping the
Financial Abuse,'' which is a very important one, and we look
forward to having your testimony and your guidance.
Although we are all vulnerable to financial abuse and
exploitation, the elderly are at a particularly high risk of
victimization because people over the age of 50 control 70
percent of the Nation's wealth, and they are extremely
attractive targets. In addition, the elderly can be highly
susceptible to promising officers and companionship, which
could unfortunately result in financial ruin or worse.
Seniors tend to be more trusting and less cynical than
younger people in dealing with fraudulent salesmen and other
scam artists. In too many instances, seniors are no match for
scam artists and predatory family, friends, or caregivers
intent on robbing them of their life savings or worse, and that
is particularly disturbing and troubling.
There have been very few attempts to quantify the crime
among the senior population. The most authoritative estimates
that we have about financial abuse come from the National Elder
Abuse Incidence Study. This study found that out of
approximately 450,000 substantiated reports of all types of
elder abuse, approximately 30 percent of these involve some
form of financial abuse.
Elder financial abuse ranks right behind neglect and
psychological abuse as the most prevalent form of elder abuse.
The study also found that the officially reported cases are
only the tip of the iceberg--for every case that is reported,
several cases go unreported.
I think we have to protect seniors from scam artists and
predators determined to take the money, the home, and the
assets they have spent a lifetime saving and accumulating.
With the aging of baby boomers and the high concentration
of wealth among older people, financial crimes against the
elderly regrettably are certain to increase. Given this
information, Federal resources can and should be targeted
toward providing more training and assistance in the
identification, investigation and prevention of financial
crimes against seniors.
That is why I am pleased to be a cosponsor of Senator
Breaux' Elder Justice Abuse Act. He is a true leader in the
Senate on this issue, and we are delighted the he is joining us
today.
This bill is the first comprehensive Federal effort to
address the issue of elder abuse in all of its forms. It
combines law enforcement and public health to study, detect,
treat, prosecute and prevent elder abuse, neglect, and
exploitation. This elder protection measure is based on
successful approaches that have been applied to combat child
abuse and violence against women.
Without question, tackling elder abuse is a complex
question requiring a very comprehensive solution. The Elder
Justice Act will play a significant role in building the vital
Federal infrastructure and resources necessary to protect the
financial safety of our Nation's seniors.
We look forward to the testimony of the witnesses on this
important issue.
I will turn now to my colleagues for their comments, and
then we will go back to our colleagues for introduction of
witnesses.
It is a real pleasure for me to introduce again my running
buddy on so many of the committees on which we work together,
the distinguished Senator from Maryland, Senator Mikulski.
Opening Statement of Senator Mikulski
Senator Mikulski. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for
holding this hearing today on the financial exploitation of
older Americans.
I want to thank you for your leadership and your vigor on
combatting consumer fraud but also now focusing on the largest
group in our population that is subjected to the schemes, the
scum, the thugs, and the bums, and that is our senior
population.
So we want to thank you for holding this hearing. We want
to thank those who will be testifying here today, because we
want to hear first-hand how we can fight financial scams
against seniors, how we can prevent them, and also a better
understanding about how people are victimized.
Protecting the financial security of older Americans must
be a priority. They work very hard for their money, and as they
get older, when they talk about a ``rainy day,'' the rainy day
can often be an everyday occurrence with the rising cost of
health care and the rising cost of prescription drugs. Seniors
need their money. Then, along come those who want to engage in
despicable things like telemarketing scams, identity theft, and
investment scams to take people's hard-earned money away from
them.
This hearing today is about how older Americans have been
the victims of financial schemes and swindlers, and we need to
talk about what the Federal Government must do to crack down on
these schemes.
As I move around my own State, I have heard from seniors
who are victims of these financial scams. Some, we will hear
from today, like Mr. Chambers. Mr. Hammond, representing the
AARP from the Eastern Shore of Maryland will talk about how
AARP's educating older Americans about these schemes.
We will hear people talk about how they were promised
investment schemes that would yield 18 percent in annual rates
of return, and then, when it came time for the note to mature,
the man lost the $20,000 he invested.
There was a Silver Spring woman who got a telemarketing
call that offered an opportunity to save money on food and
vision care, but by the end of the day, she lost her life
savings.
And again, we will be hearing form Mr. Richmond Chambers of
Chevy Chase, who was the victim of a credit card scam.
Then, we turn to not only listening to the horror stories
but also to how we can correct them. So we look forward to
hearing from Maryland Attorney General Joe Curran, who has been
doing a fantastic job fighting these rip-off artists.
What are the facts? Financial scams against people over 65
is not just a Maryland problem; it is a national problem. As
you said, 40 percent of all elder abuse involves some kind of
financial exploitation. It ranks third behind neglect and
emotional/psychological abuse as one of the most prevalent
victimizations of the elderly.
Telemarketers--the illegal kind--bilk Americans out of $40
billion every year. That is 10 percent of what we want to spend
on prescription drugs. Isn't this amazing?
So we need to protect our retirees. Honoring your mother
and father is not only an excellent commandment--it is really
good public policy. That is why we want to make sure that the
way we honor them is to be able to have the right programs, the
right public education, and the right legislative approaches to
protect them, whether it is high-tech fraud on the Web,
telemarketing, fraudulent investments, or just overt harassment
to squeeze money out of them.
That is why I have cosponsored the Elder Justice Act--
leading the way is our colleague, Senator Breaux--to protect
our seniors.
State and local governments are on the front lines,
preventing, detecting, and fighting financial abuse of seniors.
But the Federal Government must play a more important role in
preventing these scams and swindlers. We think public education
and prevention are key. We also think that legislative
approaches like the Do Not Call List are another important
part.
We also think we need to look at what are the tools the
Federal Government already has. Every month, they mail out
checks to veterans, to senior citizens on Social Security, the
Railroad Pension Act, and we think we need to be able to make
greater use of those mailings to do the kinds of tips and
advice that people can use to protect themselves.
I want to give help to those people who have practiced
self-help all of their lives.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I look forward to the
hearing.
[The prepared statement of Senator Mikulski follows:]
Prepared Statement of Senator Mikulski
Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this important hearing
today on financial abuse of older Americans.
Protecting the financial security of older Americans must
be a priority, with more prevention and punishment of crimes
against seniors like telemarketing scams, identity theft, and
investment scams.
I sympathize with each and every senior and their family
that has been a victim of financial scams.
This hearing is about how older Americans have been the
victims of financial scams and swindlers and what the Federal
Government must do to fight and crack down on these schemes and
scum.
Maryland Impact
As I travel around Maryland, I hear from seniors who are
victims of financial scams. For example:
Story 1: Maryland resident's insurance agent told him about
a unique investment opportunity.
Nine month promissory notes that would yield an 18
percent annual rate of return.
Notes were supposed to be secured by automobile
titles and the man agreed to invest $20,000.
When it was time for the note to mature, he found
out that the investment was not secured by anything.
His money was gone, and the insurance agent was
not registered to sell securities in Maryland.
Story 2: Silver Spring, MD woman got a telemarketing call
that offered her an opportunity to save money on food, jewelry,
and vision care.
Caller also told her they would send her large
checks, totaling as much as $25,000.
But the telemarketers repeatedly asked her to send
them money before she received her prizes.
She spent her life savings--more than $21,000--and
received only a few hundred dollars worth of merchandise she
did not need nor want.
Today the subcommittee will hear from Richmond Chambers of
Chevy Chase, MD who was the victim of a credit card scam. I
want to thank him and his family for taking the time to be here
today.
I look forward to hearing from Maryland Attorney General
Joseph Curran, who has been doing such a great job in Maryland
combating these rip-off artists. But he can't do it alone.
The Problem
Financial scams against people over age 65 is not just a
Maryland problem. It is a national problem. Forty percent of
all elder abuse involves some form of financial exploitation.
Financial abuse ranks third behind neglect and emotional/
psychological abuse as the most prevalent form of elder abuse.
Every year illegal telemarketers bilk Americans out of an
estimated $40 billion. Nearly a third of all telemarketing
fraud victims are age 60 or older.
Need To Protect Retirees
Honoring your mother and father is not only an excellent
commandment, it is good public policy. That's why I believe
that one of the important things we can do is protect our
retirees from scams, scum, and swindlers. I'm talking about the
cunning rip-off artists who viciously prey on retirees to scam
them out of their money, their assets, their homes, and their
possessions. Whether it is high-tech fraud on the web,
telemarketing, or fraudulent investments.
Bam Action
That's why I have cosponsored the Elder Justice Act (S.
333) to provide more Federal resources and tools to fight elder
abuse and financial scams.
It would help prevent financial scams against the elderly
by grants to prevent, detect, intervene in, investigate and
prosecute financial fraud and exploitation. It will also
provide training for police, attorneys, adult protective
services personnel, and bank personnel.
Role of Federal Government
State and local governments are on the front lines
preventing, detecting, and fighting some financial abuse of
seniors. But the Federal Government must play an important role
in preventing scams and swindlers from cheating older
Americans, it must be a resource and a line of defense. It must
crack down on those who scam and defraud seniors.
Public education and prevention are key. Whether it is
adding your name to the Federal Trade Commission's Do Not Call
list at http://donotcall.gov/ or using the FTC's toll free
hotline to report complaints or get information to help make
sure you are not the victim of a scam (1-877-FTC-HELP).
I'm pleased that W. Lee Hammond of Salisbury, MD is here
today on behalf of HARP to share how they are educating the
public about financial scams.
Closing
I want to thank those who fight on a daily basis to help
protect our retirees from scams and swindlers. Their efforts
are invaluable.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about how
seniors have been the victims of scams and swindlers and what
the Federal Government should do to stop these schemes.
Senator Bond. Thank you very much, Senator Mikulski.
As I said, we are very pleased to be joined by the Senate
leader in the elder abuse prevention effort, the distinguished
Senator from Louisiana, Senator John Breaux.
Senator Breaux, we thank you for the very comprehensive and
thoughtful statement that you have submitted. We will make that
a part of the record, and I now invite you to make such
comments as you wish.
Senator Breaux. Thank you very, very much, Mr. Chairman. I
will be very brief. Thank you, Senator Mikulski.
And really, I want to say to both of you thank you very
much for your leadership in this area. It is so refreshing to
see not just one committee but multiple committees in the
Congress now focusing in on the issue of elder abuse.
I remember over 30 years ago when I was in the House of
Representatives, and our dearly departed colleague Claude
Pepper was running around, holding hearings and doing
everything he possibly could to benefit the conditions of
elderly citizens in this country. I was a very young Member of
the House then, and I could never really understand his intense
interest, other than the fact that he was so much older than I
was, and I guessed that was why he was doing it.
But here we are, 30-some years later, and we are still
talking about it. I have never seen a Senator or a Congressman
in my 32 years here who has been in support of elder abuse;
everybody is totally opposed to it. And time after time and
year after year, we have meetings and hearings, and we give
speeches about the horrors of elder abuse. But we have not yet
crossed the threshold to what are we going to do about it.
We have these horror stories--Mr. Curran testified before
our Aging Committee; Mr. Blancato testified before our Aging
Committee, and they are now here today. I would just suggest--
and both of you have been leaders in this effort to get behind
the major piece of legislation that we all are working on
together called the Elder Justice Act, Senate bill 333.
We have over 31 cosponsors in the Senate and a significant
number, bipartisan, in the House. Most of your subcommittee
members have also sponsored a hearing. The full committee has a
significant number of sponsors on the bill, four of your
subcommittee members and eight of your full committee members.
We have to act on this legislation. If we want to leave a
legacy of accomplishment, it has to be more than just having
hearings, which we have done and you are doing--it has to be a
product, it has to be something that we have done about the
problem. We have now convinced the American public it is a
problem.
So there are several stages--you convince the American
people there is a problem; you offer a solution to that
problem, and then you put together the political will to do
something about it. And I think we are now at the third stage,
and I think your hearing today, Mr. Chairman and Senator
Mikulski, will be very helpful in convincing those final few
Members that we have to convince in the Senate to push forward
with this legislation, and I commend both of you for doing
that.
Senator Bond. Thank you very much, Senator Breaux.
[The prepared statement of Senator Breaux follows:]
Prepared Statement of Senator Breaux
Chairman Bond, Ranking Member Mikulski and Members of the
Subcommittee. I would like to thank you for holding today's
hearing on financial exploitation of the elderly. I applaud you
for your efforts to address this growing problem. I also thank
you for your co-sponsorship of S. 333, the Elder Justice Act,
introduced by me, Senator Orrin Hatch and a bi-partisan list of
31 other Senate co-sponsors. I am convinced that we must find
creative solutions for combating this and other forms of abuse.
As the baby boomers age, this subject will only continue to
grow in significance.
Over the last 25 years, we in Congress have focused on
different types of elder mistreatment including physical abuse,
sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, abandonment and
neglect to merely name a few. Congress has focused on abuse in
institutions as well as home settings. Today, this subcommittee
focuses on yet another form of elder abuse: the financial and
material exploitation of our elderly.
Elder abuse in general is difficult to quantify. In fact,
there is a dearth of data on the subject and a large disparity
is evident between the number of cases reported and those that
go unreported. According to the 1998 National Elder Abuse
Incidence and Prevalence Study, the only such study on the
subject, only 16 percent of all elder abuse cases are actually
reported, leaving an incredible 84 percent of the cases
unreported. Clearly, reported cases of elder abuse are merely
the ``tip of the iceberg.''
Experts believe that there are between 500,000 and five
million reported instances of elder abuse each year in this
country. In fact, elder financial abuse ranks third only behind
neglect and psychological abuse as the most prevalent form of
elder abuse. Approximately 30 percent of abuse is believed to
be financially related. This is not surprising, considering the
fact that those over 50 years of age control at least 70
percent of the nation's household net worth. It's no wonder the
elderly are targets of financial crimes--crimes expected to
increase as baby boomers age.
The results of financial exploitation can be devastating.
The independence of our older Americans can be shattered and
long-term psychological and emotional scars may never be
overcome. There is even evidence to suggest that financially
abused elders have a higher risk of premature death.
At hearings held by the Special Committee on Aging last
year, we heard witnesses testify to various forms of financial
exploitation of the elderly.
Carl Fioche from Tacoma, Washington lost his home,
his savings and declared bankruptcy at 79 years old. He did
this due to financial exploitation by a much younger woman,
apparently part of a gypsy con-artist ring operating in this
country.
Marie Bobo of Tacoma, Washington was imprisoned
alone in her own ``chamber of horrors'' by her daughter who
kept half of her mother's income only feeding her mother one
bowl of food and water each day. An emergency team found her
permanently constricted in the fetal position in a most
unimaginable condition.
Bill Blevins of Manassas Park, Virginia, told the
committee about the convicted felon who befriended and
exploited his 72-year-old cousin, and dozens of other seniors,
out of millions of dollars in Northern Virginia. This was
accomplished by isolating the seniors and exerting undue
influence over their decisions.
Everyday my staff receives reports of abuse around the
country. Just this week, we received a report that a bookkeeper
in Illinois was sentenced to 12 months incarceration and
ordered to pay $23,000 in restitution for theft of monies,
leaving the victim penniless and buried in a pauper's grave
with no headstone. Here are some of the stories we've seen
recently in a few of the States represented by this
subcommittee:
Virginia--a daughter was charged with felony abuse
and neglect of her father, refusing help so that she had access
to his $800 disability check monthly.
Ohio--a former caretaker and her teenaged daughter
are accused of murdering a 79-year-old woman for money
presumably left in a will.
Tennessee and North Carolina--the daughter of an
88-year-old woman whose frozen remains were found 2 years ago
on Roane Mountain in North Carolina was charged with reckless
homicide and two counts of theft, including $10,000 in Social
Security checks.
Washington--a businessman was sentenced to 7.5
years in prison for stealing more than $200,000 from his senile
stepmother's estate while serving as her legal guardian.
Colorado--a court conservator entrusted to oversee
the estate of a 101-year-old Alzheimer's victim was charged
with swindling the woman out of almost $2 million.
Massachusetts--a disbarred attorney was charged
with stealing more than $350,000 from clients and failing to
file State income returns.
These are just a few of the stories we see daily. I know
the Chairman and Ranking Member are aware of stories from their
own States.
The stories of financial exploitation of the elderly are
endless. Today's hearing, will focus on this growing phenomenon
in our society where all too often life savings are depleted
and the vulnerable elder population is exposed to financial
ruin.
As more and more of the baby boomers draw closer to senior
citizen status, sons, daughters, grandchildren, and our society
must exercise vigilance in protecting those who have protected
us during our vulnerable years. What we have found is that in
most States, the protective system currently in place, although
well intended, is fragmented at best. Public service
professionals across our country unanimously agree that
protection services, law enforcement and prosecutors lack the
special skills, training, funding and legislative support to
properly investigate and resolve increasingly complex cases of
elder financial abuse. With the lack of comprehensive, ongoing,
reliable studies regarding the extent and nature of elder
financial abuse, there is little information to help us focus
on designing specific services and remedies. This hearing will
help to lift the veil from elder financial abuse and support
the creation of a functional elder justice infrastructure.
I believe abuse, neglect and exploitation is one of the
gravest issues facing millions of American families. It is
essential that we begin to put in place the infrastructure to
understand and address the myriad of issues facing older
Americans. We must ensure that older Americans are safe in
their homes and in institutions and free from all types of
abuse: physical, sexual, financial and neglect.
Mr. Chairman, these are among the several reasons, why
Senator Hatch and I offered the Elder Justice Act, S. 333, as
part of that solution. I am pleased to say we have 33
cosponsors in the Senate and a companion bill introduced in the
House. Between the two houses, S. 333 and H.R. 2490 have almost
100 cosponsors, and the number continues to grow. Four of the
Senate cosponsors are members of this subcommittee and eight
cosponsors are members of the full Committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions. More than half of the members of
the Finance Committee, the committee of jurisdiction, are
cosponsors of the bill.
Congress has passed comprehensive bills to address the ugly
truth of two other types of abuse--child abuse and crimes
against women. These bills placed both issues into the national
consciousness and addressed the abuses at a national level.
Yet, despite dozens of congressional hearings over the past two
decades on the devastating effects of elder abuse, neglect and
exploitation, interest in the subject has waxed and waned, and
to date, no Federal law has been enacted to address elder abuse
in a comprehensive manner.
The time has come for Congress to provide seniors a set of
fundamental protections. Nursing homes are regulated at both
the Federal and State levels. Yet, abuses still occur. The
larger percentage--approximately 80 percent--of our older
population is cared for in homes, not nursing homes and other
institutions. We are ill-equipped on both public health and law
enforcement levels to address these abuses of our seniors now,
and I submit we will be far less equipped to prevent abuses in
the near future as 77 million baby boomers advance in age. The
Elder Justice Act will elevate elder abuse, neglect and
exploitation to the national stage in a lasting way. We want to
ensure Federal leadership to provide resources for services,
prevention and enforcement efforts to those on the front lines
in the States.
The Elder Justice Act addresses elder abuse in a
comprehensive manner in homes and in institutions. It seeks to
jump-start research and promising projects and improve the
quality, quantity and accessibility of information. In
addition, the bill seeks to develop forensic capacity to assist
in the detection of elder abuse and train individuals to combat
abuse by recognizing the signs. Also, I would like to mention
just a few of the provisions of the bill that address abuse of
our older Americans:
The bill enhances detection by creating forensic
centers and developing to enhance detection of the abuse.
The bill bolsters treatment by funding efforts to
find better ways to mitigate the devastating consequences of
elder mistreatment.
The bill increases collaboration by requiring
ongoing coordination at the Federal level, among Federal, State
and local private entities, law enforcement, long-term care
facilities, consumer advocates and families.
The bill aids prosecution by assisting law
enforcement and prosecutors to ensure that those who abuse our
nation's frail elderly will be held accountable, wherever the
crime occurs and whoever the victim.
