OVC FY 17 Field-Generated Innovations in Addressing Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation

From the National Center on Elder Abuse:

The Department of Justice, through its Office for Victims of Crime and the Elder Justice Initiative, intends to release a $3.25 million solicitation in 2017 entitled OVC FY 17 Field-Generated Innovations in Addressing Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation. A brief description of the intended solicitation can be found at https://www.grantsnet.justice.gov/programplan/html/Solicitations.htm. (Type in “elder abuse” in the search box and a hyperlink to a short description of this OVC solicitation will be provided).

Additional details will be released in the new year.  We encourage you to share this solicitation with colleagues both within and outside of the elder justice community.

Vulnerable Seniors are Most Vulnerable During and After a Disaster

By Christopher Jackson, Communications Coordinator, Elder Law of Michigan, and Project Administrator, Center for Elder Rights Advocacy

This year, the Federal Government has issued 44 Major Disaster Declarations for natural disasters occurring across the country. Even with substantial warning and preparation for many of these disasters by state and local governments, hundreds have still lost their lives in these disasters. Many of these deaths, as well as injuries, could be prevented with proper preparedness.  A 2014 study found that only 1 in 3 seniors had participated in an educational program or had read materials related to disaster preparedness. Educating individuals on what they can do to better prepare for disasters is vital to protect lives and prevent injuries.

The American Red Cross has released a disaster preparedness guide specifically for seniors to use in their planning for disasters. This is especially important due to seniors being some of the most vulnerable when disaster strikes. According to Elaine Wethington, a professor at the Cornell Aging and the Environment Initiative, “Over half of the people who died in Hurricane Katrina were age 65 and older.” The disproportionate impact of natural disasters on seniors is well documented in various scientific studies that have been conducted over the years on the physical impacts of natural disasters.

Wethington also pointed out that “The risk of death among people who are socially isolated is greater than the risk of death among older people who smoke.” The negative impact that social isolation has on seniors is well documented in research and literature, so it is not a surprise that it also has an impact on seniors when it comes to planning for natural disasters. Yet, social isolation is only one factor that leads to higher vulnerability for seniors facing natural disasters.  Other factors include inability to move out of harm’s way, a reluctance to evacuate, and chronic health conditions.

Legal Hotlines can expect to be called upon to assist seniors leading up to and after a natural disaster strikes, regardless of whether it is a forecasted disaster, such as a hurricane, or an unforeseen disaster, such as an earthquake. Many seniors will have questions regarding their rights and how to deal with the disaster’s impacts such as:

• What local government agencies to contact about services available;
• When to attempt to leave their homes before a disaster;
• Who to contact regarding utility issues;
• Where can they access basic necessities, healthcare, and other supplies or needs;
• How to protect themselves from shady contractors and other for-hire service providers; and,
• Questions related to estate planning.

Luckily, most hotline attorneys are well versed in topics like these as they are questions posed daily on hotlines across the country. For more information on assisting seniors in disaster preparedness, visit the American Red Cross website.

 

3 Low-Cost Ways to Do Outreach and Education on Elder Abuse

By Keith Morris, President, Elder Law of Michigan, and Director, Center for Elder Rights Advocacy

Many of our senior legal hotline programs are starting new model approaches grants, all of them with some focus on addressing the problem of elder abuse.  I thought it would be a good time to share some tips I have picked up over the years regarding doing low-cost or free outreach and education. (Let me say that I started this post with 7 low-cost ways, but had to cut it back so that the article wouldn’t be so long.  I’ll share the others with you in an upcoming post.)

If you have any questions, would like some feedback on a program that you are working on, or have suggestions that you would like to share with others, please contact me at kmorris@ceraresource.org.

1) Use your existing correspondence efficiently. 

If you are already sending a closing letter, a satisfaction survey, or other information after you talk with your client on the phone, you should consider adding information about the problem of elder abuse.  It could be a paragraph in your closing letter, a flyer that lists some of the facts about the problem, or an insert that tells the story of how your program helped a client who was a victim of elder abuse.

