Friday, February 20th, 2015
Local team to address elder abuse
By Shelley Grieshop
CELINA - A new group met for the first time Thursday morning with a mission to prevent elder abuse in Mercer County.
The Elder Abuse Interdisciplinary Team consisting of nearly a dozen members was organized by the local Job and Family Services department at the recommendation of the state to fill gaps in the system for adults 60 and over.
"The state is trying to shore up adult protective services," Jason Cupp of Mercer County JFS told team members as he led the meeting.
Last year, the local agency tracked 22 cases of elder abuse; 15 of those involved self-neglect, he said.
"I believe there are more (cases) out there," Cupp said, adding the number is likely higher based on the aging population.
The local department received $10,000 from its state counterpart to organize the team and help meet requirements expected to be in place by July 2016 to improve adult protective services.
The funding is part of $10 million appropriated by the state at the recommendation of a special workgroup that met in 2014 to discuss elder abuse and identify long-term goals.
Cupp said the local agency also applied for $130,000 in innovation funds - part of the state's $10 million appropriation - to fund a full-time social worker and part-time case aide, transportation costs, community-based training and other needs.
Mercer County JFS currently receives $1,300 per year from the state for adult protective services. The agency also for fiscal year 2015 was granted $337,658 through the federal Title XX program for children and adult protective services.
"The bulk of it goes to children," Cupp explained.
The overwhelming number of cases involving children "leaves little time" for staff to investigate adult cases, he added.
Adult protection services are much different from children protective services, Cupp said. A decision to intervene for the welfare of someone over 60 is based on the senior's competency, which is often difficult to determine, he said.
"How do we determine incompetence?" Cupp asked, adding the state funds being sought could help train workers to make such determinations and provide instructions on how to intercede.
Local JFS workers currently seek guidance from the county's Council on Aging, nursing home personnel or law enforcement in suspected elderly abuse or neglect cases, Cupp said.
If senior citizens appear to be adequately handling health issues and finances but their houses are falling apart around them, they still have the right to "live the way they want," he noted.
"It's a touchy thing," Mercer County Council on Aging Director and team member Karen Howick said. "We see some abysmal conditions and you can't always change that."
Another team member, Capt. Martin Emerine of the Mercer County Sheriff's Office, spoke about local residents who appear competent but regularly are scammed out of thousands of dollars - in one case more than $1 million - by strangers or their own relatives.
"Family members try to help but sometimes they (elderly) get mad at them. They think they just want their money, and they become estranged," he said.
Several team members said they've been involved in cases in which relatives took prescription drugs from an elderly person or swindled money from them to buy illegal drugs.
"Drug abuse plays a part of elder abuse," noted Brian Engle of Foundations Behavioral Health Services, who also is serving on the team.
Another member, Cheryl Laux, a social worker at Briarwood Village in Coldwater, agreed. The seniors' own children and grandchildren will steal money from them and the parents won't turn on them, she said.
Cupp said one of the biggest issues is finding emergency lodging for the elderly when they must immediately be removed from their homes.
"The county home can take them in an emergency but I don't know of any foster homes for adults," he said.
Cupp proposed spending some of the state funding, if received, to promote public awareness. He suggested training caregivers, bank tellers, hair stylists and others to report abuse they witness or suspect.
The state funding also could be used to provide an emergency shelter, pay for ramps, food, physical and mental assessments and respite care, as well as staff training and equipment, he said.
"I believe Mercer County has a lot to offer but we're fragmented," he said. "I think the interdisciplinary team will help bring it together."
Other team members include county commissioner Rick Muhlenkamp, Millissa Albers and Scotti Straub of Mercer County JFS, Leslie Schmiesing of Briarwood Village, Beth Gehret of Cheryl Ann Programs, and attorney Richard Delzeith.
The team will meet again at 8 a.m. March 19 at the Mercer County Central Services Building in Celina.