The bill improves prevention and intervention by
funding projects to enhance long-term care staffing.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, even more specific to financial
exploitation, the bill provides the following requirements:
Prompt reporting of crimes in long-term care to
local law enforcement;
Criminal background checks for all long-term care
workers; and
Model State laws and practices developed to share
with the States.
Training of social services, judges, prosecutors,
law enforcement, the public and others to address elder abuse
from a multi-disciplinary setting.
Creation of a research institute to aid
prosecutors in preparing cases of elder abuse.
Enhanced community policing efforts to protect at-
risk elders.
Victim assistance, ``safe havens,'' and support
for at-risk elders.
Enhancement of Adult Protective Services in the
States to address abuse in home settings.
The cost of elder abuse and neglect is high by any measure.
The price of this abuse is paid in needless human suffering,
inflated healthcare costs, depleted public resources, and the
loss of one of our greatest national assets--the wisdom and
experience of our elders. With scientific advances and the
graying of millions of baby boomers, the number of the elderly
on the planet passed the number of children for the first time
last year. Although we have made great strides in promoting
independence, productivity and quality of life, old age still
brings inadequate health care, isolation, impoverishment, abuse
and neglect for far too many Americans.
I believe the Elder Justice Act can provide many of the
solutions we seek today with regard to financial exploitation
of the elderly. The bill has broad support across diverse
segments of the populations and across party lines. It is
supported by a coalition of more than 190 organizations
nationwide.
I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for providing me the opportunity
to submit these comments for the record, and again, thank you
for all your efforts to improve the quality of life for older
Americans.
Senator Bond. Now I turn to my good friend, Senator
Mikulski, to introduce all the witnesses that she has brought
from Maryland. It looks like it is a bit Maryland-packed, but
we are delighted to have the experts that you have invited.
Senator Mikulski. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, it is a little bit Maryland-tilted, but our
Attorney General, Joe Curran, has really led the fight--and I
believe you were also an attorney general before you became
Governor; am I correct?
Senator Bond. I was chief counsel in the Consumer
Protection Division. I was working for Jack Danforth; he was
the only one who would give me a job.
Senator Mikulski. So then, you know the vigor that there
can be at the State level, because a Federal program cannot be
a one-size-fits-all, Mr. Chairman. So much has to be oriented
around the State. Some are very rural, like Utah, some are very
urban. This is why we are proud to introduce Attorney General
Joe Curran, who has vigilantly fought to protect children
against child abuse. He has been a national leader on consumer
protection, particularly Medicaid fraud protection, securities
regulation, and now he has launched Project SAFE, Stop Adult
Financial Exploitation.
He has been a real leader in this, and again, I think we
can learn what we can do to help the States, because it has
really got to be at that level.
We will also hear from Mr. W. Lee Hammond, who comes to us
from Salisbury, MD and is here representing the AARP. He is on
the Board of Directors. He has a broad knowledge of these
programs, and we look forward to hearing from him.
And we welcome Mr. Chambers who is from Chevy Chase, MD,
who was the subject of Visa card fraud.
Rather than long introductions, we really need to hear from
them, each one of whom brings great expertise, and Mr. Hammond
represents a national organization.
Senator Bond. Thank you, Senator Mikulski.
I am very pleased to introduce a long-time friend, Carol
Scott, from my home State of Missouri. Ms. Scott is the
Missouri Long-Term Care State Ombudsman, currently serving as
president of the National Association of Long-Term Care
Ombudsman Programs. Prior to that, she was legislative liaison
for the Division of Aging and a budget analyst for the Division
of Medical Service. She is currently a member of the
Professional and Technical Advisory Committee on Long Term Care
and Assisted Living of the Joint Committee on Accreditation of
Health Care Organizations.
Carol, we appreciate you making the trip up here.
We are very pleased also to have Mr. Robert Blancato with
us today. He is the president of the National Committee for the
Prevention of Elder Abuse. His career involves more than 25
years in public service in both Congress and the executive
branch, serving as staff director of the House Select Committee
on Aging Subcommittee on Human Services, and a senior advisor
until 1993. He served as executive director of the 1995 White
House Conference on Aging, appointed by President Clinton.
He has many other recognitions, serving as national
coordinator for the recently-launched Elder Justice Coalition,
and in December of 2000, he launched CaregiversCount.com, an
online resource for up-to-date nonpartisan information.
With that, let us turn to the witnesses and see how many we
can get in before we have to leave for the vote. To all of you,
we will accept your full statement for the record, which all of
us on the committee and the subcommittee will find helpful. We
ask because of the time constraints that you try to keep your
testimony to 5 minutes so we will have time for questions.
With that, Mr. Chambers, thank you very much for being
here. We look forward to having your testimony.
Thank you, sir.
STATEMENT OF RICHMOND D. CHAMBERS, CHEVY CHASE, MD
Mr. Chambers. Thank you, Senator.
I am pleased to be here today to describe a scam against
elderly Visa credit card holders. I live in a condominium
apartment at 8101 Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase, MD.
I received a telephone call on April 2, 2003 from a man
purporting to be a representative of the Visa organization. He
said Visa had sustained a computer problem in which information
on 5,000 accounts had been lost and that certain information
had to be retrieved if my account was to remain active.
I had received a similar call some months before from a
source that hung up when I refused to answer his questions. I
was again suspicious. I asked this caller a number of
questions, which he answered very convincingly. He finally gave
me a toll-free number which he said would verify his identity.
I called back and was answered by a female who said ``Visa''
and connected me with the original caller. I believed he had
established his identity, and I gave him three numbers on the
back of my Visa card which he requested. I also gave him my
mother's maiden name and my Social Security number. He in some
way had already secured my address, Visa card number, and
obviously my phone number.
The next day on leaving my apartment, I found a flyer at my
door entitled, ``Resident Alert.'' The document was issued by
my apartment manager and described exactly the Visa fraud in
which I had been victimized the previous day. I immediately
called the fraud unit at Visa and related the incident. After
verifying several charges to my account, I was asked if I had
charged $2,750 to Western Union. I had not. I later discovered
that Visa had authorized the claim but had not issued payment
against the charge. My account was closed and reestablished
with a new number.
I was fortunate that I had sustained no financial loss in
the matter. I reported the entire affair to the Montgomery
County police, who arranged two television appearances for me
to publicize this scam. The Montgomery County, MD police and
the State's attorney for Montgomery County have updated me on
this case. The policy determined that the scam operators were
based in Miami, FL. Officers were dispatched to Miami to
investigate.
With the cooperation of the local police, 11 suspects were
arrested and expected to Montgomery County, MD to face trial. I
was recently informed that approximately 40 residents in the
general Chevy Chase area were victimized by this scam. A number
of the victims actually had money paid from their Visa accounts
to Western Union for pickup.
At least five additional residents of my condominium were
victimized in these scheme along with residents across the
street in an assisted care residence. I have no information
regarding whether those arrested had information on the ages of
their victims. I was favorably impressed with the reaction of
the valid Visa representative, the Montgomery County police,
the local television stations, and our alert building manager,
Katie Wyrsch, all of whom had a part in bringing these alleged
criminals to justice.
Thank you.
Senator Bond. Well, congratulations, Mr. Chambers. Thank
you very much for playing a leadership role. It is good to hear
a success story, and we hope that those people are now residing
in public accommodations with bars on the windows.
Mr. Chambers. I understand they are.
Senator Mikulski. We got their number--they got a number.
Senator Bond. Thank you for your aggressiveness, Mr.
Chambers. You have served many of your friends and neighbors
very well.
Senator Bond. Now let us turn to the distinguished attorney
general, General Curran. Thank you for being here.
STATEMENT OF J. JOSEPH CURRAN, JR., ATTORNEY GENERAL, STATE OF
MARYLAND, BALTIMORE, MD
Mr. Curran. Permit me also to say thank you to Mr. Chambers
for your quick action and the education that was available in
Montgomery County.
I believe that it is education of the public and
enforcement by law enforcement, both Federal and State--and
permit me, Senator, if I might say on behalf of all of my
colleagues in the attorneys general offices across the Nation
that on the issue of preemption, which I know comes up from
time to time, that I simply urge you to consider when these
issues arise that the local persons on the scene, be it in
Chevy Chase or in Baltimore or in St. Louis, are the ``cops on
the beat,'' so to speak, and with rare exceptions, we do not
endorse the idea of preemption. But I do understand that there
may well be some times.
Having said that, Senators, education is indeed a real
effort to deal with financial fraud. We have, Mr. Chairman, a
very aggressive consumer protection division, as you have in
Missouri. I am pleased to say that about 100,000 times a year,
someone calls our office with a concern, and we do respond. I
have with me here our securities commissioner in Maryland,
Mounty Lubin, and she will verify that of all the securities
scams that we have contact with, seniors are involved in all of
them. Now, that is not to say that some nonseniors are also not
scammed, but I can promise you that every scam we have involves
seniors.
One, as you have already said, they have money; they are
growing older; they fear that they will outlive their savings--
in the volatile stock market, interest is low, and there is a
need now to get more income to take care of the cost of living
and prescription costs. So they are targets, and they are
susceptible.
You mentioned the SAFE program. Something I never realized
before--my own daughter brought to my attention some years ago
that a nextdoor neighbor of hers, a senior with some
limitations, to be honest with you, living by herself
notwithstanding, was being systematically defrauded when she
went to the bank. How could that be?
What is happening is--and I did not realize this--is that
many folks, including myself, to be honest with you, do not
have these ATM cards, and we rely on going to our favorite
bank, seeing our favorite teller, and making a withdrawal for
our weekly expenses. Then, suddenly, there was a large series
of withdrawals by this same lady, who came in with a stranger,
and the teller could not do anything. Federal laws--and State
laws, for that matter-prohibit disclosure--it is my money, and
what I want to do with it--but the teller was not able to do
anything.
I am happy to say that with the cooperation of the banks,
we now have a law in Maryland that will permit the bank teller
who is suspicious that something is amiss to say something,
bring it to the attention of a supervisor, and he in turn looks
into the situation and calls protective services in the Office
on Aging, and someone will visit the senior.
So it just goes to show you how a little initiative--and
the banks now are involved, and when they see something that
does not look right, they do something, rather than say, ``It
is your money.''
The lottery is a big problem. You go to the mall, and in
the mall, you see ``Win a prize,'' like a trip to Florida, or
``Win a cake,'' for that matter, and you fill in a little card.
Well, when you fill in that little card, more often than not,
that's where--maybe you are eligible for a prize, but you are
also going to get on a list. And then, seniors get a call that
``You have just won a big prize.'' In Baltimore County, Senator
Mikulski, just the other day, someone complained of losing
$30,000. We had a lady in Cecil County who lost $600,000 in a
Toronto--a lot of it is coming from Canada--Miami was just
referred to--we have seen these calls come in from Canada,
where they advise you that you have won a Canadian lottery, and
all you need to do is send a check to cover the expenses, the
cover the lawyer's fees or to cover the taxes--and then they,
sadly, write a check and send it to Toronto. This woman lost
$600,000. Sadly, we were not able to get much of the money back
because the Feds, working with the State police and the
Canadian folks, caught these guys--they were later prosecuted
in Kansas City, I am happy to say, and they went to jail,
because there was a stronger case there than we had in
Maryland--but by then, the money was gone.
Education and enforcement--I have a statement here of a
range of things that are of concern to us--but I would say that
if you have some laws that permit preemption, be careful of
that. Let us do our thing at our level. On the banking
situation, continue, if you will, please, to permit the banks
to have a relaxed rule in which they can call law enforcement
when there is something suspicious.
We do--and I have left with you some ideas of--I am happy
to say, Senator Mikulski, that the things that we give you,
like a ``Consumer Guide for Seniors''--this is paid for not by
you and me as taxpayers but by the money we recover from the
bad guys. We turn that into publications, senior seminars, and
other outreach. But our message would be that enforcement at
the local level would continue to be very effective.
Thank you.
Senator Bond. Thank you very much, General Curran, and
thank you for your great work. As one who came to Washington
because I was tired of being preempted in so many things when I
was Governor of Missouri, I share that concern. I think we need
to balance this out. This is one area where I do have some
concerns. We are delighted to see where the States are doing
well, and there is clearly a role for the Postal Service, the
FBI, and others, but nothing beats the cop on the beat.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Curran may be found in
additional material.]
Senator Bond. Now let me turn to one of my favorite cops on
the beat, Carol Scott.
STATEMENT OF CAROL SCOTT, MISSOURI STATE LONG-TERM CARE
OMBUDSMAN, AND PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LONG-TERM
CARE OMBUDSMEN, JEFFERSON CITY, MO
Ms. Scott. Good morning. Thank you for inviting me to speak
on the very important topic of financial abuse. I want to
congratulate you for focusing on elder abuse and for being
among the leaders in the effort to get people off their rockers
and do something to help elderly and disabled Americans who are
being abused, neglected, and exploited. their health, security,
and sometimes their lives are cut short because of the actions
and inactions of others.
As a long-term care ombudsman, I am one of 10,000 staff and
volunteers from across the country who are trained to advocate
on behalf of residents of long-term care facilities. We visit
nursing homes and board and care facilities and listen to the
issues, complaints, and questions of residents, their friends
and families.
In addition to individual advocacy, ombudsmen are to ensure
that policymakers are aware of places in the system where
improvements are needed. Well, here I am, representing not only
the Missouri ombudsman program, but the national ombudsman
program. Our national organization is a founding member of the
Elder Justice Coalition, which is committed to ending elder
abuse.
Perpetrators can be family members, friends, health care
professionals, and con men and women. We need to act now.
Legislation before this Congress, Senate bill 333 and H.R.
2490, will put into place needed training, data collection,
legal assistance, investigative assistance, and most of all,
beefing up of the adult protective services programs across the
country, as well as assisting law enforcement, prosecutors, and
judges.
I want to tell you about two Missouri cases that exemplify
the growing crisis. ``Mary'' is a 91-year-old resident of a
nursing home. She is mentally competent, and she is living in
the nursing facility because her durable power of attorney took
her to the facility for a visit and just left here there. Mary
was afraid to object to this action.
Mary owns several farms and two homes. The local ombudsman
was informed that one of Mary's farms and many of her household
items had been sold and that Mary was not aware of this. The
ombudsman visited Mary and asked if she knew that one of her
farms had been sold. ``How could he do that?'' Mary was very
upset and requested the ombudsman's help.
The person selling the property had Mary's durable power of
attorney which she had signed when she was in the hospital and
very ill. She does not remember signing the document, and she
said she certainly had no intention of allowing someone to sell
her property without her knowledge and permission.
The ombudsman assisted Mary in getting an attorney and in
repealing the durable power of attorney document. In the
meantime, 250 acres of land and many of her household items are
gone forever. The announcement of the auction of the household
items did not list Mary as the owner of the property because
the durable power of attorney holder ``did not want her to be
upset.''
In the second case, an in-home aide stole money from three
clients. She took $900 from one of the clients. Luckily, this
case was referred for prosecution, and the aide pled guilty to
charges of Class C felony forgery and Class C felony stealing.
She has also been placed on the Missouri Employee
Disqualification List, which for 5 years prevents the aide from
working in the in-home agency or nursing facility industry.
These two cases demonstrate that the elderly can be
exploited by anyone who has access to them. Whether by
intimidation or outright stealing, something must be done to
make it easier for people to report crimes, something that will
assist with the coordination between adult protective services,
long-term care ombudsmen, nursing home licensing staff, law
enforcement, and district attorneys.
There are many groups and organizations in the aging
network, from the National Association of State Units on Aging
to AARP to local senior centers and long-term care ombudsmen.
Stopping abuse will take more than just this network. It will
take regular citizens asking questions, courts that are
prepared to hear cases, and a better understanding of who can
become a victim.
The Elder Justice Act will provide Federal resources to
support State and community efforts on the front lines, to
those dedicated to fighting elder abuse with scarce resources
and fragmented systems. And maybe more important, this Act will
bring national attention to the issue of abuse, neglect, and
financial exploitation.
The time for the Elder Justice Act is now. Senator Bond,
you just completed a tour of Missouri where you said that
congress had its first hearing on this topic almost 30 years
ago. Well, I join you in declaring that the time is now. I
believe that it is now time for Congress, elder Americans, and
elder advocates to ``get off our rockers'' and get the job
done.
Senator Bond, Senator Mikulski, the Elder Justice Act is a
fine piece of legislation. Please do not allow another year to
go by without its passage.
Thank you for this opportunity for me to get off my rocker
and make a difference.
Senator Bond. Thank you very much, Carol. I knew you would
give us a good jab, and we probably need that.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Scott may be found in
additional material.]
Senator Bond. Mr. Blancato?
STATEMENT OF ROBERT BLANCATO, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR
THE PREVENTION OF ELDER ABUSE, WASHINGTON, DC
Mr. Blancato. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I commend this subcommittee for holding this hearing on
financial abuse and exploitation of the elderly. I also salute
you, Mr. Chairman, and Senator Mikulski for being cosponsors of
S. 333.
Our primary focus must be on the vulnerable elderly victims
of abuse. The Elder Justice Act notes that victims of elder
abuse, neglect, and exploitation are 3.1 times more likely to
die at an earlier age than expected compare to nonvictims. The
1998 study by the National Center on Elder Abuse which you
mentioned said that 40 percent of all reported cases of elder
abuse involve some form of financial abuse. More crimes against
the elderly involve financial abuse than physical abuse. Adult
protective service agencies investigate more cases of financial
abuse than physical abuse, according to another NCEA study in
2004 from 44 States.
Financial abuse of the elderly, a majority of which is
committed by family members, may be any of the following
criminal acts: stealing, larceny by false
pretense,embezzlement, forgery, uttering, extortion, burglary,
and robbery.
Indicators of financial abuse that have occurred or are
likely to include erratic or uncharacteristic bank activities
such as the active use of the ATM card of a homebound senior;
recent acquaintances, especially those taking up residence with
an elderly person; missing property; an older person being
evicted or having utilities disconnected; redirection of an
older person's mail to a different address.
Then, we have some recent news headlines which provide
further illustration. Brooklyn, NY: ``New York Judges
Investigated over Aunt's Fortune.'' Two nephews, both judges in
New York, gained control of their elderly aunt's assets; her
fortunate went from $1 million to less than $10,000.
Exeter, NH: ``Son Charged with Stealing from Dad in Nursing
Home.'' This involved a man indicted for stealing more than
$6,000 from his own father living in a nursing home.
Kingston, NY: ``Couple Charged for Nursing Home Scam.''
This involved the sentencing of the second person for a scam
which involved stealing of more than $1 million from 19 nursing
home patients through the establishment of joint bank accounts.
Seatac, WA: ``Mayor Pleads Guilty, Resigns, Vows to Repay
Money.'' This involved a plea of guilty to first-degree theft
for taking more than $139,000 from the trust of an 86-year-old
woman who was a 30-year friend of this mayor.
Federal support for prevention, training, and public
awareness programs is critical. I would like to offer four
initial recommendations for The Older Americans Act to consider
as you look ahead to the next reauthorization.
One, strengthen a good program, Title VII, which supports
elder abuse prevention activities and the Long-Term Care
Ombudsman Program. The total appropriation for prevention is
less than $5 million nationally. The value of prevention
programs needs to be better-recognized with increased
appropriations. Title VII funds should be used to expand
successful local prevention programs and to help develop those
where they do not exist.
Two, closer collaboration between the National Family
Caregiver Support Program and elder abuse prevention. Elder
abuse by family caregivers is rising. Some of the information
and referral activities could better focus on educating
caregivers on indicators or problems that could be a future
basis for abuse.
Three, review how Title VI and Title VII can be more
responsive to elder abuse affecting American Indians. A report
will soon be released by the National Indian Council on Aging.
Early findings show that two-thirds of those Tribal grantees
surveyed said that financial abuse is the most common form of
abuse they encounter.