Make sure you have a clear reason for adding this to your mailing, and make sure the reader can figure that out as well.  Do you want them to call your hotline for more information?  Do you want them to know more about their rights, etc.?  Often, narrowing the information to one specific topic makes it easier for the person to understand.  For example, focusing on a particular scam and how to identify it.

It is important to pay attention to the language that you use in materials like this.  Statements like “are you a victim of elder abuse?” may not work because often the older adult doesn’t like to see themselves as victims.  There are several approaches to take, such as focusing on the fact that many older adults are taken advantage of each year.  Another approach is, “Are you or someone you love worried about how to deal with…”

Don’t underestimate the importance of the correct graphic if are adding an insert or a flyer to your mailing.  For topics like elder abuse, it is difficult to decide on what emotion we want the reader to feel when looking at the information.  I try to stay away from very sad images and very happy images.  Perhaps you will find it easier to focus on the facts or situation and find an image to reflect that.  For example, if your information is about a phone scam, using an image of a phone with a question mark or a caution sign might be what you need.

Here are some examples of flyers and inserts that have been used.

Be sure to keep track of the number of clients that you provide this information to because you probably will want to include this activity in a grant report.  It is a good idea to come up with a calendar of topics and include something in each client correspondence. (Always make sure you know the number of pages that you can include in the envelope before the amount of postage required increases.)

Finally, if you have any questions or would like some ideas on how to use this to educate clients on relevant topics, the staff at CERA are always eager to help.

2) Educate service providers and professionals about the problem of elder abuse. 

Over the years, I have found that providing education and resources to professionals that work with the older adult population was one of the most cost effective ways to do outreach to seniors.  By doing a presentation on the problem of elder abuse or some related topic to senior housing service coordinators, law enforcement, nurses, in-home care service providers, etc., you can make an indirect connection to every person that they deal with.

Almost everyone at a presentation like this is grateful for the information you shared with them and for the resources that are available.  Each person there wants to help the older adult they are working with, and wants to have as many tools at their disposal.  Be sure to leave them with some flyers or cards that they can give to the older adult who may need your services.

Another way that you can accomplish this same goal is to write articles that can be included in the newsletter for the state chapter of the professional association.  Also, most of these professionals have continuing education requirements, so try to get a webinar approved for credit and offer it for free.

I do want to mention a few groups of professionals that we often overlook:

• Hair Stylists.  Whether someone at the beauty shop or barber shop, these professionals are great sources of information for their clients and can provide your information to their older adult clients.
• Postal Employees.  They often see the older adult just about every day and could share information.
• Meter Readers, electric company or gas company.  There are several great programs throughout the country where utility companies are checking in on older adults on a regular basis.

3) Use your Clients 

Almost every hotline that keeps track of how a client found out about their services finds that a family member or friend told the client about the hotline.  It is this unofficial endorsement of our services that gives the older adult the courage to call about a problem that they are having.  So why don’t we make it easier for people to be our ambassadors and tell others about the great work that we do?

Over the years, I have tried a variety of approaches for this.  One of the ways to do this is to insert some pre-print business cards in the envelope with the client letter.  The cards simply have the hotline logo, the phone number to call, and the hours that the hotline is open.  In one campaign we did, at the end of the call, the attorney told the client that there would be some business cards in with the closing letter and encouraged the client to give a card to someone that they think might need our services. Another time, we encouraged the client to post our card at the grocery store or at their pharmacy.

But, one of the most effective ways that we found to do outreach about the hotline was to add something to the closing letter like this, “Even if you are unable to make a donation to support the work of the hotline, there is still something you can do.  Tell a friend or family member who may need our services about us and how they can reach us.”  Of course, that was included after we asked for a donation, but it was a way for the client to feel like they were giving something back to the program that helped them.

I haven’t used this method for outreach and education for addressing the problem of elder abuse, so I can only recommend it for general outreach.  I would love to hear from others that have done something similar as a way to get the word out about the services available to combat elder abuse.

