|
The National Adult Protective Services Resource Center (NAPSRC) is a function of the US Administration on Aging through a grant to the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA).
|
|
National Adult Protective Services Resource Center
|
JOIN THE NAPSRC
MAILING LIST!
|
|
American Society on Aging Tackles Elder Abuse in Fall, 2012 Issue of Generations
Article on APS by Bill Benson and Kathleen Quinn included in special edition
Elder abuse affects up to 5 million older adults a year in the United States, and only one in 23 cases ever comes to the attention of authorities. The American Society on Aging is bringing this issue to light in its new edition of Generations.
Kathleen Quinn and Bill Benson's article, Adult Protective Services: The States' Elder Abuse Victim Services System Still Searching for Federal Support, focuses on what the Elder Justice Act could mean for state and local APS programs if - when - it is funded by Congress.
More available via this link.
|
Study: Elderly Populations To Reach 1 Billion Within 10 Years
A new study says the number of elderly people around the world is growing faster than any other age group, and could reach 1 billion within the next 10 years.
The study, titled Aging in the Twenty-first Century: A Celebration and a Challenge, was issued this week by the United Nations Population fund. It says that in the year 2000, for the first time in history, there were more people age 60 and older than there were children under 5.
Demographers say that by 2050, the older generation will be larger than the under-15 population. In just 10 years, the number of older persons will surpass 1 billion people, an increase of close to 200 million people over the decade.
The new report underlines that, while the trend of aging societies is a cause for celebration, it also presents huge challenges for health care and retirement systems, living arrangements and inter-generational relations.
Analysts say aging populations may pose much greater challenges for developing countries where poverty pressures already strain public budgets.
More information available here.
|
|
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Investor Fraud Summits Across the Country Arm Consumers with Information to Protect Retirement Funds and Life Savings
Oct. 11, 2012
Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice's U.S. Attorneys' offices, together with the department's Criminal and Civil Divisions and representatives from the FBI, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Bankruptcy Trustees, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), AARP, and the Better Business Bureau are holding investor fraud summits across the country to help consumers protect their hard-earned money from fraud.
|
|
Reverse Mortgages May Cost Some Older Persons their Homes
Document: A Reverse Mortgage Solicitation
Reverse mortgages allow homeowners 62 and older to borrow money against the value of their homes and to use the money to meet their current expenses. The mortgage does not come due until the senior moves from the home or dies. While seemingly a good idea in theory, reverse mortgages have a long history of problems.
Now federal and state regulators are documenting new instances of abuse as small lenders get into the market. The problems include selling the loans to older people who cannot afford them and misleading or not informing the seniors about the risks involved. Over three-quarters of a million reverse mortgage loans are in place.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is drafting new rules calling for better disclosure for consumers and stricter supervision of lenders.
In a New York Times article, the Minnesota Attorney General, Lori Swanson, is quoted as saying, "There are many of the same red flags, including explosive growth and the fact that these loans are often peddled aggressively without regard to suitability." AG Swanson is working to reform and improve the reverse mortgage market.
|
|
CONFERENCE CALENDAR
|
|
The National Adult Protective Services Resource Center (NAPSRC) is a project (Grant No. 90ER0002/01) of the U.S. Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), administered by the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA). Grantees carrying out projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Therefore, points of view or opinions do not necessarily represent official Administration on Aging or DHHS policy.
|
|
|
First Elder Justice Coordinating Council Meeting Held
One part of the Elder Justice Act was implemented with the first meeting of the Elder Justice Coordinating Council, held in Washington, DC on October 11, 2012. The meeting was hosted by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder. The council is charged with making recommendations to Congress and the White House for better coordination of activities relating to elder abuse, neglect and exploitation, and other crimes against elders across the federal government.
The meeting was led off with remarks by Secretary Sebelius and Attorney General Holder, followed by Senator Richard Blumenthal and the Administrator of the Social Security Administration. High-level officials of the Veterans Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Labor, the Postal Inspector Service, the Consumer Financial Protection Board and the Department of the Treasury also spoke about the widespread and serious nature of elder abuse.
Several panels followed, with testimony from experts in the financial services industry, the health and legal professions, academia, the GAO, the social marketing field, and elder justice advocacy. Every speaker provided a different perspective and different information than any of the others.
Bill Benson, NAPSA's Policy Advisor, provided testimony on behalf of APS, noting the need to help the victims we serve now while simultaneously conducted the needed long-range research. A white paper will also be completed by each person who testified.
 |
|
Many unprepared to care for elderly relatives, according to Sacramento County Elder Death Review Team
Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012
Sacramento County's Elder Death Review Team released a recent report which describes several cases involving neglect which resulted from family members who took on the care of elderly relatives without appreciating how difficult that care can be. The principle reason the team reviewed cases was suspected neglect at home.