Four, the next White House Conference on Aging should give
priority attention to elder abuse and specifically address
issues related to senior and boomers as they age. As you noted,
Mr. Chairman, 70 percent of all wealth is held by those 50 and
over. Intergenerational transfers of wealth will increase as
boomers age. Even more serious financial abuse may be just
around the corner.
One immediate request--additional funding for the social
services block grant, the largest Federal program for adult
protective services, is needed in fiscal year 2004.
And on behalf of our National Committee for Prevention of
Elder Abuse and the 192 members of the Elder Justice
Commission, let us pass the Elder Justice Act, the most
comprehensive legislation ever proposed. this bill has many
important provisions dealing with financial abuse, such as a
dedicated funding stream for adult protective services,
creation of an elder abuse resource center to collect data and
information on financial abuse and exploitation, support for
multidisciplinary training to better recognize signs of
financial exploitation in our communities, and support to State
and local prosecutors to provide backup resources and research
to assist in prosecuting financial abuse and exploitation.
Elder abuse is a growing public health, law enforcement,
and social service crisis nationally, and very directly at the
State and local level. We need a coherent and coordinated
national policy to combat elder abuse, neglect, and
exploitation as is called for in the Elder Justice Act.
Policies today are too limited and reactionary. They must
be proactive, comprehensive, culturally responsive, goal-
driven, and outcome-oriented. Federal policy must also
recognize the many innovative and successful elder abuse
prevention programs and strategies in effect today in local
communities, including more use of multidisciplinary teams. I
would like to insert in the record, Mr. Chairman, a report that
just came out on multidisciplinary teams by the National Center
on Elder Abuse.
As the Elder Justice Act notes, the Federal Government has
played an important role in the prevention of child abuse,
domestic violence, and violence against women. We need to do
the same with elder abuse. Federal policy is best when it helps
those most vulnerable--in our Nation, there are few more
vulnerable than elderly victims of abuse.
Thank you very much.
Senator Bond. Thank you very much, Mr. Blancato, and we
will make the additional information available for the record.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Blancato may be found in
additional material.]
Senator Bond. Mr. Hammond, I am going to introduce you and
apologize. They have called for the vote, so I am going to go
vote and come back and will turn the hearing gavel over to
Senator Mikulski so that, for the convenience of our witnesses,
we will try to keep the hearing going with as little disruption
as possible. And I will look forward to reading your testimony
and talking with you during the questions and answers.
Thank you.
Senator Mikulski [presiding]. Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman. While you dash, Mr. Hammond, we are going to ask you
to present your testimony. We are so pleased that you have been
elected to a 6-year term on the AARP Board of Directors, that
you serve on the Maryland Commission on Aging, and the U.S.
Attorneys' Health Care Fraud Task Force. You are quite an
expert on fraud. You are a former teacher in Wicomico County,
and we are looking forward to you teaching us a lesson or two
about what we need to do to prevent elder fraud.
So, sir, please proceed.
STATEMENT OF W. LEE HAMMOND, BOARD MEMBER, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION
OF RETIRED PERSONS, SALISBURY, MD
Mr. Hammond. Thank you, Senator.
I am Lee Hammond, a member of the AARP Board of Directors.
AARP has long been engaged in efforts to deter financial fraud,
the fastest-growing form of elder abuse.
The many hurdles to successful prosecution of these crimes
are getting the cases reported to law enforcement, having them
thoroughly investigated, and attaining timely and appropriate
prosecution.
Financial exploitation has many disguises, causes, and
forms of expression. But its common thread is an effort by
unscrupulous persons to extract money and resources through a
variety of devious means from unsuspecting and often vulnerable
adults.
The incidence and impact of exploitation are difficult to
estimate because there is no national reporting mechanism,
cases are not often reported, definitions vary, and the crimes
are difficult to detect.
In the 2000 survey of the National Association of Adult
Protective Services Administrators for the National Center on
Elder Abuse, financial abuse or exploitation comprised 13
percent of the allegations of mistreatment that were
investigated. Regardless of the amount of exploitation
detected, virtually all observers agree, as the chairman
indicated in his opening remarks, that much more happens than
is brought to light, and any exploitation is too much.
While numerous types of activities constitute elder
financial abuse, all have the same characteristic--improper use
of an older person's assets. But these activities go far beyond
what most of us would consider merely ``improper.''
Perpetrators employ deceit, forgery, coercion, or undue
influence for personal gain.
AARP is addressing this problem through programs that
educate members, families, professionals, and potential
victims. Some AARP initiatives include the AARP Daily Money
Management Program that helps older persons who are losing
their ability to handle financial affairs find someone to help
them manage their money; financial education projects, which
expand financial awareness and enable participants to evaluate
the trustworthiness of supposed advisors and experts; Colorado
Elder Watch, which protects older adults from the financial
exploitation of telemarketers and other forms of identity theft
scams.
Attorney General Curran mentioned Project SAFE, where AARP
joined with the Maryland Attorney General's Office, the
Banker's Association, and the Department of Aging in a
coalition to pass legislation which provided training and
allowed banks to report, State officials to investigate and
prosecute instances of financial exploitation.
AARP Campaign Against Predatory Lending advocates
legislative reform, pursues precedent-setting litigation, and
offers education to older homeowners regarding what to watch
for when borrowing against the equity in their homes.
AARP Consumer Universities offer presentations by leading
local experts on how to avoid being exploited in the financial
marketplace, in one's home, or by false advisors.
Legal clinics and attorney training seminars provide expert
lawyers or housing counselors to examine loan applications to
see if the owners may be exploited by the terms of the loan.
Use of the AARP media, including ``The Bulletin'' and
``AARP--The Magazine,'' enables many persons to be educated
about financial exploitation through the featured articles.
Research by the AARP Public Policy Institute on consumer
financial and fraud issues includes deceptive or fraudulent
pre-need funeral and burial arrangements, identity theft, and
the regulation of home improvement contractors and sub-prime
mortgage lending.
AARP regards its multifaceted effort against the financial
exploitation of older persons as a valuable way to equip
consumers, families, professionals, and vulnerable elders to
recognize signs of potential abuse. The goal is to enable them
to detect, prevent, or intervene before financial crises arise.
We make information about all of our programs, services,
and research available online, in print media, or both.
AARP appreciates this opportunity to share some of our
financial abuse education and prevention activities with the
committee and looks forward to working with you to pass
legislation like Senate bill 333, the Elder Justice Act, to
provide a comprehensive national approach to elder abuse
prevention.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Hammond may be found in
additional material.]
Senator Mikulski. Thank you very much, Mr. Hammond, for
that very comprehensive testimony. We know that you have
summarized it very well, and it is appreciated.
I have to leave for the vote, so I am going to temporarily
recess the committee. Senator Bond will return and begin the
questioning, and we will have a good conversation. Each of you
comes at it from a different perspective, but this has been
enormously instructive, and I think we can get our hands on
this, and we do have some questions.
Mr. Curran, one of the things that we want you to think
about while we dash for a vote is that we are not talking about
preempting, we are talking about partnership. The fact is that
you are the cop on the beat and also, the ombudsmen are another
form of the cop on the beat. The question becomes what is the
best way to support efforts at the State and local level.
I know the Elder Justice Act presents a framework, but I
really want to be able to strengthen the State and locals. Mr.
Chambers was prevented from terrible exploitation because of a
vigilant apartment manager and then, the ability of a smart
police force to put him right on TV, which immediately
broadcast the alert and could tell the story. That was
partnership at the local level. So that is what we want to look
at--how can we strengthen the ombudsman. I think Mr. Blancato
gave some excellent ideas as well.
So that is going to be the line of questioning, which is
how do we get the job done. With the Elder Justice Act, this is
the time to make suggestions on how to make it more vigorous.
You are right, Ms. Scott, and also Mr. Hammond, people are
being mugged every day, but instead of walking down the street,
they are now being mugged on the Internet, mugged on their
telephones, and I think one of the most despicable is when you
are exploited by your own family.
So let us look at that. We got our hands on predatory
lending; let us get our hands on these other predators.
Now the committee stands in temporary recess subject to the
call of the chair. So take a break, and we will be back in 5
minutes.
[Recess.]
Senator Bond. If we could ask the witnesses to take their
seats, we will reconvene the hearing. I apologize. It is a long
way to go to get to the floor and vote, and I know that Senator
Mikulski will be rejoining us, but I appreciate your patience
in waiting for us.
To begin the questions, Mr. Chambers, you worked very
effectively. What kind of advice would you like to give to
other seniors across the country if they find themselves being
victimized?
Mr. Chambers. I think the main thing is do not be stupid,
the way I felt when I found out that I had been taken.
I think that on the whole, probably, older people who are
not used to being out among the people who are doing things and
are busy get a little rusty on taking care of themselves, and
that is the way I felt when I was taken.
I would be interested to know exactly how many of the 40
people who were victimized in my case were actually older
people. I imagine most of them were. The ones that I was
speaking of who live across the street in the assisted living
quarters, I know that all of those people are older, and there
are a number of older people in our building, I think that
probably they were the ones who were victimized.
Another thing, I believe that most of these people probably
have more credit cards than they need. That seems to be open
season for methods of getting information about older people
and using it for criminal purposes.
Senator Bond. Thank you, sir. I can imagine that most of
those who were victimized were elderly, although I must tell
you I have a son who just graduated from college, and the
number of credit cards they push on college students and young
people--it is not just the older people they are going after.
Again, do you have any final advice for preventing it? It
certainly sounds like you took reasonable care, but what would
you say if somebody has a credit card question, or any advice
on avoiding the problem? You at least called back and got some
confirmation.
Mr. Chambers. Yes, both to the Visa people, who are
obviously very conscious of the type of fraud, and the police
also. I was really impressed with the fact that the police
department took hold of this thing and followed it all the way
to the end. They were very cooperative.
Senator Bond. I would guess probably one of the lessons to
be learned--and maybe this is going too far--but if somebody
calls and asks for credit card information over the telephone,
your first instinct is to tell them ``No,'' even if there is a
problem with your credit card; you can deal with that better
than losing $2,700 to Western Union.
General Curran, I am very interested in your discussion of
the partnership. How would you describe the coordination, and
what advice could you give us on assuring that the Federal
Government works as good partners with the State and does not
get in your way yet provides the kind of assistance that you
need?
Mr. Curran. Maybe one example might tell you where we think
we could be of more help to a consumer. So many folks come to
the Washington area from other areas. They move with their
goods and possessions which are transported by moving van. They
may in Missouri or California, for that matter, make an
arrangement that the estimated moving costs are $10,000. When
they arrive in Maryland, there was a concern sometime back
that, ``Sorry, we made a low estimate; it is really $15,000,
and the goods are on the moving van, and they are not going to
be unloaded until we guarantee the $15,000.'' What does the
person do at that time?
There is a Federal law that would permit the Department of
Transportation to see to it that, I believe it is no more than
10 percent, can be charged over and above the estimate, which
is fine if it were enforced. But the reality is that at 3
o'clock in the afternoon, the trucks arrive there, you want to
get unloaded, and they want $15,000. We cannot enforce that
law. We have our own law, but on interstate carriers, we are
prohibited.
And there may well be some reason why every interstate
carrier should not have to worry about 50 State laws, but I am
simply telling you there is one example where perhaps, had we
had concurrent jurisdiction, we could have been able, on he
scene, as cops on the beat, to enforce the Federal law that
permits no more than 10 percent over the estimate, which might
be fair.
That is just one example that I have seen happen because so
many folks do move to this general area.
Senator Bond. Specifically on elder abuse, how would you
suggest we proceed with assisting you on the kinds of financial
frauds like credit card fraud, having somebody accompanying an
elderly person to the bank and getting them withdraw money--
what could we do that would be helpful at the Federal level?
Mr. Curran. It really is a problem. Mr. Chambers might have
been an exception. But as a class, the generation that Mr.
Chambers comes from is, by and large, trusting; they believe
people. They do not think they are being conned. It was a
different generation, perhaps. Would that we were that way
today, to be honest with you. But that is the fact of life. And
many times, as a class, seniors are embarrassed--``I do not
want to tell anybody that I made a fool of myself, because I do
not want my daughter to know, or my son to know, or my other
friend to know, because they might put me away.'' So it is a
real problem.
On the question of the banks, there was an example of
Federal banking regulations that maybe the teller should not
worry where I am going to take my money out--I may want to go
and blow it on venture somewhere. It is my money, and my
business. But maybe there should be some ability on these
electronic transfers, when it is unusual, maybe someone should
raise a question or at least be able to check it out to see if
there is some need for adult protective services to look into
the situation.
As I said, in Maryland, we did have the cooperation not
only of AARP, but the banks themselves understood--provided
there was no liability on them for infringement on the privacy
situation, and we gave them that immunity--but the banks did
not want to cooperate because they did not want to see someone
taken advantage of because they are frail.
That is just something I would recommend--and enforcement
and education. If you do the PSAs, public service
announcements, if you do the senior centers, if the Visa
cardholders themselves would do more alerts to their members. I
am a Visa cardholder; maybe I should get information and be
leery of disclosing this information. I mean, they send you a
bill every month; they could certainly have an insert in there
that says, ``Be more aware.'' That would be something that they
could do.
I noticed my Internet server on my home computer says, ``We
will not be asking you for your ID or other personal
information. Do not give this information to somebody who
contacts you and purports to be needing it. We will not be
asking you for that.'' So I thought that was good.
Mr. Curran. Another thing I see--you mentioned your son--I
do not think a week goes by--I know a month does not go by--
that at my house, there are not applications for credits. You
have been preapproved, you have been preapproved.
What can happen--and I know they are trying to solicit us
for these cards--but what can happen is that mail can be taken
by an unscrupulous person, and we have been concerned about all
these applications filled in with the personal information. If
they know I am not there, they can fill it in, and when the
application comes back and the card comes back, they can still
take the mail.
I am just saying that by flooding the mailboxes of America
with these applications, that also makes it a little bit easier
for the bad guy to do bad things.
Senator Bond. That is a concern I have, too, with the
number of credit card applications that come in.
Let me turn to Carol. You talked about a couple of
examples, and I think one of the most tragic types of elder
financial abuse is abuse committed by a family member.
What percentage of abuse cases involve family members
taking advantage of an elderly person? That really gets me.
That one bothers me probably as much as anything.
Ms. Scott. One more than needs to be.
Senator Bond. Exactly.
Ms. Scott. I do not know that we know that number, and that
may be one of the----
Senator Bond. Is it a frequent occurrence?
Ms. Scott. It is a frequent occurrence, very frequent. One
of the difficulties in any kind of elder abuse is the reporting
of it and especially financial exploitation, that from State to
State, the mechanism varies. And one thing that might be very
helpful on a national level would be some of the provisions in
the Elder Justice Act that will allow States to have some--for
things to be more--what am I trying to say----
Mr. Blancato. Better data collection.
Ms. Scott [continuing]. Yes, better data collection; thank
you. That will then tell us how big the problem is, because
sometimes we need to know how big the problem is before we can
work on it.
And I will tell you, as far as families, it can be any
family. It can be the most caring, loving family that takes
advantage of people. One of the issues in the case I mentioned
is the signing off on a durable power of attorney or, in a lot
of cases, it is people putting other family members' names on
checking accounts, thinking that they are doing the right
thing. And I do not know what the answer is. Obviously, in some
instances, it is good to have a second name on a checking
account. So I am not sure what the answer is to protecting
them.
Senator Bond. I agree with Mr. Blancato and others who
talked about the importance of the ombudsman, and you do play a
significant role.
What are the biggest obstacles that you face as an
ombudsman in carrying out your responsibilities?
Ms. Scott. We are struggling across the Nation to be able
to have a presence in every facility. The examples of abuse and
financial exploitation that we get, we do as much of an
investigation as we can, but then we turn it over to another
agency or organization. So it is the partnering that you were
talking about with the attorney general that is so important
that is sometimes lacking. It is police who do not think that
crimes occur in nursing homes. It is prosecuting attorneys who
are pretty overwhelmed already and are not interested in taking
cases that are not hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is
adult protective services that is stretched thin already
providing protection, and they do not have the resources and
the understanding and the education to know how to get into the
banking world and figure out exactly what the scam is.
So part of our frustration as ombudsmen is what do we do
with this information, and what is that organization going to
do with it.
Senator Bond. I do not know if you were at one of the
hearings that I held in Missouri--I think it was in Colombia--
but there was talking about the local law enforcement agencies
had people specially trained in dealing with elder abuse, the
whole range, and we were talking then about physical abuse as
well as financial abuse. Is that reasonable commonplace around
the State?
Ms. Scott. No, and actually, I think that was in
Springfield.
Senator Bond. Springfield, okay.
Ms. Scott. The Springfield police department does have a
special unit, and to my knowledge, that is the one, and----
Senator Bond. That is the only one.
Ms. Scott [continuing]. Yes, and they have been trying to
go around the State, and I do not know on a State to State
basis--one of the things that, coming to national events and in
our National Association of Ombudsman, we have an opportunity
to hear about best practices. States are reinventing the wheel,
not realizing that there is a best practice out there, and just
like what is happening in Maryland, we in Missouri should be
looking at some kind of----
Senator Bond. I agree, and I think that obviously, these
are things we need to know.
Let me turn to Mr. Blancato. Ms. Scott touched on the fact
that there are successful programs. Is there an effective means
for sharing those successes? We are delighted to be able to
hear that discussion here, but the successes not just of
Maryland and Missouri but of the other States need to be shared
with all 50 States. How is that being shared, and do you have
some thoughts on particular State programs that we ought to be
looking at?
Mr. Blancato. First of all, Mr. Chairman, I would say that
some of the information you asked for about data on percentages
of family members and so on, we would be happy to supply for
the record. There are some studies that have been done over
time for the National Center on Elder Abuse, as well as some
background materials for the Elder Justice Act, that address
some of those concerns.
Also, in terms of examining successful State programs, that
work has also been done to some extent through the National
Center on Elder Abuse.
And also, one point that I tried to make in my testimony
was that Title VII of The Older Americans Act----
Senator Bond. To fund Ms. Scott.
Mr. Blancato [continuing]. Well, that, and also the
prevention programs, because through that progress--and I think
that between now and when reauthorization takes place, if you
did a focused hearing examining good programs that are existing
at State and local levels using multidisciplinary teams, you
would find the basis for supporting additional funding for
prevention. You could support these programs and allow for them
to be expanded, and from there, you could develop national
models that could be used in those places that may not yet be
there.
On the issue of particular States, I do not have that
information in front of me, but I think again, we can supply
some specific examples for the record.
Senator Bond. OK. Let me ask a final question before I turn
it over to my colleague.
Mr. Hammond. You have the ElderWatch Program in Colorado
and other programs. What advice would you give us for educating
the elderly, because I happen to agree with General Curran that
education, if we can prevent the fraud and abuse in the first
place, is best, but backed up by strong law enforcement is
essential.
What areas would you suggest we look to for good ideas?
Mr. Hammond. Well, first of all, Senator, I would agree
that education and enforcement are definitely key to working
with this issue.
In terms of education, the more information from good
research that you can get out to the public, the better the
public will be informed, the better they will be able to cope
with some of these situations that occur. It is awfully
difficult to get to some of our senior citizens who do not go
out, who do not have comfort of people coming in to talk with
them each day. And sometimes when they get these phone calls or
these knocks on the door, they welcome them as simply a face to
talk to, someone to see. So I think they need to be aware, the
people who are responsible for their care need to be aware of
some of the things that could happen.
We provide this kind of information from our research in
our publications, so as I said, I think the more information
that we can get out to these folks, the better off we are going
to be.
We can do that in a number of ways, not simply by one
organization doing it, but by working with other organizations
in communities. Our States have been very effective through
their State offices in working with other organizations in
local communities to develop the kinds of education programs
that will alert seniors and others of these kinds of efforts.
Senator Bond. Thank you very much, Mr. Hammond.
Now, I am happy to turn the questioning over to Senator
Mikulski.
Senator Mikulski. Thank you very much.
Mr. Chambers, a question for you, sir. You said that when
you had the Visa scheme, the very next day, you had an alert at
your apartment.