Hotline Abuse Calls – Lessons Learned

By Michael Walters, Legal Hotline Managing Attorney, Pro Seniors, Inc. and CERA Project Specialist

For the past five years, Pro Seniors’ Ohio Senior Legal Hotline has received dedicated funding to help senior victims of abuse, neglect or exploitation.  Legal problems involving abuse have always been high priority cases for our in-house casework.  As such, our hotline attorneys must be able to recognize appropriate cases for in-house referral and must be able to assist or refer victims who cannot be represented in-house.  Handling thousands of these cases on the hotline over the years has taught us some important lessons.

• Respect the client: Whether the client was involved in domestic violence, financial exploitation by a family member, or a scam, the senior has already been a victim.  The senior always feels guilty as a result of allowing himself to become a victim.  It is important during a hotline call to let the client exercise autonomy.  This means asking open ended questions, allowing the client to tell the story in his/her own way and at his/her own pace and refraining from telling the client what s/he should have done to prevent his/her victimization.  Every hotline attorney values the skills of steering the conversation and asking questions to elicit only the relevant facts, but an abuse call is not the time to exercise those skills.  Let the client talk and offer options to the client.  Do not tell the client what actions s/he must take.
• Ask the questions the client didn’t ask: Most cases of elder abuse present on the hotline as another legal problem.  For this reason, it is important to recognize the fact patterns that are red flags to abuse (e.g., I need to change my attorney-in-fact from my son to my daughter).  Gently and respectfully probe the facts that led to the current legal problem.  But see item #1 above.  If it becomes clear the client doesn’t want to discuss an issue, respect the client’s decision not to discuss it.
• Consider available remedies: Particularly when considering a referral to an in-house unit, it is important to consider what remedies are available.  Put yourself in the place of the staff attorney who will be assigned the case.  What would I do with this case if it were assigned to me?  If it is hard to imagine a practical strategy to help the client, a referral to Adult Protective Services may be a more appropriate outcome for the client.
• Beware of third party reports of abuse: Complaints by family members in particular should be approached with a healthy degree of skepticism.  Calls from family members often play out family dynamics going back decades.  It is not always easy to recognize who the alleged victim is when talking to a family member about alleged misconduct of other family members.  Whenever the legal problem presented involves cross-allegations of misconduct among family, always insist on talking to the senior (alone) before deciding on the appropriate strategy.
• Apply a healthy degree of skepticism, even when talking to the client: Sometimes the most compelling stories of abuse or neglect, even when told by an apparently well-oriented client, are clouded by the client’s mental status.  In a non-judgmental way, as the client tells the story, ask about objective evidence (such as bank records) that might support the allegations.  Beware of stories where no objective evidence exists, particularly when the explanation for why no objective evidence exists is tied to an allegation of a conspiracy.
• Abuse cases call for brief service: A client who has been victimized may already be vulnerable due to age, infirmity or cognitive disability.  Even simple tasks may be difficult for the client.  If a call to APS is appropriate, consider offering to call APS with the client.  If documents are needed, consider offering to contact the client’s family or friends to assist them in gathering documents.
• Know what cases not to take: A client who has had hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen is probably not an appropriate legal aid case, particularly if the perpetrator has assets that can be recovered.  Know what cases are more appropriate for the private bar or law enforcement agencies.  Always explore criminal charges first before filing for a civil recovery.
• Make your hotline known to referral sources: Some of our most compelling cases have been referred by law enforcement agencies, APS workers, Area Agency on Aging case managers and health care providers.  Work to establish a reputation among professionals as the go-to resource for seniors who have been victimized by abuse.

As funding for helping senior abuse victims becomes increasingly more important for hotlines, it is critical for hotline staff to think about how to interview, refer and assist seniors who may be victims of abuse, neglect or financial exploitation.  Compassion, respect, and good judgment are all necessary aspects of dealing with senior clients who have been victimized.

