World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15, 2017

Face on the Rock of Cashel

This isn’t my first post about World Elder Abuse Awareness Day or WEAAD for short. It’s an annual post for me on this day – last year I looked at the “international” part of WEAAD, as well as the national (federal) focus.  This year I will focus on a local aspect – as in Colorado law that can be used to stop an abuser straightaway.

First let’s revisit the basics of what can constitute elder abuse – keeping in mind that each state has its own set of laws addressing this matter, as does the federal government.  This lack of a common definition is part of the challenge in reporting elder abuse and identifying the numbers of elders involved.  But I think the biggest challenge remains in recognizing that elder abuse is a problem that affects our society, not just individuals taken advantage of by strangers or harmed by their loved ones because they are perceived as old, of little value to society, or as an impediment to an heir’s inheritance…

While there is an unfortunate variety of types of elder abuse – elder abuse generally includes:

Mistreatment – this is the preferred term for the American Society of Aging, which is offering a course on mistreatment as comprising abuse and neglect;

Abuse of a financial nature/exploitation – this includes the unauthorized or illegal use of or access to an elder’s financial resources that covers a range of activities such as theft, undue influence, deception or fraud, misrepresentation or coercion;

Abuse of physical nature – this includes violence of a physical nature, including slapping, hitting, restraining or confining an elder, overmedicating or giving improper medication;

Abuse of sexual nature – includes a caregiver forcing an elder to watch or participate in sexual acts;

Abuse of psychological or emotional nature – can be very subtle when employed by a manipulative or cunning family member or care provider;

Neglect of an elder can occur when a caregiver fails to actively or passively fulfill the role of caregiver (paid attendant or unpaid family member) or when an elder self-neglects.

The Adult Protection Services – APS for short – is part of the Colorado Department of Human Services and they have broken their page into four basic categories: caretaker neglect; exploitation; physical or sexual abuse; and self-neglect.  But this offers a very broad brush approach of what to report!

There are other options available in addition to simply reporting suspected mistreatment, abuse or neglect.  One of these involves getting immediate and direct protection against an abuser by means of obtaining a civil protection order.  A civil protection order proceeding is in county court and is available to persons who elders (and at risk adults, those who have developmental disabilities or some other cognitive impairment) who are victims of abuse to prevent further contact by the alleged perpetrator of the abuse.  Read more about the instructions and forms available on the Colorado State judicial website here.

The JDF 402 form for a complaint or motion for civil protection order specifically lists “abuse of the elderly or at-risk adult,” and cites Colo. Rev. Stat. §26-3.1-101(1) and (7).  That latter section of the statute, which is the definitional portion of the “protective services for at-risk adults,” provides

(7) “Mistreatment” means:

                (a) Abuse;

                (b) Caretaker neglect;

                (c) Exploitation;

                (d) An act or omission that threatens the health, safety, or welfare of an at-risk adult; or

                (e) An act or omission that exposes an at-risk adult to a situation or condition that poses an imminent risk of bodily injury to the at-risk adult.

You can see that there is astatutory provision for mistreatment that comprises abuse in our state.  The term is broad and necessarily so.  Remember that the statistics used by the National Council on Aging indicate that elders who have suffered abuse have a 300% higher risk of death as compared to those who have not been mistreated.

The take-away for this post is that there is an immediately available remedy to stop the mistreatment of elders in the form of a civil protection order.  The county courts have the forms available and magistrates or judicial officers to review the complaints or motions for such relief against an abuser respond quickly.

For elders who are suffering mistreatment at the hands of an abuser, a civil protection order can prevent further harm and help to safeguard the elder’s health.  I believe that raising awareness of available remedies to stop further abuse of elders is an important step toward realizing the goals of WEAAD.

© 2017 Barbara Cashman  www.DenverElderLaw.org