Mr. Chambers. Yes.
Senator Mikulski. You had a fantastic resident manager.
Could you tell me where you live? Is she part of a network? Is
this senior housing? Is this private sector, and she is just as
sharp as a tack? Because you obviously are a paperwork guy, you
knew how to get in right away and protect yourself. You already
asked for verification of identity, etc. Tell me about this
apartment manager. She really was another cop on the beat
there, or at least part of the auxiliary force.
Mr. Chambers. Yes, she is sharp; there is no doubt about
that. The reason she happened to get out this alert was because
some of the people had been scammed before I was and had
reported to her. She is the sort of person who everybody looks
up to in the building, because she is fairly familiar with what
is going on and makes sure that she is.
Senator Mikulski. I understand. So this is a private sector
building; this is not housing for the elderly?
Mr. Chambers. That is right. This is a condo with 175
apartments, and she ran this thing off on the machine and
distributed it to every person in the building.
Senator Mikulski. Thank you very much, Mr. Chambers.
Senator Bond, in terms of techniques, one would be how we
could use housing for the elderly services over at HUD, because
the resident managers interact every single day, and that would
be a very important way to go.
Attorney General Curran, first of all, your work on SAFE is
great, and what we like are the partnerships that you have with
the banking industry, with the service providers, and so on.
Utah is different than Maryland, rural is different urban
even in the way we can all communicate. Do you have thoughts
and recommendations on how we could be working, with the
attorneys general, with the Commission on Aging? I think Bob
Blancato has talked about Departments on Aging--do you have
thoughts on that? It is not about preemption and are we
preempting. This is going on internationally--we were very
troubled to hear about Canada. This scheme against Mr. Chambers
came out of Miami. And you prosecuted in Kansas, and you were
in on it in Maryland.
Mr. Curran. Yes. The people who are dealing in these scams
are not longer committing just street crime. The sweepstakes,
which were national mailings, we learned about by simply
asking--over in Montgomery County, I went to a senior center
and asked would you work with us and, for the next 1 month,
keep your mail and let me see who is mailing you letters, and
surprisingly, we had--with the exception of personal
information, cards and things--thousands and thousands of
pieces of junk mail from just one senior center, and then we
were able to identify who was actually mailing people the
solicitations.
Senator Mikulski. But how can we help you reduce consumer
fraud among the elderly?
Mr. Curran. Beefing up our enforcement--with the Medicaid
fraud units that all States have, there is an elder abuse
section that we are able to get. Now, I am happy to say from a
budget standpoint that the bulk of the money that our Medicaid
fraud units get is about 75 percent federally-funded--just
making sure that continues, because that is where we do get
into elder abuse. Also, the ability to give grants to have
consumer protection units continue to do proactive education.
I am happy to say in answer to an earlier question that was
posed to me that there now is a website, because even seniors
are now getting into----
Senator Mikulski. A website for whom, from where?
Mr. Curran. A website for seniors dealing with--actually,
it is in my statement----
Senator Mikulski. Do you mean your website?
Mr. Curran. No. It is a national--Senior Investor Resource
Center, promulgated by all of the securities commissioners
across the Nation--it just started last month--in which seniors
can go to the website and see where the investment scams are,
get common sense investment information. It just started up
last month, and we are very proud of that.
Senator Mikulski. Thank you. I think those are excellent
ideas. Again, going back now to Mr. Blancato for a minute, and
then to wrap up, thank you. I think that shows how we could
build on Medicaid, and not be creating new trade routes for
funds but enhancing, and we want to talk to Ms. Scott as well.
And what is so great, Senator Bond, is that now at our
senior centers, there are so many people wanting technology,
the kind of website news you can use. We have to give help to
those people who practice self-help. Ultimately, the most
important consumer protector is you of yourself, as long as you
are mentally competent.
Mr. Blancato, I am not going ask you to elaborate; you gave
us excellent ideas on the Social Security block grants and
others.
Let me go to Ms. Scott. You talked about another problem,
and that is family members. What a despicable situation. A
bunch of techno-thugs operating out of Canada is one thing, but
when it is your own niece or nephew--can you see where that
protection comes through the long-term care ombudsman, because
many people are in facilities?
Ms. Scott. Certainly we would be one of the sources that
would notice something or be enough of a friend that an older
person or disabled person would confide in us.
What happens after that is what is the Elder Justice Act is
all about, and that is getting prosecutors and law enforcement
and Medicaid fraud units to be willing enough to take those
cases.
In Missouri, we have a law that says if you are responsible
for the finances of an elder person who is in a nursing home
that it can be a felony if you divert that money and do not pay
the nursing home. But I am not sure that that is a law in other
States. And we have difficulty in Missouri getting the
prosecutors to pick up that case and run with it.
Senator Mikulski. But you know that where there is focus,
enormously significant things happen.
Senator Bond and I were involved in dealing with predatory
lending, and he was very gracious to lend his support to what
was going on in Maryland--the so-called flipping. In 3 years,
thanks to a lot of hard work between local prosecutors and the
work of the Attorney General, we just announced that we have
reduced it in Baltimore by 82 percent.
Senator Bond. That is great. Good job.
Senator Mikulski. But you know, one of the biggest
deterrents is if they think they are going to go to jail--and
also, in the course of the trials, they give tips.
So that strengthening the ombudsman program in the Elder
Justice Act will really do what you are looking for; is that
correct?
Ms. Scott. I believe so. I think one of the key points is
that the ombudsman program is only as strong as our presence in
the facilities, and if anyone is vulnerable, it is someone who
may be in the beginning stages of dementia or on into
Alzheimer's or some other disease, who cannot protect himself
or herself and who is relying not only on their medical care
from someone else but to handle all of their finances. If we
are not there, assisting families in understanding where they
can go, then we become the family for that resident; and if we
are not in every facility on a regular basis, then who is
there?
Senator Mikulski. But I think technology can be our tool.
You are there, and you are important to this, but also flagging
transactions that seem abnormally erratic or frequent or
whatever.
Ms. Scott. Yes. I am excited to hear stories about how the
banking industry is opening up and allowing their employees to
report things.
Senator Mikulski. Well, we could not have fought predatory
lending without the help of the banking industry.
I have one question for Mr. Hammond. First of all, the AARP
does a fantastic job of educating, and we thank them--``The
Bulletin'' with its consumer tips is, again, ``news you can
use.'' But you had some innovative ideas, Mr. Hammond, and one
was the Consumer University. I saw that you had one down on the
shore, our beloved Eastern Shore, the first week in October.
How did that turn out? Could you tell us what went on there;
was it well-attended; did people feel empowered by it?
Mr. Hammond. Yes, Senator. It turned out very well, as have
all of the Consumer Universities that we have hosted. We have
had them throughout the State of Maryland and in many other
States across the Nation. It was well-attended. There were tips
on economics, tips on predatory lending, all of the consumer
kinds of activities that people need to be aware of.
Senator Mikulski. About how many people came?
Mr. Hammond. I am not exactly sure of Salisbury, but I
would expect it would be in the neighborhood of 250 to 300,
somewhere in that range.
Senator Mikulski. In a rural area, that is a pretty good
turnout.
Senator Bond. Absolutely.
Mr. Hammond. Yes, it is.
Senator Mikulski. We could be running these through county
offices on aging and say this is going to be your Consumer
University, not only to prevent fraud but picking a nursing
home. My dad had Alzheimer's, and we had to turn to long-term
care, but I knew how to work with my mother to select that.
When I bought my long-term care insurance, we worked through
the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which had
the seven things you do to scrutinize that. So this could be
dealt with.
I think this idea of a Consumer University, where you do it
once a year, and it is a one-stop shop where you can come and
get a lot of tips on how to pick out assisted living. As you
know, where there is need, there is often greed. So I think you
have given us a very creative idea.
Mr. Hammond. Senator, I do have to mention that we could
not do this without our network of AARP volunteers. There are
hundreds of them in the State and thousands of them across the
Nation who really make these successful.
Senator Mikulski. That sounds just great.
And Mr. Blancato, we know from when he served in other
administrations on aging. This is very practical, and your list
just speaks for itself, but we want to thank you for your
commitment and that fact that we have this national coalition,
and we will be turning to you.
I think they have answered my questions, Senator Bond, and
I think we have a good direction.
Senator Bond. I just have one question that is kind of
nagging at me. Ms. Scott has talked about working in the
institutions, and I know there are senior institutions, there
are subsidized and nonsubsidized senior institutions. I have a
lot of neighbors who are in small towns in rural Missouri, who
were friends of my parents, and they have taken great pride in
saving enough so they can be independent. And it strikes me--to
what extent are you able or are others able to find out if
somebody is targeting them, because they are trying to live on
their own, they have saved some money--like Mr. Chambers and
his neighbors--they are the ones who would be the target. They
are trying to make it on their own, and if they get wiped out,
that is particularly devastating to them. They are trying to
live on their own, and they are the targets.
How well are we doing getting the information out and
finding out about problems that may occur with those elderly
trying to live on their own?
Ms. Scott. One way I could answer that is that when a
person has been living on his or her own and then needs to move
into a long-term care facility, and that is when they start
asking questions about how much money do you have and how are
you going to pay for your stay, we are finding more and more
cases where people say, ``Well, I have this money, but now I do
not have it, and I do not know where it went.'' And Medicaid
will not start coverage if you have given away your money, so
we have had to go in on our hands and knees and say, ``Look,
this guy has been exploited, and that is why he does not have
his money.''
Senator Bond. Yes, those are the ones--how do you deal with
that, because by the time they wind up there, saying, ``I have
lost all my money,'' and somebody has defrauded them--then they
show up, and they are totally devastated. That is worrisome.
Ms. Scott. It is, and I cannot tell you a number, again,
because I think one of the reports shows that only one in 14
financial exploitation cases are even report.
Senator Bond. Yes. We have one in five, but clearly, as the
attorney general said, a lot of people do not want to comment
on it.
Let me turn to Mr. Hammond and Mr. Blancato and ask if they
have thoughts on that.
Mr. Blancato. I am not sure that I have anything else to
add to this, except that you talked about people living alone,
before they become institutionalized, and I think one thing
that the subcommittee may want to look at is the emergence of
gatekeeper programs around the country, where teams involved in
elder abuse prevention are helping to train folks who come into
contact with people living alone--the home-delivered meals
folks, meter readers and people who give them gas services, and
so on--who can do some assessment and give some information
back if something unusual is going on with someone who is
living alone, and they can report that information. Those small
things are helpful in terms of maybe catching something before
it goes too far along.
Senator Bond. Mr. Hammond, any thoughts?
Mr. Hammond. I would agree that those are the kinds of
things that we need to have more of, and I think more of the
grassroots activities, the kinds of things that are in local
communities that people can partner with organizations to make
sure that frail adults have some kind of contact and are
checked on a regular basis.
Senator Bond. I am not even sure it is frail adults.
Mr. Hammond. That is true.
Senator Bond. Certainly there are lots of challenges ahead.
Your testimony has been very helpful today. We appreciate the
information that you have provided us and the great work that
you are doing.
Mr. Chambers, you are our ``poster boy'' of the guy who
took some action and helped bring it all to a halt. We are
extremely proud of you, and we thank all the other witnesses
for the work that you are doing and for the prod that you have
given us to get moving on the Elder Justice Act.
Senator Mikulski. Excellent.
Senator Bond. With that, the hearing is adjourned.
Thank you.
[Additional material follows.]
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Prepared Statement of J. Joseph Curran, Jr.
Chairman Bond, Ranking Member Mikulski and Members of the
Subcommittee, on behalf of Maryland's elderly citizens, I thank you for
inviting me to testify today regarding the issues that elderly
consumers face in today's investment marketplace. I am testifying today
in my capacity as Attorney General for the State of Maryland. I was
asked to share with you some of the law enforcement cases that have
been brought by my office over the last few years and how my office was
able to assist seniors who were harmed by the businesses that were the
targets of these cases.
As the Attorney General for Maryland, I hear countless stories of
financial abuse against seniors ranging from bogus investment products,
to high pressure telemarketers, to shady investment advisers and
stockbrokers. My office criminally prosecutes companies and individuals
who commit crimes against seniors, brings civil law enforcement actions
for injunctions, restitution and penalties against companies and
individuals who commit securities fraud and unfair and deceptive trade
practices, and seeks to educate seniors through publications and
seminars so that they may be better able to protect themselves.
In recent years, my office has brought a number of cases that
involve businesses that cheated seniors who were purchasing financial
products and investment advice. These cases are particularly egregious
because seniors, like many other consumers, rely heavily on others to
provide them with accurate and truthful information about their
financial and investment options.
One of the cases recently brought by my office involved a Maryland
business owner, Rodney Hinkle, and his companies Money Systems, LLC and
Energy Resources, Inc. Mr. Hinkle was well-known for hosting lavish
all-expense paid dinner financial seminars at local hotels and
restaurants. Holding himself out as a legitimate investment adviser, he
used those events to pitch investments in his own companies.
Unfortunately, rather than running a legitimate business, Mr.
Hinkle pooled the investment monies and paid off earlier investors with
subsequent investors' monies--a classic Ponzi scheme. Among Mr.
Hinkle's many victims was one of his ``clients,'' a widow who entrusted
him to make her financial decisions after her husband died. Mr. Hinkle
fleeced the woman of over $300,000--the proceeds of her husband's life
insurance policy. My office brought an action to shut down Mr. Hinkle's
activities and bar him from the securities and investment advisory
business.
Earlier this year, my office settled a case involving another
investment adviser named Steven Yarn. Mr. Yarn had befriended an 84-
year-old woman who did not have any immediate family. As the woman's
health began to fail, Mr. Yarn took over her financial and legal
affairs. He found a lawyer to revise her will and had himself named as
co-executor of her estate. Upon her death, she directed her assets to
be transferred into a foundation that would donate to various
charities. Over the years, Mr. Yarn transferred for his own use nearly
$200,000 of the woman's money, half of which came from the foundation
after the woman's death. Our settlement requires Mr. Yarn to pay the
funds back to the foundation and keeps him out of the investment
advisory business until he has completed those payments.
Two other recent cases brought by my office involve two Baltimore
businesses, Answer Care, Inc. and Beneficial Assistance, Inc. The
companies sold viatical settlement contracts--investments in the
proceeds of another person's life insurance policy--to hundreds of
investors. Salespeople pitched these investments as ``guaranteed'' and
``safe'' investments--an impossible promise when one is betting on when
the insured person will die in order for the investment to ``mature''
and pay off. Millions of dollars were lost including the $12,000 life
savings of a retired school teacher who invested with Answer Care. A
few weeks after making the investment, she began to worry and called
our office. Unfortunately she didn't call us before she made the
investment. Our action froze Answer Care's assets and set up a
receivership to distribute those assets to defrauded investors, who
hope to receive a maximum of 25 cents on their investment dollars.
We recently settled a case against another investment advisory firm
that had borrowed $350,000 from one of their clients, an 89-year-old
widow and retired schoolteacher. We were able to negotiate the return
of the borrowed funds, and the firm agreed never to borrow funds again
from their clients. Despite that experience and our warnings, we fear
that this woman might be a victim of another fraudulent investment
scam.
In another disturbing case, a stockbroker with a reputable firm
churned the account of a retired elderly couple who were taking care of
their mentally disabled adult child. They wanted to protect and
preserve their savings to use for their child's future care. The
stockbroker's malfeasance caused nearly $500,000 in losses including
more than $300,000 in commissions paid to him. Our office was able to
negotiate a settlement that returned the funds to the victims and
barred the stockbroker from doing business in Maryland.
In a similar vein, my office settled a case with another large
brokerage firm for the unlawful activities of one of its stockbrokers,
Monica Coleman. Ms. Coleman devised an investment scheme that defrauded
her brokerage clients when she sold them securities in her own company.
Since convicted of securities fraud in our criminal action, Ms. Coleman
promised one of her victims--a 70-year-old retiree--to quadruple her
monthly income. Instead of keeping her promise, Ms. Coleman
misappropriated $103,000, the woman's lump sum retirement payment. My
office was able to negotiate a settlement in which the brokerage firm
paid the victims nearly 50 percent of their losses and agreed to
remedial supervisory procedures.
Our actions aren't limited to local defendants. In a recent case
involving a New York telemarketing boiler room operation, my office was
able to negotiate the return of some of a Maryland retiree's lost life
savings and bar the offending brokers and their firm. The glib
telemarketers promised handsome, tax-free profits and convinced the
investor to liquidate his retirement accounts--money that had been
conservatively invested in well-performing funds. The telemarketed
investments, including a promissory note paying above market interest
and stock in highly speculative or non-existent companies, were
fraudulent.
My office, in conjunction with Attorneys General from around the
country, has been involved in a number of investigations of sweepstakes
companies, which often prey on seniors by convincing them to purchase
unwanted magazine subscriptions and other products based on a false
impression that the purchases will increase their odds of winning. One
settlement, which involved Publishers Clearing House, resulted in
refunds of more than $700,000 to more than 3,200 Maryland consumers. In
another settlement, United States Purchasing Exchange paid $608,000 in
refunds to 886 Maryland consumers.
Another initiative that we have undertaken along with State
securities administrators from around the country is a Senior Outreach
program that is designed to educate seniors to protect themselves from
investment fraud. Included in this outreach program is a new website
launched last month--the Senior Investor Resource Center
(www.nasaa.org/nasaa/sirc/sirc.asp)--that is designed specifically for
senior audiences. The website includes: a checklist of questions
seniors should ask before making an investment decision; common sense
solutions to protect assets from investment fraud; and information
about the current top frauds targeting seniors.
These are dangerous times for seniors. The volatile stock markets,
record low interest rates, rising health care costs, and increasing
life expectancy all have combined to create the perfect storm for
investment fraud against senior investors. The fear that they will be
unable to meet their financial needs and will outlive their money makes
seniors even more vulnerable to con artists who specifically target
seniors and prey on those fears. The States, through their securities
regulators--the local cops on the securities beat--have a long history
of protecting all investors through financial education and rigorous
enforcement of investor protection laws.
To continue to protect our investors, it is critical that the
States' ability to pursue fraudulent activity not be compromised by
provisions such as those contained in H.R. 2179, The Securities Fraud
Deterrence and Investor Restitution Act of 2003, which is being
considered by the House Financial Services Committee. As currently
written, that bill would restrict my office and other State securities
regulators from taking the day-to-day actions that protect all of our
investors by preventing us from imposing requirements as part of
enforcement, licensing or other regulatory proceedings that go beyond
Federal requirements. Given the rampant financial abuse of seniors,
this is not the time to handcuff the local securities cops.
This subcommittee's examination of such abuse should be applauded.
My office and other State Attorneys General will continue to play an
active role in protecting seniors. I thank the Chairman and each member
of this subcommittee for allowing me the opportunity to appear today
and give my testimony.
Prepared Statement of Carol Scott
Thank you for inviting me to speak on the very important topic of
financial abuse. I want to congratulate you for focusing on Elder Abuse
and for being among the leaders of the effort to get people off their
rockers and do something to help older Americans who are being abused,
neglected and exploited. Each year many elderly and disabled American's
are taken advantage of, and their health, security and sometimes their
lives are cut short because of the actions or inactions of others.
As a long-term care Ombudsman, I am one of 10,000 people from
across the country who is trained to advocate on behalf of residents of
long-term care facilities. These 10,000 people are staff and volunteers
who visit nursing homes and board and care facilities and listen to the
issues, complaints and questions of residents, their friends and
families.
In addition to individual advocacy, it is also the job of each of
the 52 state LTC Ombudsmen to ensure that policy makers are aware of
places in the ``system'' where improvements are needed.
Well, here I am, representing not only the Missouri LTCOP, but also
the National Association of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs
(NASOP). NASOP is a founding member of the Elder Justice Coalition,
which is committed to ending elder abuse.