Red Flags for Advocates – Identifying Abuse and Exploitation on a Senior Legal Hotline

by Ellen Cheek, Staff Attorney, Florida Senior Legal Helpline

In many ways the job of a hotline attorney is analogous to that of a medical doctor:  A senior calls with a troubling symptom – say a Medicaid denial or an unmanageable debt – without knowing that the cause of the symptom is abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Meaningful relief depends upon the attorney’s accurate legal “diagnosis,” but culling the relevant facts from a convoluted narrative can be challenging over the telephone without the benefit of documents or body language. Though some clients know they have been scammed, others are less aware and know only that they are in distress. How can a hotline attorney increase the chances of identifying abuse or exploitation? Consider the following case examples, in which critical information relevant to the real legal issue was mentioned only in passing or in response to routine screening questions:

1. “Guests” who overstay their welcome – Revealed in the preliminary discussion of the number of people in the client’s household and the amount of income contributed by each. In a typical case the client explains that she has opened her home or apartment to others, frequently a child or grandchild and their significant others who were down on their luck, for what was meant to be a temporary stay. During the legal interview it becomes apparent that the extended family taxes the senior’s limited budget to the breaking point.  Seniors describe isolating themselves in a bedroom for privacy or peace.  Many add that they no longer comment on the guest’s lack of a job or the need to move out for fear of triggering an angry or violent response.
2. Inability to supply routine information regarding income and assets – Like the unwelcome guest scenario, this circumstance is usually revealed in the confirmation of income/assets at the beginning of the intake. The senior will explain that an agent with a POA or a family member/friend handles the finances; further discussion often reveals major problems, like the fact that the fiduciary has not been paying essential bills or that nest eggs have gone missing.
3. Denial of public benefits based on inappropriate conveyance of real property or other assets – In many cases the senior can describe the symptom (the denied benefits), but is unaware of a common cause (an unauthorized transfer).
4. Obvious coaching of the client by another, or audible contradictions of the senior’s version of events during intake – This is a frequent sign of a volatile environment and almost always requires another call to conduct a meaningful intake.
5. References to challenges of living with a spouse or other companion suffering from dementia – Clients note they are unable to leave the dwelling to take care of routine tasks like food shopping or doctor’s appointments because a spouse cannot be left alone. Often, the story continues with the client describing increasingly erratic or even physically violent behavior by the spouse towards the client.
6. Desire to revoke POA or to remove a name from a deed or other asset – Though a frequent request in the context of family drama, this can also indicate a senior’s desire to end an exploitative relationship.

This list is by no means exhaustive; hotline advocates will surely have identified other “red flags.” However, these illustrations are extremely common. The hotline advocate who recognizes such red flags can follow up with thoughtful questions to identify abuse, increase the victim’s awareness of the real legal problem, and help the senior seek meaningful relief.

New tool will help standardize elder abuse data

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a tool that aims to help standardize the way that elder abuse data is collected and managed, in the hopes that we can gain a more accurate picture of the problem and impact of elder abuse at the local, state, and national levels.

The tool, Elder Abuse Surveillance: Uniform Definitions and Recommended Core Data Elements, is a set of uniform definitions and recommended core data elements for possible use in standardizing the collection of elder abuse data locally and nationally.

To read more about this tool, visit this link.

Webinar: Let’s Get Grandpa’s House Back!

On January 21st, the National Consumer Law Center hosted a webinar about legal remedies to financial exploitation of property entitled Let’s Get Grandpa’s House Back! Presenters included: David Godfrey, Senior Attorney at the ABA Commission on Law & Aging; Lori Stiegel, Senior Attorney at the ABA Commission on Law & Aging; and, Denis Culley, Staff Attorney at Maine’s Legal Services for the Elderly. The webinar presentation and its materials can be found online.

