Adult Protective Services Director Barbara Kidder said financial exploitation accounted for 18 percent of the 17,113 statewide cases investigated by the agency last year. That’s 3,087 instances of caregivers, family members and those considered friends taking advantage of vulnerable seniors.
That percentage is up from 5 percent in 1995 and 12 percent in 2000.
"It’s a sign of times, people who have nothing to fall back on are getting desperate and unfortunately senior citizens are paying for it,” Kidder said.
Recognizing the rising problem, the Oklahoma County Coalition Against Financial Exploitation of the Elderly (CAFEE) was formed in 2005. The group focuses on identifying financial abuse and educating others on what to watch for.
Since the group was organized, 92 cases of financial abuse with seniors as victims have been prosecuted, said William Whited, coalition chairman and deputy state long-term care ombudsman.
He said that’s a small amount compared to those investigated that may never be substantiated.
In Tulsa it’s the Vulnerable Adult Task Force that brings Adult Protective Services together with prosecutors, police and medical professionals. By following a report from start to finish, authorities are better able to monitor it, said Russell Jones, a representative of Adult Protective Services, which is a unit of the state Department of Human Services.
He said reports of adult abuse in the Tulsa metro area have increased more than 35 percent since 2005.
An inability to pay the mortgage or rent can leave laid-off workers with few options besides turning to family, Jones said. But in some cases, moving in with an aging relative who has a growing need for health services creates a tense environment that erupts into violence.
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