Financial abuse is devastating. Whether the elderly victim is aware
of the exploitation or not, it is frustrating that sometimes the
perpetrator can get away with taking money and other assets from
vulnerable individuals.
Perpetrators can be family members, friends, healthcare
professionals or con men (and women). We need to act now. Legislation
before this Congress (S.333 and H.R. 2490) will put into place needed
training, data collection, legal assistance, investigative assistance,
and ``beefing'' up of the Adult Protective Services programs across the
country, as well as assisting law enforcement, prosecutors and judges.
I want to tell you about two Missouri cases that exemplify the
growing crisis. ``Mary'' is a 91 year-old resident of a nursing home.
She is mentally competent and is living in the facility because her
Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) took her to the facility to visit, and
just left her there. Mary was afraid to object to this action.
Mary owns several farms and two homes. The local ombudsman was
informed that one of Mary's farms and many of her household items had
been sold and that Mary was not aware of this. The Ombudsman visited
Mary and asked if she knew that one of the farms had been sold. ``How
could he do that?'' Mary was very upset and requested the Ombudsman's
help. The person selling the property had Mary's Durable Power of
Attorney, which she signed when she was in the hospital and very ill.
She does not remember signing the document, and said she certainly had
no intention of ever allowing someone to sell her property without her
knowledge and permission.
The Ombudsman assisted Mary in getting an attorney, and in
repealing the DPOA document. In the meantime, 250 acres of land has
been sold and many household items are gone forever. The announcement
of the auction of the household items did not list Mary as the owner of
the property, because the DPOA ``didn't want her to be upset.''
The second case: In-home aide stole money from three clients. The
aide took $900 from one client. The case was referred for prosecution
and she plead guilty to charges of Class C felony, forgery and Class C
felony, stealing. She also has been placed on the Employee
Disqualification List for 5 years, which prevents the aide from working
in the in-home agency or nursing facility industry.
These two cases demonstrate that the elderly can be exploited by
anyone that has access to them. Whether by intimidation or out right
stealing, something must be done to make it easier for people to report
crimes, something that will assist with the coordination of the
investigations between Adult Protective Services, the LTC Ombudsmen,
Nursing Home Licensing staff, law enforcement and district attorneys,
and something that will ensure equity and making sure there is justice
for all, no matter how small the amount of money taken.
There are many groups and organizations in the ``aging network,''
from the National Association of State Units on Aging (NASUA) to AARP,
to local senior centers and long-term care Ombudsmen. Stopping abuse
will take more than this network. It will take regular citizens asking
questions; courts that are prepared to hear cases, and a better
understanding of who can become a victim. The Elder Justice Act will
provide federal resources to support State and community efforts on the
front lines, to those dedicated to fighting elder abuse with scarce
resources and fragmented systems. And maybe more importantly, this Act
will bring national attention to the issue of abuse, neglect and
financial exploitation.
The time for the Elder Justice Act is NOW. Senator Bond, you just
completed a tour of Missouri where you said that Congress had its first
hearing on this topic almost 30 years ago. I join you in declaring that
the time is now. I believe that it is now time for Congress, elder
Americans and elder advocates to ``get off our rockers'' and get the
job done. Senator Bond, Senator Mikulski, the Elder Justice Act is a
fine piece of legislation. Please don't allow another year to pass
without its passage. Thank you again for this opportunity for me to get
off my rocker and make a difference.
Additional cases from Missouri Department of Health and Senior
Services
CASE 1. A terminally ill, elderly adult was in the nursing home. In
1992 she had given her niece a Power of Attorney (POA) and put her name
on her bank account--the niece had never used the account until the
reported adult went to nursing home. The nursing home bill became over
$30,000.00 and pharmacy was owed over $2,000.00 in co-payments alone.
The pharmacy refused to send more medications. The niece did send some
nominal amounts of money towards the bills. The reported adult's
monthly income was almost $1,200.00. Law enforcement obtained an
investigative subpoena which showed the niece had taken over
$60,000.00. She was cashing out the account at the beginning of every
month and had purchased new house and furniture, jewelry, clothes, etc.
Meanwhile, the reported adult had no personal funds, and received no
new items for over a year. The nursing home staff took up a collection
so she could have a perm and the administrator paid, out of her own
pocket, for her medications one month. All of this was presented to the
prosecutor who ultimately decided that because the niece had POA he
could not prosecute.
CASE 2. An In-home Services aide allegedly stole $700. Upon
Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) investigation the
provider paid the client back $200 (as the aid admitted to stealing
this amount). However, when the case went to court, the court ordered
the aide to pay the full amount back. The client died before the court
order. However, the court still ordered that the money go to the
family. The family obtained a total of $900.
CASE 3. Our client is a 38 y/o white female with Spinal Bifida who
is wheelchair bound. She is also diagnosed with borderline Mental
Retardation. While living in a nursing home, she was befriended by an
aide who was working there. The aide introduced her 82-year-old
grandfather to our client. Our client was 30 years old when they
married shortly thereafter. When the elderly man died, the aide/step-
granddaughter moved our client into her home with her and her husband.
The aide/step-granddaughter became our client's payee for her $724/mo
SSI income. During the approximately 8 months that our client lived
with this couple, they got our client to put their telephone in her
name and did not pay the bill. They ``let'' our client buy a $1,800
computer as a gift for the step-granddaughter's spouse. The only
purchases the payee made for our client that she can provide evidence
for are 2 skirts and 3-4 tops. When our client's sister became
convinced that the couple was not looking out for our client's best
interests, she took our client out of the payee's home. Our client did
not have any money from her checks, which had been saved in her name.
The only possessions that our client had were a television set that was
sold by the caregiver family, and an electric wheelchair that had been
delivered to their home while our client lived there. The wheelchair
could not be found but our client still owes on the bill for it. There
is also evidence of physical neglect, along with adult abuse. This case
has been reviewed by Legal Services who stated that we have enough to
take before a judge. We are going to pursue a case of Adult Abuse
against the payee/caregiver.
CASE 4. The grandchildren allegedly charged $327.79 to a mail order
catalog under the client's name. Upon DHSS investigation grandchildren
agreed to pay what they had charged, and the catalog agreed to clear
the client's credit with them. Law enforcement was notified. However,
the client elected not to prosecute as the grandchildren repaid the
amount and promised not to this again. To this date, we have not been
notified that the grandchildren have tried anything like this.
CASE 5. In February 2003 DHSS received a report of theft and
financial exploitation on a client. The Client lived with her sister
and both received around the clock care from privately paid caregivers,
Mrs. S and her daughter, Ms. J. The daughter had been working for the
two sisters approximately 6 months when she obtained Power of Attorney.
She wasted no time in depleting the shared accounts of the client, the
sister and the niece.
An employee at the local bank noticed rapidly depleting funds,
including cashing of CD's and checks written for large sums of money,
since Ms. J became POA. The bank employee reported her concerns to the
niece. An investigation from the county Sheriff's Office ensued. The
financial exploitation totaled approximately $400,000.
Ms. J received a suspended imposition of sentence, 5 yrs
unsupervised probation, and she was ordered to pay restitution. Two
savings accounts established by Ms. J were frozen. The money was
returned to the client, her sister and niece.
Property purchased by Ms. J was seized, including two homes in a
neighboring county and two vehicles. Our staff recently contacted the
niece to see if she had been satisfied with the legal outcome. She said
she was satisfied and that most of the assets had been recovered. The
niece's stepdaughter is now involved in over seeing her and her
mother's financial affairs. The client passed away in November 2002.
CASE 6. DHSS received a hotline report in October alleging a
client's son was not giving the client her medicine correctly and had
financially exploited her. An investigation was completed and a report
made to the police. Evidence was found that the son had put his name on
all the client's money, and had used Power Of Attorney papers to
withdraw large amounts of money from the client's accounts. The client
had assets of approximately a half million dollars. The son was charged
and convicted of stealing. He did plead guilty and was placed on
probation. He also received one-week ``shock time'' in jail and must
pay restitution of $1,000.
CASE 7. DHSS received hotline on 74-year-old client who was being
exploited by her daughter and namesake. The daughter was using her
mother's name to cash in on her mother's stocks, deplete her mother's
bank accounts and then forged both her mother and brother's names on
stock certificates. She has stolen to date, $14,512 in cash of the
client's life savings, depleted $32,637 in the bank accounts and
attempted to cash in on 400 shares of stock from her brother and
mother. The stock company became suspicious of the signatures on the
stock certificate. They stopped her cashing the stock that would have
been close to $50,000 in value. Currently, a plea is on the table.
Charges being brought against her are Financial Exploitation of the
Elderly and Forgery. These are both felony crimes.
The prosecutor's terms are:
A guilty plea to both felony Financial Exploitation and Forgery
charges
Serve 5 yrs supervised probation under a Suspended Imposition of
Sentence (SIS)
Pay full restitution to the victim ($14,512) and,
No further employment or dealings with the elderly & disabled.
The prosecutor has advised that he will accept nothing less. The
Defendant has until Monday September 15, 2003 to make her decision. If
she refuses, then we will re-indict and go to trial.
CASE 8. DHSS worked in collaboration with the FBI. This case
involved a suspect who was a financial planner, insurance salesman and
con artist. He convinced three individuals to ``loan'' him money. One
victim, 93 years old, ``loaned'' him $306,000. The loan note that the
perpetrator prepared indicated ``0% interest, payable in full upon the
death'' of the client. The perpetrator had also done what is called
``churning'' which is where he convinces clients to move from one
Annuity Company to another, each time costing the client a penalty for
early withdrawal and he would make a commission. He then ``borrowed''
$37,000 from another victim. Both of these clients are elderly. He
completed the same scam with one of the client's sons, unbeknownst to
the client, for an amount of $20,000.
DHSS received this case from the local Prosecuting Attorney's
office and discovered that it was better to bring in a federal agency.
The DHSS report is four volumes thick and includes over 3,000 exhibits.
After taking the case to the FBI, the US Attorney's office, based on
everything we had, agreed to indict the perpetrator on numerous mail
fraud and banking fraud charges.
The perpetrator's attorneys felt that the potential case was so
great against their client that they have agreed to plead guilty on the
information and forego a formal indictment. He has agreed to the
following conditions:
1. Plead guilty to the felony charges of Bank Fraud and Mail Fraud
2. Pay directly to the victims the following amounts: NOTE: Checks
are already being written to victims
a) client 1--$338,326.00 (includes penalties for early withdrawals)
b) client 2--$37,000.00
c) son of client 2--$20,000.00
This is a total recovery for the victims in the amount of $395,326.00
3. Forfeit any and all licenses to sell annuities, securities and/
or insurance.
4. Placed on Probation for a period to be determined by the judge.
This is a great victory for us. It shows what can happen when DHSS
works collaboratively with other state and federal agencies. In this
case, we were actually able to recover all of the losses to the
victims. The perpetrator won't spend time in jail, but he is out of the
business. Also, our case does not preclude the IRS from initiating
their own case, since he hasn't paid taxes in over 12 years! Bottom
line, the Feds are willing to work with us and we can be successful.
Prepared Statement of Robert B. Blancato
Chairman Bond, Senator Mikulski and other members of the
Subcommittee: My name is Bob Blancato and I present testimony as
President of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse
(NCPEA). We are the largest interdisciplinary membership organization
focused on elder abuse prevention through research, advocacy, public
awareness and training.
I also serve as National Coordinator of the Elder Justice
Coalition, a bi-partisan group of 190 national, state and local
organizations as well as individuals working with you and your
colleagues in the Senate and House to gain passage of S. 333 and H.R.
2490, the Elder Justice Act. I am pleased to note that both Chairman
Bond and Ranking Member Mikulski are co-sponsors of this landmark bill.
I, and so many others involved in the national effort to combat
elder abuse, commend this Subcommittee for holding this hearing on a
growing and especially debilitating form of elder abuse: financial
abuse and exploitation.
The introduction of a 1999 report for the National Center on Elder
Abuse presents the problem quite explicitly: ``Losing the fruits of a
lifetime's labor through financial exploitation can be devastating. It
may compromise victims' independence and security, destroy legacies and
lead to depression, homelessness or even suicide. Although financial
crimes are committed against members of all age groups, the impact is
particularly great on the elderly, who are unable to replace lost
assets through work, saving or investment.''
Dealing with elder financial abuse and exploitation is complex. Our
primary policy focus, however must be directed toward the elderly
victims because of the crimes impact on their lives. In fact, the Elder
Justice Act in its Statement of Findings notes that victims of elder
abuse, neglect and exploitation are 3.1 times more likely to die at an
earlier age than expected than elders who were not victims of elder
abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Let me briefly review some of what we know about financial abuse
and exploitation from various studies and reports reviewed for this
hearing.
A 1998 study of financial abuse and exploitation by the National
Center on Elder Abuse determined that 40 percent of all reported cases
of elder abuse, or more than 220,000 cases, involved some form of
financial abuse.
Further, they report that about 30 percent of all crimes against
the elderly involve financial abuse, a higher percentage than physical
abuse. Senator Breaux and the Special Committee on Aging have reported
that elder financial abuse ranks third behind neglect and emotional
psychological abuse as the most prevalent form of elder abuse.
As Senator Breaux and the Special Committee on Aging have reported,
there may be as many as four times as many cases of elder abuse which
go unreported. On this basis they conservatively conclude that three to
five million seniors are abused annually.
Adult Protective Service agencies investigate more cases of
financial abuse than physical abuse, according to a 2000 study done in
44 states.
The primary abusers in financial abuse and exploitation cases, as
in all other forms of elder abuse, are family members.
Other studies done in recent years focusing on financial abuse and
exploitation make two important points for consideration by this
Subcommittee. First, of all the types of elder abuse, financial abuse
may be the most difficult to grasp because the problem itself is both
poorly defined and defined differently in the states. Second, while
financial abuse is similar to other forms of elder abuse in terms of
its impact on the victim and perpetrators are more often family members
(85 percent of perpetrators), it is distinct because it is more
difficult to detect and prosecute because it is unclear whether an
older person has truly understood and consented to the actions in
question.
For this Subcommittee's purposes, my testimony will concentrate on
financial elder abuse and exploitation that occurs in a domestic rather
than institutional setting.
Returning to the issue of definition as it relates to financial
elder abuse and exploitation, one definition is provided in a recent
National Academy of Sciences report. They refer to ``elder
mistreatment'' and define it as ``intentional actions that cause harm
or create a serious risk of harm (whether or not harm is intended) to a
vulnerable elder by a caregiver or other person who stands in a trust
relationship to the elder.'' The panel uses the phrase ``trust
relationships'' to denote the relevant relationships. Financial
exploitation is illustrative. The conduct of interest is exploitation
by family members and others who may have assumed fiduciary obligations
for elders with diminished capacity for financial decisions.
Another definition I would refer the Subcommittee to in a broader
context is contained in the Elder Justice Act. Exploitation is defined
as ``the fraudulent or otherwise illegal, unauthorized, or improper act
or process of an individual including a caregiver or fiduciary that
uses the resources of an elder for monetary or personal benefit profit,
gain or that result in depriving an elder of rightful access to, or use
of benefits resources belongings or assets.''
According to another NCEA study entitled ``Financial Abuse of the
Elderly'', financial abuse of the elderly may constitute the following
criminal acts: Stealing, Larceny by False Pretense, Embezzlement,
Forgery, Uttering-trying to pass a forged document as genuine,
Extortion, Burglary, Robbery.
A number of studies as well as discussions held with professionals
in the field of elder abuse prevention point to the following as
indicators of financial abuse that has occurred or is likely to occur:
Bank activity that is erratic or uncharacteristic, including active
use of an ATM card of a homebound senior.
Recent acquaintances, especially anyone who takes up residence with
the elderly person.
Missing property.
Older person being evicted or having utilities disconnected.
Redirection of an older person's mail to a different address.
An older person for whom arrangements have been made for the
provision of care in the home who is then found to be uncared for or
living in an unkempt environment.
These indicators are supplemented by real life horror stories that
take place every day in each of your states. In preparation for this
hearing, NCPEA e-mailed a number of both NCPEA and Elder Justice
Coalition members for examples of financial abuse and exploitation
against the elderly. The responses were diverse and disturbing. They
were stories, or in some cases news stories, which I will excerpt.
``NY Judges Investigated over Aunt with Dementia's Lost Fortune in
their Hands.'' This story from the New York Daily News relates to a
case which is still under investigation in Brooklyn, New York, and
focuses on how a fortune worth nearly $1 million is now down to less
than $10,000 after a woman's two nephews gained control of her assets.
``Son Charged with Stealing from Dad in Nursing Home.'' This case
from Exeter, New Hampshire, involves a man who was indicted for
stealing more than $6,000 from his own father who was living in a
nursing home.
``Couple Charged for Nursing Home Scam.'' This story from Kingston,
New York, describes the sentencing of the second person in the couple
for a scam which involved stealing more than $1 million from 19 nursing
home patients, utilizing the establishment of joint bank accounts.
``SEATAC Mayor Pleads Guilty, Resigns City Post, Vows to Repay
Money from Woman She was Helping.'' This story from the Seattle Post
Intelligencer earlier this year discussed the case of this public
official pleading guilty to first degree theft for taking more than
$139,000 from the trust of an 86 year-old woman of whom she was a
friend for 30 years.
Finally, there is a story from Phoenix involving an older man who
was deemed unable to drive and was approached by his longtime neighbor
with an idea. The idea was for the older man to buy his neighbor a
$30,000 pickup truck. In exchange, the neighbor would transport the
older person to the grocery store, pharmacy and other necessary places.
One month after this, the neighbor suddenly became unavailable and
stopped helping his elderly neighbor. Of course, he still has the
pickup truck.
Since elder abuse is a public health, law enforcement, and social
service crisis, our search for solutions that stress prevention must
involve these sectors and the other disciplines involved including
research, the financial community and the advocacy community. Solutions
must also be driven by government programs and policies which support
prevention systems.
The Elder Justice Act is premised on the fact that the federal
response to combating elder abuse and neglect has been piecemeal and
inadequate as the problem has intensified. Less than one percent of all
federal funds spent on abuse go to elder abuse and not one single full-
time federal employee exists who works exclusively on elder abuse
prevention.
I would urge as a starting point that this Subcommittee commit to a
strengthening of Title VII of the Older Americans Act, entitled
Vulnerable Elder Rights Protection Activities. Under this program,
states receive separate allotments of funds for the Long-Term Care
Ombudsman Program and elder abuse prevention activities. The latter
program has an appropriation of less than $5 million nationally. The
ombudsman program is also under-funded. If the goal is to work for
prevention of elder abuse, this program needs to be strengthened to be
able to support those sound programs operating in the different states
that are making a difference in preventing elder abuse. Money spent on
elder abuse prevention activities is a sound and compassionate
investment. I hope we can work together in advance of the next
reauthorization of the Older Americans Act to make Title VII as strong
as it needs to be to combat this problem.
On a related point, closer collaboration is needed between the
National Family Caregiver Support Program and elder abuse prevention.
Elder abuse by family caregivers is rising. It is vital that as we
provide information and referral and counseling to family caregivers,
that it include the tools to avoid abuse that might occur due to the
stresses of caregiving. It can also be used to better educate family
caregivers on indicators or problems that might be the future basis for
abuse, especially self-neglect. I would hope this Subcommittee could
schedule a hearing on the National Family Caregiver Support Program and
how it can aid in elder abuse prevention.
Let me also note another area of concern about elder financial
abuse as it relates to American Indians and Native Alaskans who are
provided grants under Title VI of the Older Americans Act.
Our nation's American Indian and Native Alaskan communities are not
spared from the devastation and pain of financial abuse. The National
Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) will soon release a report on elder
abuse among American Indians and Native Alaskans that it has done for
the National Center on Elder Abuse. The NICOA report will note that
``Although little is known about elder abuse in Indian country, the
existing literature and accounts by Indian elders and their families,
tribes, and advocates suggest that it is a serious and pervasive
problem.'' As part of their study, NICOA surveyed the directors of
tribes' Older Americans Act-funded Title VI programs about elder abuse.