Update: Capturing Elder Abuse Data

By Michael Walters, Legal Hotline Managing Attorney, Pro Seniors, Inc and CERA Project Specialist

In the December 2014 Legal Hotline Connection, I highlighted efforts to capture and report elder abuse cases. Since the article appeared, capturing and reporting data related to abuse and exploitation of seniors have become increasing important for senior hotlines.  Senior hotlines have, since their inception, often been the first refuge for seniors who have been victimized by abuse and exploitation. The knowledge that qualified legal advice could be obtained without charge, within a safe environment protected by attorney client privilege, has always been an important resource for victims. Senior hotlines have always prioritized the legal help provided in these sensitive situations. But more and more, our funders want us to be able to quantify and explain the advice we give to senior victims of abuse. A hotline must not only provide assistance to victims, but it must also have data to show the sort of assistance that is being provided. The article explains one way that a hotline can capture the information regarding calls about elder abuse in such a manner that the data can be reported accurately to our funders.

 

Webinar: Recognizing and Remedying Elder Financial Abuse in Medicaid Denials

By Michael Walters, Legal Hotline Managing Attorney, Pro Seniors, Inc., and CERA Project Specialist

Financial exploitation problems are some of the most vexing issues facing senior legal hotlines. Worse, how to help a senior who has been victimized twice?  First, the senior was financially exploited. Now, the senior is in a nursing home and needs Medicaid coverage, but the Medicaid office decides that the money taken from the client constituted “an improper transfer,” resulting in a denial or imposition of a penalty.

On February 16, 2016, Jennifer Goldberg, Directing Attorney at Justice in Aging, and Amy Kurlansky, Attorney at Pro Seniors, Inc., presented an excellent webinar which provided an overview of public benefit problems that may arise in cases involving financial exploitation, and some possible remedies for clients facing this problem. The webinar drew an audience of over 1200 advocates. The webinar can be viewed here and you can download the materials here.

 

FCC Proposed Ruling Protects Older Adults and other Consumers from Unwanted Telemarketing, Robocalls and Texts to Cell Phones

Via the National Consumer Law Center:

Unwanted calls and texts are the number one consumer complaint to the FCC. Home-bound elders are particularly vulnerable to aggressive telemarking scams and incessant robocalls. Despite intense pressure from industry, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is poised to take action to maintain and advance consumer protections against unwanted robocalls, text messages and telemarketing calls to consumers’ cell phones. In its proposed ruling, the agency rejected requests made by the industry to allow robocalls and text messages to cell phones without consent.

The proposed ruling reiterates that the types of automated calling devices currently in use fall within the scope of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) prohibition against robodialing cell phones without consent. It rejects industry’s claim that it has the right to make robocalls to a cell phone number that has been reassigned to a new consumer based on the former owner’s consent. And it makes it clear that consumers have the right to revoke their consent to receive robocalls at any time and in any reasonable way, rejecting industry arguments that consent to receive robocalls, once given, is permanent and irrevocable.

NCLC, on behalf of its low-income clients, and NACA have opposed industry efforts to reduce consumer protections for cell phones, and over 190,000 consumers signed petitions against unwanted robocalls. The proposed ruling is scheduled for a vote by the full FCC Commission on June 18, 2015.

How Elders Can Protect Themselves from Telemarketers

To protect themselves from telemarketers, consumers should list their telephone numbers on the nationwide do-not-call list by calling 888-382-1222 or visit www.donotcall.gov/register/reg.aspx. Placing one’s name on the nationwide do-not-call list stops both telemarketing robocalls and telemarketing calls with a live caller.

A company can still make telemarketing calls to a consumer whose number is on the nationwide do-not-call list if the company has an “established business relationship” with the consumer-for example, if the consumer has bought goods or services from the company within the past 18 months. To stop receiving these calls, the consumer should tell the telemarketer to add the consumer’s number to its company-specific do-not-call list.

Consumers should report unwanted telemarketing calls to the FCC’s complaint line, 1-888-225-5322 or through www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx.

More information

FCC fact sheet about the proposed ruling

NCLC and NACA letter and other materials to the FCC opposing efforts to weaken the TCPA