Robert Galletta is an expert when it comes to investigating crimes of financial elder abuse. The Beaumont Police Department officer recently spoke at an elder abuse prevention conference in Santa Barbara, presented by the Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens and Area Agency on Aging.
Galletta said one of the classic scams he sees committed against seniors is the “Sweetheart Swindle.”
“Typically, it’s something that happens between a widower and a younger female,” he explained to the Sun. “She’ll befriend the old guy, and before you know it, she’s got power of attorney and she’s writing checks in his name. She leaves him completely dry. Usually he’s ill and he has nothing. Even his house has been sold out from under him.”
Transient criminal groups commonly prey on the elderly, Galletta said, adding, “They’re transient in the sense that after they victimize someone, they’ll pick up base and move to another location.”
The commission invited Galletta and Patrick Arbore, director of the Institute on Aging in San Francisco, to educate local residents about the factors contributing to elder abuse and give tips on how to prevent it locally. More public workshops addressing similar issues are scheduled for locations in Orcutt, Santa Maria, and Guadalupe later this summer.
“Most people don’t really know about [elder abuse],” said Joyce Ellen Lippman, director of the Area Agency on Aging. “There were quite a few people saying, ‘That kind of stuff happens?’”
Unfortunately, elder abuse comes in all different forms and happens more frequently than most people care to admit.
“Financial abuse is currently one people seem most interested in,” said Brad Parks, program director of Santa Barbara County’s Adult Protection Services, which partners with local law enforcement and community agencies to protect and provide resources to dependent and elderly adults. Parks said his department received more than 1,500 reports of abuse in 2010 alone.
Financial scams have become so prevalent, he said, that banks are now mandated reporters.
When people think of elder abuse, he said, they usually think of the aforementioned scams or even more obvious forms of domestic violence, such as pushing, shoving, or hitting.
But another culprit is neglect.
“It can be physical neglect committed by a caregiver, like depriving them of food or liquids and the other necessities of everyday life,” Parks explained, adding that family members can also be guilty of such crimes. “But it can also be self-neglect.
“In most cases [of self-neglect], it’s an older person who is frail or has begun to lose his or her physical or mental abilities,” Park continued. “And usually it’s individuals who can’t get out of the house because one of the biggest risk factors for abuse is social isolation.”
One of Adult Protective Services’ main goals—and that of organizations like the Area Agency on Aging—is to connect at-risk seniors with resources and social communities that can help them live healthy, independent lives.
“One of people’s biggest fears of having a social worker coming to their door is that they’ll be removed from their home,” Park said. “But we’re a voluntary service.”
Once alleged abuse is reported, an APS social worker—there are three in North County and South County—makes an unannounced home visit to speak with the victim in private.
The social worker then investigates the allegations and works with the victim to develop a service plan to address his or her needs, Parks said, “whether it’s to make them less isolated, to put food on the table, manage their finances, or pretty much help them protect themselves.”
If there are clients who don’t have the mental capacity, due to illness or disease, to act in their own best interest, Parks said, the social worker will find a trusted friend or family member who can act as a caregiver. In some special cases, APS will make recommendations to the Public Guardian’s Office to grant probate conservatorships.
“We make it very clear that we’re not physicians or psychologists. We can’t diagnose people with dementia or other diseases,” Parks said. “But we can, through interviews and research, determine if a person is confused or ill and at risk.”
Another important factor to preventing elder abuse, said Area Agency on Aging’s Lippman, is to offer support to the caregivers as well.
“There are a lot of stresses and strains put on the caregiver,” Lippman said. “Providing them with resources reduces the risk of abuse.”
Contact Managing Editor Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 2-9, 2011.