(Title VI is the part of the OAA that provides direct grants to tribes
to establish programs for elders). According to the respondents to the
NICOA survey, the most common form of abuse is, ``financial abuse by
family members, with almost two-thirds (63%) reporting that this type
of abuse occurs often.'' Only 7 percent of the respondents indicated
that financial abuse never happens to their tribe's elders.
The NICOA report will offer examples of financial abuse of Indian
elders reported by those they interviewed or surveyed, such as:
An elderly woman was removed from a nursing home so that family
members could gain access to her income checks.
An elderly woman's home was taken over by younger people who are
alcoholic. They financially abused her and placed her in a nursing
home.
Elders' family members come to visit at the beginning of the month
and either take elders' money or leave when the money runs out.
Some elders have extremely valuable artifacts, including
traditional costumes, baskets and beadwork, which is highly sought
after by collectors. These assets may be taken and sold by family
members or others who have access to elders' homes.
Family members may threaten elders into signing over funds or
become their ``self-appointed'' guardians.
Elders are convinced to purchase items they do not need such
Medigap insurance policies. Elders who do not read are sold magazine.
As NICOA states in their report, it is important to note that
``experiences of Indian elders with abuse, however, and their attitudes
about what should be done about it appear to differ from those of non-
Indian elders, suggesting the need for new responses to prevention.''
With that in mind, NICOA will offer a number of recommendations for
responding to elder abuse among the American Indian and Native American
population and describes ``promising practices'' from Indian Country.
In addition, in the short term, it is my fervent hope that this
Congress can provide additional appropriations for the Social Services
Block Grant program (SSBG). I am heartened by actions already taken by
the Senate to boost SSBG funding over the next two years. The House has
also considered a similar bill without the SSBG increase. I hope that
the bi-partisan commitment to SSBG can result in this needed increase.
SSBG is the largest federal program providing funds for adult
protective services. APS workers are on the front lines every day in
every state investigating cases of elder abuse including financial
abuse and exploitation. They face a dangerous reality. Their caseloads
are increasing and their resources, both in terms of state and federal
dollars, are drastically decreasing. This double jeopardy funding
crisis threatens the APS system in each state and renders older
Americans vulnerable to elder abuse.
There are some programs that deal with elder abuse prevention, such
as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Victims of Crime Act
(VOCA). NCPEA will speak to the importance of VAWA, especially in terms
of the impact of VAWA funding and resources on the protection of older
victims. Currently, the decrease in available funds for VOCA is
impacting several programs that were trying to provide services to
victims of elder abuse.
The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the
Elder Justice Coalition of course support the speedy enactment of the
Elder Justice Act. We are grateful that this bill authored by Senators
John Breaux and Orrin Hatch as well as Representatives Roy Blunt, Peter
King and Rahm Emanuel, enjoys bi partisan support. I have attached a
current list of the co- sponsors to my testimony.
Overall enactment of the Elder Justice Act would bring us to a very
important juncture in terms of embarking on a new and coordinated
federal strategy and approach to the prevention of elder abuse, neglect
and exploitation.
With specific reference to financial abuse and exploitation, the
Elder Justice Act offers a number of provisions. Among them are the
following:
Creation of an Elder Abuse Resource Center to collect data/
information on financial exploitation.
Grants to pilot various media awareness campaigns.
Grants to encourage banks to be on look-out for unusual activity in
bank accounts.
Multidisciplinary training to better help recognize signs of
financial exploitation.
Creation of an elder justice resource center to help support law
enforcement response to these crimes.
Model state laws will be developed from what is learned about
financial exploitation and shared with the states and local government.
Support to state and local prosecutors to provide back up resources
and research to assist in prosecuting financial exploitation.
Let me suggest Mr. Chairman that for a wide variety of reasons, it
is important that Congress pass the Elder Justice Act. I do not make
this statement alone. I am pleased to submit for the record a complete
list of the 190 members of the Elder Justice Coalition which was formed
just this year to try and advance the principles and provisions of the
Elder Justice Act. We are proud to have representatives from the many
disciplines who are involved in elder abuse prevention. These include
adult protective and social services, health care, legal and law
enforcement professions, family caregiver groups, and concerned persons
serving as community volunteer advocates.
A key element of this bill is its potential to empower and give
greater support to the growing number of local and state based elder
abuse prevention programs. The bill recognizes the reality that the
federal government does not have to reinvent the wheel with respect to
research, training and services in elder abuse prevention. Rather, it
can evaluate successful models and best practices and provide resources
to expand their growth or in some cases convert a local model into a
national demonstration.
This could include some innovative and established programs such as
the Financial Abuse Specialist Teams (FASTs), Lawyers for Elder Abuse
Prevention (LEAP), Massachusetts Bank Reporting Project, the Elderly
Financial Management Project at the Brookdale Center on Aging of Hunter
College in New York, and the Texas Elder Abuse and Mistreatment
institute Team in Houston, Texas.
The Elder Justice Act would also foster an environment for other
newer programs to be embellished or established. This might include
Daily Money Management Programs or even individual initiatives such as
the Undue Influence Worksheet.
One opportunity to further to focus on moving an elder abuse
prevention agenda forward may rest with another program under the
jurisdiction of this Subcommittee: the next White House Conference on
Aging. It is to be held not later than December of 2005. It is to give
specific focus to issues that will impact Baby Boomers as they age.
Elder abuse prevention issues received unprecedented attention during
the last conference in 1995. We need to do more during this next
conference.
Mr. Chairman, your conducting this hearing today also suggests that
you recognize the growing nature of the elder abuse problem today and
the very real elder abuse crisis that could confront this nation in the
future. We face a dramatic increase in our elderly population between
now and 2030. The first boomers will turn 65 in eight years. Today in
America, 70 percent of all wealth is held by persons 50 and over, and a
substantial intergenerational transfer of wealth is expected as the 77
million baby boomers continue to age.
The table is being set for a new wave of elder abuse cases,
especially those involving financial abuse and exploitation. We need to
emerge with a coherent and coordinated national policy to combat elder
abuse. Today our policies are more reactionary. Tomorrow they must be
proactive, comprehensive, culturally responsive, goal driven and
outcome oriented. It will take time, but the time to begin is now.
Mr. Chairman, The Elder Justice Act in its findings section notes:
``The Federal Government has played an important role in promoting
research, training, public safety, data collection, the identification,
development and dissemination of promising health care, social and
protective services and law enforcement practices relating to child
abuse and neglect, domestic violence and violence against women. The
Federal government should promote similar efforts and protections
relating to elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.''
Elder Abuse might have been an emerging issue in the late 1970s,
but it has arrived today and its impact will grow significantly in the
future. This Subcommittee has a strong and bi-partisan record of
enacting legislation to benefit older Americans. Its record as it
relates to elder abuse prevention must be expanded and the National
Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the Elder Justice
Coalition look forward to working with this Subcommittee on behalf of
elder justice. Elder justice is defined as the right of older Americans
to be free from abuse, neglect and exploitation. We believe a new
commitment to elder justice is as important as any initiative that has
been undertaken to improve the quality of life for seniors in need. It
reaffirms our commitment to the priority that federal policy has always
given to those most vulnerable as older persons.
Prepared Statement of W. Lee Hammond
Financial exploitation has many disguises, causes, and forms of
expression. But the common thread of its many modalities is an effort
by unscrupulous persons to extract money and resources through a
variety of devious means from unsuspecting and often vulnerable
individuals. How best to determine the frequency of exploitation and
its many effects on older citizens continues to be the subject of much
debate. The incidence and impact of exploitation are difficult to
estimate because: there is no national reporting mechanism, cases are
often not reported, definitions vary, and the crimes difficult to
detect.
According to the 1998 National Elder Abuse Incidence Study,
financial abuse accounted for about 12% of all elder abuse reported
nationally in 1993 and 1994, and 30.2% of substantiated elder abuse
reports submitted to Adult Protective Services (APS) in 1996 after
excluding reports of self neglect. Further, the National Research
Council's review of state figures indicates that financial exploitation
is the most frequent form of reported elder abuse in Illinois and
Oregon, while constituting half of all New York state reports, and 63%
of reported cases in New York City.
In the 2000 survey of the National Association of Adult Protective
Services
Administrators for the National Center on Elder Abuse, financial
abuse/exploitation comprised 13% of the allegations of mistreatment
investigated. However much exploitation is detected, reported,
investigated, substantiated, or prosecuted, everyone agrees that more
happens than is brought to light and that any exploitation is too much.
While numerous types of activities constitute elder financial
abuse, all have the same characteristic of the improper use of an older
person's assets. But these activities go far beyond what most of us
would consider merely ``improper.'' The forms of exploitation challenge
our imagination, but not those of the perpetrators who employ, deceit,
lies, forgery, false pretenses, coercion, or undue influence for
personal gain.
The other common characteristic of financial exploitation is abuse
of trust. The perpetrators are not strangers snatching a purse, or
robbers wielding a gun. They are sons, granddaughters, caregivers,
neighbors, new-found friends, confidants, financial and spiritual
advisors, and professionals who have--or develop--an aura of
trustworthiness. To accomplish their deception they build on an
appearance of reliability or professed expertise. They want the victim
to see them as the savior, the hero, a true friend, or a concerned
family member. Instead of a gun, their weapon of choice may be a
purloined check, a power of attorney, a promise of financial security,
or a smile and a bouquet of flowers.
Recognizing that financial exploitation is a pervasive and
increasing problem that specifically threatens our members' financial
security, AARP is addressing this problem through programs that educate
members, families, professionals and potential victims.
daily money management
Older persons who are losing their ability to handle their
financial affairs due to physical or cognitive impairments are
vulnerable targets for financial exploitation. For more than twenty-two
years, the AARP Foundation's Money Management Program has been
successful in using volunteers to assist vulnerable low income older
people with their daily money management needs.
The program either provides a bill payer for those individuals who
can still sign checks or a representative payee for those people who
receive federal government income, such as Social Security, but need
someone to help them manage their money.
Presently, the Foundation's Money Management Program is in 20
states and the District of Columbia, working with 130 agency programs
and growing. The program served 4,845 individuals last year with about
3200 volunteers who donated at least 4 hours each month to helping
these vulnerable older people.
financial education
AARP has conducted extensive educational projects to meet the needs
of surviving spouses who may suddenly find themselves responsible for
taking over the management of complex financial affairs when their
spouse dies. Because these surviving spouses may not have had
experience in managing money, they are vulnerable to the conniving
``hero'' who offers to help out. In reality, such con artists only
intend to help fill their own pockets. AARP's financial literacy
programs are designed to expand financial awareness and enable
participants to evaluate the trustworthiness of supposed advisors and
experts.
colorado elder watch
The Attorney General of Colorado dedicated approximately $1.5
million over a 3-year period to protect older adults from financial
exploitation after learning about the many telemarketing and other
identity theft scams taking place in that state. AARP Colorado is a
lead partner in this project, currently in its third year.
The three purposes of AARP ElderWatch are: (1) INFORMATION IN: to
provide a hotline for older persons in order to refer them to
appropriate services, as well as to document the types of crime
committed against older individuals in the state of Colorado and to
track down and bring criminals more quickly to justice; (2) INFORMATION
OUT: to provide educational information to the senior, legal, law
enforcement and larger community to detect and prevent crime before it
occurs; and (3) CLEARINGHOUSE: to serve as a clearinghouse by providing
information on financial exploitation and consumer fraud to older
Coloradans. Approximately 5,500 calls have been received and recorded
to date and more than 270 presentations have been made across the
state.
campaign against predatory lending
AARP recognizes that for the vast majority of older persons, their
home is their most valuable asset. In many instances, it is their only
asset. To empower older homeowners to maintain their financial security
and preserve the equity in their homes, AARP has launched an integrated
campaign against predatory home lending practices. Predatory lenders
extend high repayment loans that strip the home equity--leading to a
growing number of foreclosures. In addition to legislative reform and
precedent-setting litigation, AARP reaches out to older homeowners to
educate them regarding what to watch for in borrowing against the
equity in their homes. Trained AARP volunteers in two dozen states
repeatedly go out into their communities and churches with talks,
videos, warning signs and checklists--in both Spanish and English--to
spread the word.
This fall, AARP volunteers in four states--including Maryland--will
be calling homeowners in neighborhoods known to be targeted by
predatory lenders to alert them to the signs of predatory practices and
encouraging them to get copies of their credit reports and scores
before taking out any kind of loan.
consumer universities
Another popular and very successful tool that AARP uses to alert
older consumers to financial exploitation schemes is what we call
``Consumer Universities.'' We are holding one such university at the
Wicomico Youth and Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland, on October 4th.
At this university we will offer presentations by leading local experts
on how to avoid being exploited in the financial marketplace, in one's
home, or by false advisors.
legal clinics and attorney training
In a number of states--including Maryland and the District of
Columbia--we have held legal clinics for homeowners who are about to
take out loans. At these clinics, expert lawyers or housing counselors
examine loan applications to see if owners are about to be exploited by
the loan terms.
We have also trained over 200 lawyers in seven states on the legal
remedies available to help victims of predatory lending, financial
exploitation and elder abuse.
use of the aarp media
AARP recognizes that we can educate many persons about financial
exploitation through our array of publications. Each issue of our
monthly newspaper, ``The Bulletin,'' has a ``Consumer Alert'' column. A
recent video news release we disseminated tackled the problem of
unscrupulous moving companies that hold customers' goods hostage,
demanding payment far in excess of the estimate. Other Bulletin
articles inform our readers of other potential ways in which they might
be exploited. For example, the next issue will alert seniors to protect
themselves from being targets of complex investment scams that promise
huge returns.
An upcoming article in ``AARP--The Magazine,'' with a readership of
35 million, will focus on guardianship, with an example of how
guardianship was used to remedy devastating financial exploitation.
AARP's website has many articles aimed at helping consumers improve
financial literacy and protect themselves against exploitation. For
example, because powers of attorney can potentially cause financial
devastation when in the hands of the wrong agent, we have articles both
for the consumer on how to select an agent, and for the agent on how to
properly exercise their authority.
research
The AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) undertakes research on
consumer financial and fraud issues to better understand their causes,
and to promote the development of preventions and protections against
possible financial exploitation. Such issues include preneed funeral
and burial agreements, identity theft, and the regulation of home
improvement contractors and subprime mortgage lending.
Funeral and burial purchases are often made when buyers are
emotionally vulnerable and lack the time and information to negotiate
prices effectively. As more people pay for their funeral and burial in
advance, it is increasingly important that laws and regulations be in
place to effectively regulate this unique consumer purchase. PPI
recently researched changes in industry practices and analyzed state
laws governing preneed agreements. The objective was to determine the
extent to which state laws incorporated significant consumer
protections. Information gathered has been shared with state officials
and the Federal Trade Commission as that agency reviewed its rules
requiring disclosure of price information in the sale of funeral
products and services.
Identity theft, another form of financial abuse, is considered one
of the nation's fastest growing crimes and creates tremendous problems
for consumers in obtaining credit and clearing credit records of
fraudulent account activity and incorrect information. PPI recently
analyzed the Federal Trade Commission's 2001 complaint data from its
Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse to identify the types of identity
theft problems experienced by consumers age 50 and older. The analysis
found that older complainants were more likely to report a greater
variety of identity theft crimes, including ``attempted'' identity
theft, than other complainants. AARP included this information in
recent testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in support of
improvements in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Abusive home loans and home repair practices are a final major area
of research that we will mention. As noted earlier, a home is usually
the largest financial asset held by older households. Home improvement
is essential for preserving both the safety and value of the
homeowner's property. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2002
Consumer Expenditure Survey, Americans spent more than $173 billion on
contracted home improvement projects and do-it-yourself home repairs.
Older homeowners have a greater need for hiring home improvement
contractors than younger homeowners because they have higher rates of
homeownership and tend to own older homes that are more likely to need
repair. Further, as homeowners age they are less likely to undertake
home repairs on their own.
Research indicates that older homeowners are often more vulnerable
than younger homeowners to fraudulent home improvement practices
because they: are more likely to be home during the day when fraud
perpetrators operate; have relatively large amounts of readily
accessible cash (on hand or in a checking account); and are less likely
to take action against fraudulent contractors.
To improve enforcement against fraudulent contractors, AARP, in
cooperation with the National Consumer Law Center, developed a model
state law to (1) improve the licensing, bonding, and insurance coverage
of contractors, and (2) prohibit misrepresentations and deceptive acts.
PPI has also initiated a significant research project regarding lending
practices in the subprime mortgage market where predatory lending
practices disproportionately occur.
Recently, PPI undertook an analysis of a national survey of
mortgage borrowers age 65 and older who acquired prime or subprime
refinance loans to determine if there were any differences between
loans originated by ``lenders'' as compared to ``brokers.'' Because
home equity is a key component of wealth in older households, it is
critical to assure that older mortgage refinance borrowers can obtain
fairly priced loans that protect their current and future financial
security, regardless of who originates the loan. The study found that
older refinance borrowers with broker-originated loans were more likely
to report having received loans with less favorable terms, such as
prepayment penalties, than those with lender-originated refinance
loans. Also, broker-originated refinance loans were nearly twice as
likely as lender-originated loans to be subprime loans.
Finally, older refinance loan borrowers with broker-originated
loans were much more likely to report that they did not initiate
contact regarding a loan; they also relied more on the broker in making
important mortgage-related decisions than older borrowers with lender-
originated loans. PPI is currently undertaking an analysis of state
laws regulating mortgage brokers to determine if changes are needed to
protect older consumers against unfair and deceptive practices.
AARP regards its multifaceted effort against the financial
exploitation of older persons as a valuable way to equip consumers,
families, professionals and vulnerable elders to detect, prevent, or
intervene before financial crises arise. We make information about all
of our programs, services and research available online, in print media
or both.
AARP appreciates this opportunity to share our financial abuse
education and prevention activities with the Committee and looks
forward to working with you to pass legislation, like the Elder Justice
Act (S. 333), to provide a comprehensive national approach to elder
abuse prevention. Thank you.
Prepared Statement of Richmond D. Chambers
I am pleased to be here today to describe a scam against elderly
Visa credit card holders. I live in a condominium apartment at 8101
Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
I received a telephone call on April 2, 2003 from a man purporting
to be a representative of the Visa organization. He said Visa had
sustained a computer problem in which information on 5,000 accounts had
been lost and that certain information had to be retrieved if my
account was to remain active. I had received a similar call some months
before from a source that hung up when I refused to answer his
questions. I was again suspicious. I asked this caller a number of
questions, which he answered very convincingly. He finally gave me a
toll-free phone number, which he said would verify his identity. I
called back and was answered by a female who said `` Visa'' and
connected me with the original caller. I believed he had established
his identity, and I gave him the three numbers on the back of my Visa
card, my mother's maiden name and my social security number. He, in
some way, had already secured my address, Visa card number and
obviously my phone number.
The next day on leaving my apartment, I found a flyer at my door
entitled ``Resident Alert''. The document was issued by my apartment
manager and described exactly the Visa fraud in which I had been
victimized the previous day. I immediately called the fraud unit at
Visa and related the incident.After verifying several charges to my
account, I was asked if I had charged $2,750 to Western Union. I had
not. I later discovered that Visa had authorized the claim, but had not
issued payment against the charge. My account was closed and
reestablished with a new number.
I was fortunate that I had sustained no financial loss in the
matter. I reported the entire affair to the Montgomery County Maryland
Police, who arranged two television appearances for me to publicize the
scam. The Montgomery County Maryland Police and the State Attorney for
Montgomery have updated me on this case. The police determined that the
scam operators were based in Miami, Florida. Officers were dispatched
to Miami to investigate. With the cooperation of the local police,
eleven suspects were arrested and extradited to Montgomery County
Maryland to face trial. I was recently informed that approximately
forty residents in the general Chevy Chase area were victimized by this
scam. A number of the victims actually had money paid from their Visa
account to Western Union for pick up.