"What they don't understand is how overwhelming the care can be," said Marv Stern, an assistant chief deputy district attorney who serves on the team.
To address this lack of knowledge, the team has created a brochure, "Independent Living: A Resource Guide," Stern said. The brochure contains resources with contact information for a number of organizations which provide help with mental health, medical and other needs. See the brochure here.
The elder death review team is multi-disciplinary, with representatives from adult protective services, health care and law enforcement. It works to address systemic problems which might result in the deaths of older persons due to elder abuse and neglect.
Read the complete story from the Sacramento Bee.
|
|
Home-Based Assessment Tool for Dementia Screening Available
October 2, 2012 | Georgia Tech Univ
With baby boomers approaching the age of 65 and new cases of Alzheimer's disease expected to increase by 50 percent by the year 2030, Georgia Tech researchers have created a tool that allows adults to screen themselves for early signs of dementia. The home-based computer software is patterned after the paper-and-pencil Clock Drawing Test, one of health care's most commonly used screening exams for cognitive impairment.
"Technology allows us to check our weight, blood-sugar levels and blood pressure, but not our own cognitive abilities," said project leader Ellen Yi-Luen Do. "Our ClockMe System helps older adults identify early signs of impairment, while allowing clinicians to quickly analyze the test results and gain valuable insight into the patient's thought processes."
Georgia Tech's ClockMe system eliminates the paper trail and computerizes the test into two main components: the ClockReader Application and the ClockAnalyzer Application. Click here to see a video demo.
ClockReader is the actual test and is taken with a stylus and computer or tablet. The participant is given a specific time and instructed to draw a clock with numbers and the correct minute and hour hands. Once completed, the sketch is emailed to a clinician, who uses the ClockAnalyzer Application to score the test. The software checks for 13 traits. They include correct placement of numbers and hands without extra markings. People with cognitive impairment frequently draw clocks with missing or extra numbers. Digits are sometimes drawn outside of the clock. The time is often incorrect.
ClockMe System 2
In addition to scoring automatically and consistently, ClockAnalyzer records the duration of the test and the time between each stroke. The software also replays the drawing in real-time, allowing a clinician to watch the drawing being created to observe any behavior abnormality.
"The traditional paper-and-pencil test is usually overseen by a technician and later scored by a clinician, who scores the test based only on the finished drawing," said Do, a professor in Georgia Tech's Colleges of Computing and Architecture. "By looking at the sketch, the scorer is not able to decipher whether the person struggled to remember certain numbers while drawing the clock. The ClockMe system's timing software highlights those delays."
And, because they're saved electronically, the drawings can be used to easily compare a person's cognitive ability progress or regression over time. Do's research found that traditional tests are often filed in a folder and are rarely used for future comparison.
The ClockMe system was initially tested at the Emory Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Atlanta, where it's currently being used in addition to the traditional paper-and-pencil test. Despite a lack of computer literacy, all of the elderly patients who used the software during the study said they had no problems with the pen-based, computer technology.
Sample Clock Drawing-Impairment
"For this reason, as well as the ability to send the drawings directly to clinicians for convenient scoring, we envision ClockMe as a viable tool for home-based screening," said Do. "America's health care costs are expected to soar as baby boomers become senior citizens. If a screening tool can be used at home, unnecessary trips to clinics can be eliminated and medical expenses can be saved."
Do and her colleagues are hoping to commercialize the project in the future. Their research was published in September's Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments.
This project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award Number SHB-1117665). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal investigators and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF.
Related Media
Click on image(s) to view larger version(s)
Read the full article on the Georgia Tech website.
|
 In the News: From the NAPSRC Twitter Newsfeed
|
|
|
NEW NAPSA/NAPSRC WEBSITE NOW ONLINE!!
Please see the new NAPSRC website at www.NAPSA-NOW.org and click on "Resource Center"! The NAPSRC's web address is changing to napsa-now.org from apsetwork.org (all traffic to apsnetwork.org will be automatically forwarded to NAPSA-NOW). The new website will be updated much more frequently. We welcome reports, studies, announcements, etc. from the APS field.
|
Have something you want to share?
Do you have a recent success story, a new program initiative, or a revised training you'd like to share with your APS colleagues across the country? Do you have an upcoming conference or other event you'd like people to know about? Would like to further honor your state and local APS award winners? Please send a brief description in an email to napsrc@apsnetwork.org.
|
|
|
|
|
