Get Help

Abuse should not happen to anyone. Our society values justice and justice means being treating equally regardless of our age. There are programs that can help you. First, if you believe someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or the local police for immediate help.

Adult Protective Services (APS) is the common name of the social services program that receives and looks into reported suspicions about abuse or neglect of people living in the community. If you suspect abuse or neglect of someone living in the community, contact the local Adult Protective Services in your area.
 
The Long-Term Care Ombudsman is the name of the social services program that receives and looks into reports of suspected abuse or neglect of someone living in long-term care facilities (like a nursing home or assisted living facility).
 
You can find more information about how to report on our Reporting Abuse page, and a list of contact information for agencies that respond to reports of abuse on our State Resources page. The NCEA and everyone can do their part to ensure that our communities have the strong set of support beams that are needed to protect our communities from the abuse of older people. One of the most important ways we can all contribute to this ongoing construction project is by looking out for warning signs of maltreatment. Do you know someone who displays any signs of abuse? If so, TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY. Everyone, at every age, deserves justice.

If you have any suspicions that what you are seeing is abuse or neglect, you should call and discuss the suspicious situation with Adult Protective Services, a Long-Term Care Ombudsman and Law Enforcement. They will ask what you saw/heard/otherwise observed, who was involved and who they can contact to learn more.

It is important to remain vigilant. It is up to all of us to prevent and address elder abuse and promote justice for all. The NCEA and everyone can do their part to ensure that our communities have the strong set of support beams that are needed to protect our communities from the abuse of older people. Just as we can construct a stable building that keeps the people inside safe, we as a society can build and remodel systems that prevent elder abuse. If you notice changes in personality, behavior or physical condition, you should start to question what is going on. Remember, you do not need to prove that abuse is occurring, the professionals will investigate the suspicions. Our Reporting Abuse section provides information on contacting someone to report your suspicions.

Elder abuse cases often involve legal issues. You might find it helpful to seek legal information and services. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc. (NAELA) Consumer Resources directory can help connect you to a legal services provider in your area. NAELA also offers resources such as estate planning; durable powers of attorney; and elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, as well as information on how to find an Elder or Special Needs Law Attorney.

Being a caregiver is a big responsibility with many rewards and challenges. It is very important for caregivers to feel supported, to educate themselves on the illnesses experienced by the care recipient and to stay connected to others who understand caregiving. For information on resources available to support caregivers, please visit the website of the Administration on Aging's National Family Caregiver Support Program or the Caregiver Corner webpage from Eldercare Locator.

As we all know, not every bad decision is a sign of dementia, but it is wise to look into both physical and psychological causes if someone you know is starting to behave in new ways, or is making choices about finances that are different from past choices. Some kinds of confusion are reversible and may clear up with medication. However, confusion may be a sign of dementia. It is important to plan for possible dementia. People with cognitive impairment or dementia are at much greater risk for all kinds of abuse than those who do not have these conditions.

It is important that you learn more about your loved one’s condition. To do that, it is best if you take them to see a geriatrician, a neurologist or a psychologist with a background in treating older people. This professional will run a battery of tests related to memory, judgment and cognition. This will help you and your loved one understand what their situation is and how to plan for future care needs.

Visit the American Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health in Aging for consumer information on dementia, as well as the Alzheimer's Association for an overview of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

To learn more about the quality of the nursing home you are interested in, visit Nursing Home Compare, a tool designed to provide detailed information about Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes in the United States. This will help you understand more about the overall environment of the nursing home, as assessed by the licensing agency.
 
You should also contact the local Long-Term Care Ombudsman serving the town/city of the nursing home where your loved one is residing. Long-Term Care Ombudsmen are the professionals who advocate on behalf of residents of long-term care facilities and help to resolve complaints about issues of care. They are dedicated to enhancing the lives of long-term care residents through advocacy, education and resolving resident complaints. The Ombudsman will help you understand the situation, and if a formal complaint is warranted, they can advise you and your loved one on how and with whom you would file the complaint.

Many people who experience elder abuse believe that they are at fault for the abuse. This is a common feeling for other kinds of abuse, too (child abuse or domestic violence). A person may feel ashamed and embarrassed by the situation. Often they have been warned by the person perpetrating abuse not to reveal the abuse to others, so they are fearful. The majority of elder abuse is perpetrated by family members or trusted others, so people feel conflicted about seeking help because they don't want to get family members in trouble with the law, even though they want the abuse to stop.

It is important that people who experience elder abuse understand that they are not to blame. They should also understand that they are not the only ones experiencing abuse. Hundreds of thousands of older people are abused, neglected and exploited every year in America. Finally, you and your loved one should know that this should not have happened to them. We are all entitled to justice no matter our age.

Help is available. The typical types of help people seek are mental health and counseling services, medical services/home health services, legal services, domestic violence programs and social service supports, such as case management, transportation or home delivered meals. The ultimate goal of the services is to increase the older person’s ability to live independently in the home as long as possible, to reduce their dependence on one caregiver and to reduce the likelihood of abuse, neglect or exploitation from reoccurring.

For help in finding services in the community, your local Adult Protective Services agency (look up on the State Resources page) may be able to provide some community referrals, and if the person lives in a nursing home, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman would be a good resource. Another source for information on services available in the community is the Eldercare Locator website or call 1-800-677-1116. Other sources of information that can help you include:
 

Try to speak candidly with your family about your concerns. Sometimes families have differing opinions about what constitutes appropriate care. Learn more about how to handle these disagreements from the following resources:

It is very important for families to educate themselves on the illnesses being experienced by the care recipient and to stay connected to others who understand caregiving. For information on resources available to support caregivers, please visit the website of the Administration on Aging's National Family Caregiver Support Program or the Caregiver Corner webpage from Eldercare Locator. It is also important to familiarize ourselves with the signs of elder abuse and neglect so that we are able to distinguish differences of opinion in care from the warning signs of abuse, neglect or exploitation.
 
Concerns over caregiving reveal the essential role caregivers have to play in ending elder abuse. We all need support—caregivers, too. Being the sole or primary caregiver of an older person is stressful—especially when support structures are weak. Caring for someone else can leave us feeling emotionally drained or stretched thin; when we feel this way on a regular basis, we may not be able to provide sustained, quality care. We may even be putting ourselves or the older people we care for at risk for elder abuse.
 
Caregivers and everyone need to ensure adequate supports are available to prevent any such risk. To reduce risk factors of abuse, we can all support and maintain elder abuse education or training that teaches us how to empower caregivers and look out for elder abuse. We can also promote caregiver support groups in town hall discussions, awareness-raising campaigns or meet-and-greets with elected officials. This will build public understanding about resources needed for caregivers and elder abuse as well as strengthen the social supports needed to prevent it.