At least five additional residents of my condominium were
victimized in this scheme along with residents across the street in an
assisted care residence. I have no information regarding whether those
arrested had information on the ages of their victims. I was favorably
impressed with the reaction of the valid Visa representative, the
Montgomery County Police, the local television stations, and our alert
building manager, Katie Wyrsch, all of whom had a part in bringing
these alleged criminals to justice.
Prepared Statement of Franklyn S. Greene
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to testify before your
committee on this very important issue.
The following is, a true account of, what happens to our seniors
when there is no legal protection for them.
My wife's uncle, Karl, and his wife were both professional people
and well educated. Karl was also a veteran of WW II, in the Maryland
29th Division. They had no children, so our family were their only
relatives, in the Maryland area, who could watch over and help them as
they grew older. Karl's wife died, in 1991, leaving Karl alone and very
lonely.
As they aged, and because of health reasons, we helped them set up
revocable trusts to protect their assets. These trusts, set up about
1988, are the only thing that saved Karl from complete disaster. He
named me as Trustee of both of their Trusts.
We tried to get him involved in a senior center, and get him out to
meet people of his own age, so he would have company. He did not want
to meet or socialize with others, even with our help.
During the Winter of 1996-97 (when Karl was 86 years old) our
nightmare began. Karl was approached by a young woman (age 45) at the
``IHOP'' restaurant where he frequently ate lunch. This woman told him,
she had been put out of her apartment and had no place to live. She
agreed to live in Karl's house and clean, do the laundry, cut the
grass, and take care of him.
Being the nice, caring person he always was, he felt he would be
helping her. He agreed to this arrangement, and she moved into his
house.
This woman did not look like, or act like, the type of person you
would ``take home to mother''. Karl had no information on this woman,
who she was, or where she came from. We decided to hire a private
detective to determine who she was. Their report came back showing an
extensive criminal background and continuous run-ins with the Baltimore
County Police. We then obtained her criminal records, showing she had
been arrested over 20 times, convicted many times, and had served time
in jail. The County Court system had even taken her son away from her
for child neglect.
We went to visit Karl, again, to try and get him to end this
relationship, but he still thought he was helping her. He liked her
``since she was young and thin'', and kissed and hugged him.
In early 1998, Karl called us and told us his phone bill was wrong
and he didn't know what to do. We again, went over to his house and
checked the phone bill which was over $200. We found this woman had
phoned a psychic reader, and run up the large phone bill. She, of
course, denied making the calls. I phoned the number, and they had her
recorded voice agreeing to pay the bill. Karl, finally, agreed with us
and let me put her out.
During this time, Karl was very hard of hearing and we sometimes
had a difficult time conversing with him. We also noticed a continued
failing of his mental capacities. Also at this time, he was being
treated by his family doctor for a heart condition and diabetes.
Shortly after, Karl took her back into his house. In August 1998,
she obtained a cell phone without his permission and ran up a $400 bill
in 2 months.
In September of 1998, she charged $1400 worth of items at Sears,
again without Karl's permission. This bill was discussed with Karl and
Sears, and also was not paid. I canceled his charge cards, so she could
not use them again.
In December of 1998, she and her boyfriend forged several checks.
Karl did not want to prosecute her for this. These checks were used to
pay a bail bondsman.
With Karl's permission, we again put her out of his house. When we
would go over for a visit, we were appalled at the condition of his
house. There were dirty dishes with food in her room, trash and mouse
feces everywhere, and laundry all over the floors. The basement was so
full of junk that you could not walk around without stepping on things.
During the end of 1998 and 1999, we had a man, (about age 50), stay
with and care for Karl and keep him company. He took good care of Karl,
kept an accurate accounting of any money spent, and was a good friend.
While cleaning Karl's house, we took 23 large plastic trash bags of
junk to the dump. While cleaning her room, we were appalled to find all
of Karl's personal papers which should have been in his desk upstairs.
These included his birth certificate, car title, army discharge,
Janet's personal papers and other important information.
At this time, I filed a criminal report with Baltimore County and
had her arrested. At this trial, Katie O'Malley (the wife of Mayor
O'Malley) was the States Attorney. We discussed this trial with her and
she said she could not put Karl on to testify, as he could not make his
mind up, as to what happened.
Again in 1999, the Baltimore County Police arrested her outside a
local pool hall. With her, in the car were Karl's wallet and both of
his coin collections.
During this time, Karl bought her a set of diamond earrings at a
local jewelry store. She returned them and received a full refund,
verified by the owner of the store. She then charged me with stealing
them.
In mid 1999 she hired an attorney to rewrite Karl's will. However,
Karl did not change it, again leaving everything to Fran and her
brother.
In September 1999, Karl again took her back into his house, along
with her boy friend. They, then, put out the man we had staying with
Karl for over a year.
Somehow, she talked Karl into marrying her on October 6, 1999.
After this ``marriage'' his ``wife'' would continuously call the Trust
officer at the bank requesting money. She wanted $10,000 for a wedding
trip, $5,000 for wedding rings, plus other money for odd items. We did
not forward any of this requested money to her as an ample budget had
been set up previously for him through the Trust.
Shortly after, she employed another attorney to rewrite Karl's
trust and will. I spoke with him and suggested he check to be sure Karl
was competent to sign important papers before he went ahead.
This attorney and Karl's ``new wife'' then had him examined by two
doctors who both said he was incompetent. We then had him examined by
his own physician, who also said he was incompetent.
She then hired another attorney to rewrite all of Karl's papers. He
sent me, and the bank, a letter requesting all kinds of personal
information so he could change Karl's Will and Trust.
I informed him, we would not provide any information and would not
be responsible to pay his fee.
We then hired an attorney, to file for Guardianship, to protect
Karl. We could not file prior to this, as Karl would not get the needed
medical examinations.
The trial or hearing on his competence was set for March 27, 2000.
Karl, mysteriously, died on March 6, 2000. His doctor would not sign
his death certificate without a full autopsy.
Karl and Janet had made me Trustee of their Trusts in 1988, and
never changed that. I was involved in all the legal work, thefts, and
cleaning up the messes created. We worked for well over 2 years to
finally straighten out and close this disaster. During this time, we
became involved in several lengthy and expensive law suits, filed by
his ``wife''. After Karl's death, it took us over 1 year to remove her
from his house. After she left, all that remained in the house of
Karl's possessions was one light bulb, a lot of trash, and unpaid
utility bills.
During Karl's lifetime we tried everyone, we could think of, to
help Karl and us, from the Baltimore County Department of Aging, Social
Services, two State Senators, a local attorney, and Karl's physician.
There needs to be legislation passed to protect the elderly from
themselves and predators. It takes months to work through the legal
system, and much harm can occur during that period. Hopefully, this
letter will help you pass legislation to help others in the future.
Prepared Statement of Pamela B. Teaster, Ph.D. \1\ and Lisa Nerenberg,
M.S.W., M.P.H. \2\
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\1\ Vice President, National Committee for the Prevention of Elder
Abuse and Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Program in Gerontology and
University of Kentucky School of Public Health, 306 Health Sciences
Building, 900 S. Limestone, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
40536-0200, 859.257.1450 ext: 80196 (telephone), [email protected].
\2\ Consultant, National Committee for the Prevention of Elder
Abuse, [email protected].
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report for the national committee for the prevention of elder abuse
partner national center on elder abuse
The authors wish to thank the representatives of the
multidisciplinary teams for their dedication to addressing the problem
of elder abuse and their assistance with this project.
abstract
Elder abuse multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) include professionals
from diverse disciplines who work together to review cases of elder
abuse and address systemic problems. MDTs reflect the understanding
that clinical and systemic issues often exceed the boundaries of any
single discipline or agency. Using an e-mail survey format, the authors
received information from 31 MDT coordinators across the country
representing fatality review teams, financial abuse specialist teams,
medically oriented teams, and ``traditional'' teams. The coordinators
provided information on the functions their teams perform, the
importance of specific functions, cases reviewed, composition of teams,
policies and procedures, administration, funding, and challenges to
effective functioning. The most frequently performed functions are
providing consultation aimed at assisting workers to resolve difficult
abuse cases; identifying service gaps and systems problems; and
updating members about new services, programs and legislation. When
asked about the importance of these functions, responders ranked
providing consultation aimed at assisting workers to resolve difficult
abuse cases significantly higher than other functions. Teams expressed
only mild concern for breaches in confidentiality. MDTs stressed the
importance of input by professionals from the legal community for
successful team functioning.
Key Words: multidisciplinary team, elder abuse, interdisciplinary
team, financial abuse, fatality review, coordination.
a national look at elder abuse multidisciplinary teams
Multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), groups of professionals from
diverse disciplines who come together to review abuse cases and address
systemic problems, are now a hallmark of elder abuse prevention
programs. Teams first emerged in the early 1980s in recognition of the
fact that clinical and systemic issues that abuse cases frequently pose
exceed the boundaries of any single discipline or agency.
Teams are believed to offer many benefits to professionals,
clients, and communities. In addition to helping individual service
providers resolve difficult cases, the team review process has been
credited with enhancing service coordination by clarifying agencies'
policies, procedures, and roles and by identifying service gaps and
breakdowns in coordination or communication. Teams may also enhance
members' professional skills and knowledge by providing a forum for
learning more about the strategies, resources, and approaches used by
multiple disciplines.
The rapid proliferation of MDTs across the U.S. and Canada in the
last 2 decades has been accompanied by a growing demand for highly
specialized expertise in such areas as financial abuse, fatality
review, and medical issues. Federal, State, and local governments have
increasingly acknowledged the importance and benefits of MDTs and have
responded by providing resources, technical assistance, and statutory
authority.
Currently, there is a paucity of research examining elder abuse
MDTs. The research that does exist is localized, focuses on team
development, and highlights the benefits of MDTs (Manitoba-Seniors-
Directorate, 1994; Wasylkewycz, 1993; Wolf, 1988). Research does not
address the functions and composition of MDTs and is not national in
scope. Although anecdotal evidence suggests that teams offer tangible
benefits to their members and communities, in-depth studies to identify
how they function and demonstrate their impact on the problem of elder
mistreatment have not been conducted. To begin to shed light on the
functioning of teams, the National Committee for the Prevention of
Elder Abuse (NCPEA), as partner in the National Center on Elder Abuse
(NCEA), carried out a national survey. Team representatives were asked
to identify key features of teams, explain variations, describe
specialized teams, and identify common obstacles and how they are being
addressed. The information presented below provides a picture of the
various types of teams that responded to the survey. Further, it
provides a framework for decision-making for groups that are
considering starting teams or enhancing existing teams, and sets the
stage for future research on teams' impact and effectiveness.
methods
Because no national list of MDTs was available, the authors
requested the help of NCPEA's Board of Directors and subscribers to
NCEA's list serve (operated by the American Bar Association's
Commission on Law and Aging) to identify and suggest elder abuse teams.
The request yielded approximately 40 recommendations. The authors did
not provide a specific definition of teams in order to capture a wide
variety. However, they attempted to include teams that represented a
diverse mix in terms of size of membership, focus, geographic location,
and length of time in existence. The sample included ``traditional''
MDTs as well as specialized teams including financial abuse specialist
teams (FASTS), teams with a medical orientation, and fatality review
teams.
After approval by the University of Kentucky's Institutional Review
Board, the authors sent e-mail letters to representatives or
spokespersons of 40 teams. The e-mail communication explained the
project, invited representatives of MDTs to participate, and advised
potential participants of project timelines and processes. Thirty-two
team coordinators indicated their willingness to participate, and the
project group sent out 32 surveys to them. Coordinators were given 2
weeks to complete the surveys and return them via e-mail, fax, or
conventional mail. At the end of that period, members of the project
group made follow-up calls to ensure the highest possible response
rate. Of the original 40 team coordinators contacted, 31 returned
surveys, for a response rate of 77.5 percent.
Data Collection Instrument
The survey instrument (Appendix A) was developed in consultation
with members of NCPEA's Board of Directors to elicit information on
defining features of teams such as sponsorship, funding sources,
formalized policies and agreements, and membership. Respondents were
also asked to identify challenges MDTs encountered as well as
successful resolutions. They were further asked to describe products
and accomplishments. Prior to sending the survey to the entire group,
it was pilot tested with two team coordinators, whose suggestions were
then incorporated into the final survey that was sent to respondents.
Raw data were entered by a doctoral level graduate student in the
Ph.D. Program in Gerontology at the University of Kentucky and cross-
checked for accuracy with the assistance of another doctoral level
gerontology student. The doctoral level assistant contacted respondents
for clarification when questions arose regarding the information
provided on the survey. Data were analyzed by faculty and graduate
students at the University of Kentucky using descriptive statistics.
results
Functions of Teams
To identify the most frequently performed functions of MDTs,
respondents were given a checklist and asked to indicate those they
perform. They were also invited to add additional functions.
The two most frequently cited functions of teams (Table 1) were
providing expert consultation to service providers and identifying
service gaps and systems problems (93.5 percent each). Nearly all teams
also update new members about services, programs, and legislation (90.3
percent). Well over three-fourths of teams perform the following
additional functions: advocating for change; planning and carrying out
training events; and planning and carrying out coordinated
investigations or care planning.
Respondents were given the opportunity to list additional functions
and added the following: providing training to team members on
techniques, developing a coordinated community response to older
victims of domestic violence and elder abuse victims, encouraging the
investigation and prosecution of elder abuse crimes, resolving
difficult health and social problems, cutting through delays that are
built into ``the system,'' and providing an opportunity for colleagues
to offer support and advice on such issues as setting boundaries with
clients and counter-transference.
Importance of Team Functions
In addition to identifying frequently performed functions,
respondents were asked to rate the importance of each function on a one
to five scale (with one being of no importance and five being
essential). The highest ranking function was ``providing expert
consultation to service providers,'' which was rated as ``Very
Important'' or ``Essential'' by 71 percent of respondents (Table 2).
Approximately half the teams ranked as ``Very Important'' or
``Essential'' the following functions: updating members about new
services, programs, and legislation; identifying service gaps or
systems problems; planning and carrying out coordinated investigations
or care planning; and carrying out training events. As was the case
with the earlier question, respondents were invited to list additional
functions and to indicate their importance. Ranked as ``Essential''
were providing training to team members on techniques, developing a
coordinated community response to older victims of domestic violence
and elder abuse victims, and encouraging investigation and prosecution
of elder abuse crimes.
Types of Cases Reviewed
Most MDTs conduct case reviews, but they may handle the review
process quite differently. For example, some teams review all types of
elder abuse cases, while others focus on certain types. Nearly three-
fourths (71.0 percent) review cases involving all types of abuse and
neglect. Seven teams (22.6 percent) focus on financial abuse cases. Of
these, five described themselves as Financial Abuse Specialist Teams
(FASTS), a model developed in Los Angeles in the early 1990s and since
replicated in other communities. Despite the common name, there are
wide variations among the FASTS. For example, one FAST meets every 2
weeks, only includes representatives from public agencies, and places
an emphasis on its rapid response to deter abuse and preserve assets.
Another FAST has over 50 members, includes representatives from many
private, non-profit agencies, and meets quarterly.
One team in the sample identified itself as a ``fatality review
team,'' a model that was originally developed in the fields of child
abuse and domestic violence to review suspicious deaths or ``near-
deaths.'' Five additional teams indicated that they review fatalities
but did not specifically call themselves fatality review teams. Two
teams focused on medical issues in cases involving clients with
multiple medical problems or cognitive decline.
Several teams indicated that they focus on particularly problematic
cases, such as self-neglect cases, cases involving persons with mental
illness and mental retardation, high-risk situations, and cases in
which guardianship is being considered. Although many of the teams
address systemic problems and issues, two teams indicated that they
focus exclusively on systemic issues (as opposed to clinical issues
related to client care).
Team Attendance
Respondents were asked to indicate how many people regularly attend
team meetings. The question was posed in this way (as opposed to asking
for number of members) because teams that operate informally may
welcome all interested professionals to attend and do not require them
to sign membership agreements. Nearly half (45.2 percent) of the teams
have an average attendance of between 5 and 10 people. Just over one-
quarter (25.8 percent) routinely have between 10 and 20 participants,
nearly a tenth (9.7 percent) have between 20 and 30 people attend
regularly, and nearly a tenth (9.7 percent) routinely draw more than 30
participants. One team typically has fewer than four in attendance (3.2
percent). Two teams did not respond to the question (6.5 percent).
Attendance Requirements. A fourth of MDTs (25.8 percent) require
members to attend a certain number of meetings yearly (e.g., 5 to 10).
Three teams indicated that missing a certain number of meetings (e.g.,
three consecutive meetings) is grounds for dismissal. Typically, team
members are encouraged to provide alternative attendees in their
absence if they are unable to attend.
Frequency of Meetings. Nearly three-fourths of MDTs (74.2 percent)
meet monthly (9.7 percent meet every 2 weeks, 9.7 percent meet every
other month and 3.2 percent meet quarterly). One Team (3.2 percent)
meets as needed in addition to its regularly scheduled meetings. To
streamline meetings, some teams have structured agendas, which include
such items as introductions, reviews of confidentiality, guest speakers
or educational presentations, and updates on services or developments
in the field.
Categories of Membership
MDTs were asked specific questions about their members. Teams
reported that they recruit individual members, invite agencies to join
and to designate representatives, or both. Individual members
participate for their own benefit and represent their own viewpoints or
perspectives, while agency members may serve as liaisons between their
organizations and the team, convey agency policy and perspectives, and
commit resources. Well over half of the teams (64.5 percent) allow
individuals to join regardless of agency affiliation.
Organization members include private non-profit agencies, public
agencies, and for-profit agencies (including professionals in private
practice). Some teams only permit non-profit agencies and individuals
who work for non-profit agencies (61.3 percent) to join. Slightly over
one-third (35.5 percent) permit for-profit businesses to participate.
Two teams only include representatives from public agencies.
Certain teams have created special categories of membership. For
example, some have ``core member'' (e.g., APS, or law enforcement),
categories that must be filled at all times, and other categories that
are considered desirable but not required. Teams may extend certain
benefits to some members and not others, including the right to present
cases (Table 3). Over half (58.1 percent) permit any team member to
present cases, while others (29.0 percent) only allow certain members
to do so (one team only permits APS workers to present cases, and
another permits APS, Ombudsmen, law enforcement, and private attorneys
to present). Still others (25.8 percent) allow any service provider in
the community to present cases, regardless of whether or not they are
members.
Respondents indicated that the responsibilities of members also
vary. For example, some teams require certain members to provide
additional consultation or training between meetings and another uses
``technical advisors'' who do not routinely attend meetings but who are
called upon for assistance as needed.
Disciplines Represented
Respondents were asked to indicate what professional disciplines
are represented on their teams (Table 4). The most commonly cited were
police and sheriffs, which was listed by 93.5 percent of respondents.
APS workers participate on 83.9 percent of teams. Disciplines included
on more than half of the teams are: providers of geriatric mental
health services, prosecutors, aging service providers, public
guardians, and domestic violence advocates. Other disciplines
represented on fewer than 50 percent of teams include nurses,
physicians, non-geriatric mental health professionals, and victim-
witness advocates. Approximately a third (32.3 percent) include
representatives from financial institutions, and another third (32.3
percent) include clergy. Just over one-quarter (25.8 percent) include
retired professionals.
Respondents were invited to list other disciplines and service
categories included on their teams, and over half (51.6 percent) did
so. These included ethicists, animal care and control officers, public
administrators, probation and parole personnel, code enforcement
personnel, resource specialists, fire fighters, a retired judge,
housing managers, housing advocates, personnel from assisted living
facilities, members of public utility boards, in-home service
providers, realtors, representatives from State long-term care
licensing and regulatory agencies, hospital social workers, emergency
medical personnel, providers of services for persons with developmental
disabilities, media representatives, homeless shelter staff, health
department personnel, health statistics specialists, health advocates,
and certified public accountants.
