May is Elder Abuse Prevention Month, a time to learn about elder abuse and what you can do to help – because it’s everyone’s business to help prevent abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of our neighbors who are elderly or have disabilities.
See a list of events around the state at EveryonesBusiness.org and please share them with your friends, neighbors, congregations, and co-workers.
Texas Adult Protective Services (APS) is involved in a grass-roots effort, throughout the month, that brings together community, civic, and professional groups to focus attention and resources on preventing and stopping elder abuse. This includes workshops, presentations, caregiver support events, professional networking, and other events that increase understanding and cooperation in addressing the issue.
In El Paso, the following event is scheduled:
May 7 Go Purple Health Fair
10am – 2pm
Bassett Place, 6101 Gateway West
Free health screenings information on services for the Elderly, entertainment, and door prizes.
Contact: Grace Ortiz, APS Community Initiative Specialist
(915) 667-0206 cell, graciela.ortiz@dfps.state.tx.us
Last year, APS received 7 percent more allegations of abuse, neglect and financial exploitation than the previous year, but the total number of validated cases declined by 20 percent. The decline was primarily the result of a new structured approach to casework that APS began using in 2014 that includes new safety and risk assessments.
“We’re seeing the benefits of a much more sophisticated approach that helps caseworkers more accurately determine which clients are safe and which ones are at risk of ongoing abuse or neglect,” says Beth Engelking, DFPS Assistant Commissioner for APS. “So now we are able to focus more services on the clients who really need those services.”
However, APS cannot deal with this issue alone. Communities must work together to protect vulnerable Texans. There were 43,759 cases (1,647 in El Paso) of confirmed abuse, neglect, or exploitation last year and the elder population continues to grow. There are approximately 3.2 million people in Texas age 65 or older and another 1.7 million who have a disability and are eligible for APS services.
Self-neglect is a major issue for the elderly as is abuse, neglect, or exploitation by adult children or other family members of the victim.
State law requires anyone who suspects abuse, neglect, or exploitation to report it. You can do that by calling the Texas Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252-5400 or report online at www.TxAbuseHotline.org.
Read the DFPS Annual Report to learn more about Adult Protective Services.
APS Facts and Figures[1]
[1] All statistics are for state fiscal year 2015 (September 1, 2014 – August 31, 2015) and are for clients living at home in their communities.
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