Level of Team Formality
Respondents were asked several questions about formalized policies
and procedures they employ and written materials they use to document
or support policies and procedures, including meeting summaries,
memoranda of understanding, ``job descriptions'' for members,
orientation materials, policy and procedures manuals, and membership
categories. These are described below (Table 5).
Proceedings of Meetings. Over half (54.8 percent) of MDTs produce
written records of meetings, which may be in the form of ``minutes,''
summaries of the proceedings or case reviews, and recommendations. One
team uses genograms to graphically depict the content of the team
review (charts that graphically describe the social and familial
relationships between individuals, a technique primarily used by mental
health professionals to help identify positive and negative influences
affecting an individual).
Teams that produce written records of meetings vary in how they use
and disseminate them. Over half (51.6 percent) disseminate information
on case reviews to team members and others. One MDT disseminates
minutes to members but excludes information on case reviews, while
another sends minutes to non-members in addition to members (including
all police departments in the county, the district attorney, the
Sheriff's Department, State adult protection, the public administrator,
and a legal center for handicapped and older adults) as a way to
educate these groups about the issue. A medical team includes case
review summaries in clients' medical charts. One team that produces
minutes keeps them in a special team book maintained by the program
coordinator, who provides summaries upon request.
Contracts and Memoranda of Understanding. Just over half (51.6
percent) of MDTs require members to sign contracts or memoranda of
understanding, which typically include provisions for confidentiality
and terms of membership. Over a fourth of teams (29.0 percent) require
agency supervisors or administrators to sign contracts or memoranda of
understanding, affirming the agencies' commitment to assign
representatives and to replace representatives who are unable to meet
their commitments.
Guidelines for Review of Cases. Just over half (51.6 percent) of
teams use case review guidelines to provide direction or suggestions to
presenters on what information to include in case presentations and the
order in which to present it. Typically included are the client's
living arrangement, support network, functional status, a description
of the abuse and/or other presenting problems, and a history of
attempted interventions or services.
Policies and Procedures Manuals. Approximately a third (32.3
percent) of teams indicated that they have formal policies and
procedures manuals. Only one team keeps the manual on disk rather than
having it in hard copy due to the sensitive nature of its contents.
Job Descriptions. Over a fourth (29.0 percent) use job descriptions
for members, which may be contained in membership agreements, member
handbooks, or elsewhere. The State of Wisconsin has developed a manual
for its counties that includes job descriptions for representatives
from the fields of law enforcement, medicine, law, domestic violence,
financial management and mental health, as well as clergy. In addition
to outlining the specific duties and responsibilities of each
representative, Wisconsin's job descriptions also contain detailed
requirements with respect to education, experience, training,
knowledge, skills, and abilities. For example, it is recommended that
law enforcement representatives have associates' degrees in criminal
justice or another social science.
Orientation Materials. Approximately a fourth of teams (29.0
percent) use orientation materials, which usually include handbooks
that contain general information on elder abuse, pertinent laws,
research articles, policies, mission statements, confidentiality
agreements, by-laws, etc. One team has produced a video that all new
members must view.
Term Limits. Nearly a fourth (22.6 percent) of the teams have term
limits for members, the most common of which is 1 year. The majority of
teams (77.4 percent) allow members to serve more than one term. An
annual renewal process may serve as an opportunity to review members'
participation during the year and determine whether they have met their
obligations to the MDT.
Other Information. Other written materials used by teams include a
handbook for coordinators and written protocols. Some teams solicit
input from members through routine or occasional surveys that ask how
useful meetings are to members or by requesting suggestions for
educational presentations. They may further ask members to provide
information about case outcomes (e.g., were prosecutions successful as
a result of team interventions; were assets or property recovered and,
if so, what was the amount). Team members may be asked to indicate how
many hours they have contributed during and between meetings and to
estimate their associated pro bono contributions. Some teams ask
members to fill out feedback forms at the end of every meeting.
Administration
MDTs were asked to provide information about administration. Four
teams (12.9 percent) were coordinated by an Area Agency on Aging, and
APS administered 10 (52.6 percent) teams. Other arrangements included
administration by a district attorney's office or in collaboration with
agencies/organizations such as a university, a local non-profit, or
sheriff's office. Some operate informally without designated
administrators. Activities associated with team administration that
were cited included producing and sending out agendas, meeting
announcements and minutes; arranging for meeting space; recruiting
members and negotiating contracts and memoranda of understanding;
preparing materials such as handbooks and job descriptions; producing
and disseminating minutes; selecting cases; serving as a focal point
for questions; and, in the case of some teams, following up on members'
recommendations.
Leadership
Adult Protective Services (APS), the agencies mandated to respond
to reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults in most
States, play a prominent role in MDTs. Nearly one-third of teams (32.3
percent) are administered by APS programs alone or in collaboration
with other agencies (e.g., one team involves collaboration between APS
and a hospital-based geriatric program). Following APS, Area Agencies
on Aging (AAAs) (12.9 percent) are the next most likely entity to
administer teams. Just over half (51.6 percent) of the teams surveyed
are administered by other agencies. These include a county attorney's
office, a private non-profit agency, a State Attorney General's office,
a university, and an ``elder abuse provider'' agency.
Funding and In-kind Support
MDTs were asked to describe their sources of funding and in-kind
support. The most common source of support to teams is APS programs,
which provide support to 38.7 percent of the teams surveyed. Most APS
support is in-kind (92.0 percent), which includes staff time (this may
be for case workers, supervisors, support and clerical staff), meeting
space, and the printing and mailing of materials. A fourth of APS
programs (25.0 percent) provide funding, with amounts ranging from $70
to $250.
Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) are the second most common source,
providing support to 32.3 percent of the teams (again, most support is
in-kind). Monetary support from AAAs includes elder abuse funds
authorized under the Older Americans Act. Dollar amounts ranged from
$3,000 to $85,122 annually.
Nearly a half of MDTs (48.4 percent) receive support from other
sources. Monetary support is provided by a State department of public
safety, a State justice assistance council, the American Association of
Retired Persons (AARP) and foundations. Funding amounts from these
sources ranged from $500 to $10,000 yearly. Sources of additional in-
kind support included an attorney general's office, a college of
medicine, a county hospital district, a State attorney, providers of
mental health and medical services, law enforcement, and a medical
examiner's office.
Calculating the costs of operating a team was complicated by the
fact that few teams have dedicated staffing. Staffing tasks are often
shared by several individuals, are likely to fluctuate over time, and
may be carried out intermittently and in concert with other tasks.
Comparing costs was further complicated by the fact that teams engage
in such diverse activities as community outreach, professional
training, and research, all of which require very different levels of
support. In addition, those that rely on in-kind support typically do
not track costs. Consequently, teams' responses to questions about
their costs varied widely, with some stating that there were no costs
associated with the team, with one team indicating that it operates on
an annual budget of over $85,000. Other MDTs were unable to respond to
the question.
Sources of Technical Assistance
Teams receive guidance and technical assistance from a variety of
sources, the most common of which is State agencies. State units on
aging, State APS programs, and offices of attorneys general provide
assistance to approximately one-third (32.3 percent) of the teams
surveyed. These agencies provide manuals, sample materials, and
training. Examples include the Illinois Department of Aging, which
creates resource materials, brochures, posters, and videos. Other
sources of technical assistance include national organizations (9.7
percent), such as NCPEA, which operates a program of local affiliates,
and a statewide coalition of teams.
Challenges
MDTs have encountered numerous challenges. Respondents were asked
to provide information about these challenges and to describe the
initiatives they have taken to address them (Table 6).
Lack of Participation By Certain Disciplines. Half (48.4 percent)
of the teams indicated that they experienced difficulty gaining or
maintaining participation by certain disciplines. Foremost among these
was law enforcement (42.9 percent). Other underrepresented disciplines
include medical professionals, clergy, prosecutors, attorneys,
representatives from financial institutions, providers of services to
young disabled adults, pharmacists, State long-term care licensing and
regulatory agencies, county attorney's offices, and mental health
workers.
Maintaining an Adequate Number of Cases. Nearly a fourth of teams
(22.6 percent) indicated that they have trouble finding enough cases to
present. One reason cited was that APS staff members are too busy to
prepare case summaries. In addition, many communities now have more
than one team, which creates ``competition'' for cases. Teams have
attempted to increase the number and diversity of cases by sending out
e-mail reminders about meetings and, in communities with more than one
team, clarifying the types of cases reviewed by each.
Confidentiality. Although the researchers had anticipated that
breaches in confidentiality would be a major concern of teams, only
four respondents (12.9 percent) indicated that this was a challenge for
them. Respondents were also asked to indicate if they had, in fact,
experienced breaches. Only one team reported experiencing a ``close
call.'' This relatively moderate level of concern may reflect teams'
satisfaction with measures they have taken to preserve confidentiality.
Measures that MDTs have taken to ensure confidentiality included
confidentiality agreements, which are employed by well over half (64.5
percent) of the teams and the use of pseudonyms or initials when
discussing cases (48.4 percent). Over a third of teams (35.5 percent)
operate in States that have special laws that permit the sharing of
information and/or immunity laws, which protect information disclosed
at meetings from being used as evidence in civil actions or
disciplinary proceedings. Other methods for ensuring confidentiality
included written reminders about confidentiality (with applicable State
code sections) on monthly meeting agendas, outlining confidentiality
provisions in a memorandum of understanding members sign when they join
the team, and not disseminating case summaries. One respondent observed
that as teams gain experience and members get to know each other,
concerns about confidentiality have decreased.
Other Challenges. Other challenges cited included the failure of
certain groups to present cases (16.1 percent), animosity among members
(9.7 percent), failure of members to follow through on actions to which
they have agreed (9.7 percent), and members not feeling their time is
well spent (6.7 percent). Additional challenges cited by single
respondents included: agency representatives delegated to attend
meetings do not have the authority needed to make systems changes, and
those with the authority do not attend, lack of funding and support,
and failure to achieve ``buy-in'' from members whose participation is
not voluntary (e.g., they are mandated to participate).
Tangible Products
In addition to case reviews, teams engage in many other activities,
the most common being those related to training (58.1 percent).
Training materials produced by teams include booklets, packets,
manuals, PowerPoint presentations, and a curriculum and workbook.
Groups targeted for training include bank employees, clergy,
gatekeepers, the public, law enforcement, medical students and
practitioners, and mandated reporters. Training events include
conferences, workshops and ``train-the-trainer programs.'' Topics
covered in training sessions include fraud prevention, medical issues,
APS and its role in receiving reports (including services offered, who
must report, and what to expect once a case has been assigned to APS
for investigation and follow-up), how to recognize and investigate
fiduciary abuse, real estate fraud, and how to gather evidence of
incapacity for guardianships and lawsuits.
Approximately one-third of MDTs (32.3 percent) produce other
materials (not related to training) including brochures, laminated law
enforcement cards that list elder abuse statutes, resource cards for
law enforcement, a video on victim impact, a video on FAST, websites,
annual reports, newsletters, resource guides, public service
announcements, and handbooks. Replication materials produced by teams
include videos and how-to manuals.
Other activities and accomplishments cited by respondents included
the development of interagency agreements (25.8 percent), legislation
(19.4 percent), a protocol for law enforcement, and referral guidelines
for APS workers. One team was developing a volunteer program to recruit
retired bank personnel to assist in investigating financial abuse
cases. The program is patterned after a successful model developed in
Oregon.
conclusions
This study was a first effort to shed light on the role, processes,
varieties and accomplishments of MDTs on a national level. Although
limited in sample size (it did not study the hundreds of teams that
have emerged nationwide in the last 2 decades), it underscores the
benefits and costs of teams, highlights trends, and provides insight
into the challenges teams face. Further, it reveals some of the
difficulties program planners and policy makers address in anticipating
the direct and indirect costs of operating teams.
Several findings are noteworthy. Assisting workers resolve
difficult abuse cases is frequently cited as the primary goal of teams
and is why some teams were initiated. Although this function was rated
as the most important performed by teams, the overwhelming majority of
teams also identify service gaps and update members about new services,
resources, and legislation. This finding suggests that, although case
reviews are important in themselves, as previously believed, they
frequently reveal systemic problems and point to the need for new
services, resources, legislation, and information about new resources
and developments.
Also noteworthy is the importance of legal expertise and input on
teams. Police and sheriffs, prosecutors and public guardians are among
the six most commonly included disciplines represented on teams,
surpassing such groups as medical professionals and domestic violence
advocates.
The relatively mild concern for breaches in confidentiality was
also surprising in light of anecdotal evidence to suggest otherwise
(i.e., a fatality review team in California refrained from reviewing
cases until the State passed legislation that permitted the sharing of
information).
Reported costs of operating teams varied widely, with some teams
clearly not knowing their true operational costs, although it was
obvious that costs were incurred. It may be that teams should examine,
through systematic outcome evaluation, their true costs and benefits at
regular intervals to determine whether they meet their operational
goals or whether such goals can be reasonably achieved.
In conclusion, MDTs play a key role in communities' response to
elder abuse and are highly valued by those who participate. Among the
benefits they cited were strengthening community relationships,
eliminating or ameliorating turf wars, promoting team work and
cooperation, providing assistance on cases referred for guardianship,
helping clients secure improved medical care, and enhancing members'
understanding of services. Clearly, the strength of MDTs is their
ability to mobilize professionals from a wide range of disciplines to
confront the complex and growing problem of elder mistreatment.
references
Manitoba-Seniors-Directorate. (February 1994). Abuse of the
elderly: a manual for the development of multidisciplinary teams. MDT
Working Group on Elder Abuse, Winnipeg, Canada.
Wasylkewycz, M.N. (1993). Elder Abuse Resource Centre, a
coordinated community response to elder abuse: One Canadian
perspective. Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 5, 21-33.
Wolf, R. S. (1988). Elder abuse: Ten years later. Journal of the
American Geriatrics Society, 36, 758-762.
The Elder Justice Coalition
a national advocacy voice supporting elder justice in america
The Elder Justice Coalition: 192 members
Organizational Members: 147
National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
National Association of State Units on Aging
National Association of APS Administrators
National Association of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs
AARP
Adult Guardianship Services, OH
Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care
American Art Therapy Association
Alzheimer's Association
American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
American Association for Single People
American Geriatrics Society
American Health Care Association
American Psychological Association
Americans for Better Care of the Dying
American Society on Aging
Area Agency on Aging, Region One, Phoenix, AZ
Arizona Elder Abuse Coalition
Arlington AAA, Arlington, VA
Arlington Steering Committee for Services to Older Persons
Assisted Living Federation of America
Association for Protection of the Elderly
Association for Protection of the Elderly--PA Chapter
Association for Protection of the Elderly--West Coast Chapter
Benjamin Rose Institute, Cleveland, OH
Billings Chapter of NCPEA, Montana
California Medical Training Center, UC Davis
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis
Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly
Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc.
Citizens for Better Care
Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups & the Elder Law Center
Cochise County, Arizona, Elder Abuse Task Force
College of Professional Mediation, Puerto Rico
Collier County S.A.L.T. (Seniors And Law enforcement Together)
Council, FL
Consumer Consortium for Assisted Living
Council on Aging--Orange County
District of Columbia Long-Term Care Ombudsman Office
Disability, Abuse and Personal Rights Project
Elder Abuse Institute of Maine
Eldercare America
Elder Law of Michigan
Family Research Council
Foundation for Senior Living
Georgia Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Gerontological Society of America
Gray Panthers
Greater Cleveland Elder Abuse/Domestic Violence Roundtable
Heart and Hand, Inc.
Home Instead Senior Care, Inc.
Hospice Patients Alliance
Institute for Caregiver Education, Chambersburg PA
Institute of Gerontology at the University of Louisiana at Monroe
International Association of Forensic Nurses
International Cemetery and Funeral Association
International Longevity Center
Joint Public Affairs Committee for Older Adults
Kansas Advocates for Better Care
Kalamazoo County Advocates for Senior Issues
Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children
Kentucky Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Lawyers for Elder Abuse Prevention, of NY
Lifecycles, Great Falls, MT
LIFESPAN, Rochester, NY
Louisiana Association of Councils on Aging
Louisiana Geriatrics Society
Lucas County (Ohio) Prosecutor's Office
Maine Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
Maricopa Elder Abuse Prevention Alliance
Meals on Wheels Association
MedAmerica Insurance Company
Member of the Family
Metropolitan Crime Commission of Jackson, MS
Michigan Campaign for Quality Care
Michigan Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman
National Adult Day Services Association
National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
National Association of Counties
National Association of Directors of Nursing Home Administration in
Long Term Care
National Association of Legal Services Developers
National Association of Local Long Term Care Ombudsmen
National Association of Nutrition and Aging Service Programs
National Association of Orthopedic Nurses
National Association of Social Workers
National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life
National Caucus and Center on Black Aged, Inc.
National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
National Council on Aging
National Council on Child Abuse & Family Violence
National Education Association--Retired
National Hispanic Council on Aging
National Indian Council on Aging
National Senior Citizens Law Center
National Silver Haired Congress
Nevada County (California) Department of Adult & Family Services
New Hampshire Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
New Mexico State Agency on Aging
New York Citizens' Committee on Aging
New York Foundation for Senior Citizens Guardian Services
New York State Society on Aging
Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging
Northern Area Agency of Aging, WI
Northern Virginia Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs
Nursing Home Monitors
Office of Ombudsman for Older Minnesotans
Ohio Association of Probate Judges
Ohio Association of Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Ohio Coalition for Adult Protective Services
Older and Disabled Adult Services/Solano County Health and Social
Services
Orange County Vulnerable Adult Specialist Team, Orange County, CA
Pinal County Attorney's Office, AZ
Pinal County Public Fiduciary, AZ
Pinal-Gila Elder Abuse Specialist Team, AZ
Rhode Island Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Riverside County Office on Aging
San Diego Elder Abuse Task Force
San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services
San Francisco Department of Human Services
Senior & Adult Services of Cuyahoga County, OH
Senior Citizens, Inc., TN
Senior Protective Ministry
SOLACE
Stanislaus Elder Abuse Prevention Alliance
Stop Family Violence
Suburban Area Agency on Aging
Texas Elder Abuse and Mistreatment Institute
Texas Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman
The Burden Center for the Aging, NY
The Center for Social Gerontology, Inc.
The Long Term Ombudsman Council of Broward County, FL
TRIAD
United Jewish Appeal Federation of New York
United Jewish Communities
Virginia Elder Rights Coalition
Virginia Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Walk the Walk, NY
Washington County, Oregon Elder Abuse MDT
Wellspring Personal Care
Western Montana Chapter for the Prevention of Elder Abuse
Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging, OH
Wisconsin Association of Area Agencies on Aging
Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long Term Care
WordBridges
Wyoming Dept of Health/Aging Division
Individual Members: 45
Georgia Anetzberger
Ben Antinori
Susan Aziz
Nora J. Baladerian, Ph.D.
Bennett Blum, MD
Patricia Bomba, MD
Dr. Patricia Brownell
Bobbi Butler
Curtis B. Clark, MD
Dr. Lawrence Cranberg
Judith Dorsett
Iris Freeman
Jonathan Heller
Gema Hernandez
Alison Hirschel
Ann Howard
Mary Charlene Johns
Tom Laughlin
Dr. Tomas Larrieux
Elizabeth Loewy
Margaret S. McCarthy
Ailee Moon, Ph.D.
Cal Morken
Scott Morken
Laura Mosqueda, MD
Lisabeth Passalis-Bain
Brian K. Payne, Ph.D.
Mebane Powell
Ron Proudfoot
Mary Joy Quinn
Sandy Reynolds
Esther L. Aguila Rivera
Daniel J. Sheridan, Ph.D., RN
Jean Sherman, Ed.D.RN
Susan Somers
Joseph Soos
Gail Spessert
Lori Stiegel
Sandra Sullivan
Erika Taylor
Natalie Thomas
Randolph W. Thomas
Marie Tomlin
Andre Waguespack
Linda L. Watts
[Whereupon, at 11:41 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]