U.S. Policies Addressing Mistreatment of Elder and Adults with Disabilities

The U.S. population is rapidly aging, which is expected to increase the incidence of mistreatment of elder and disabled adults. There exist a variety of types of abuse, neglect and exploitation, including self-neglect and abuse. The relationship between the victim and perpetrator could include intimate partners or other family, especially for women. Policies and programs have been geared mostly toward tertiary prevention, responding after a tragedy has already caused trauma. State laws define elder and disabled adults as vulnerable adults and maltreatment should be reported. However, there is vast underreporting of these crimes. Adult Protective Services is not as developed or well-funded as Child Protective Services. Victims and their families can benefit from policies designed for victims of all ages, such as VOCA and VAWA. Legislation specific to elder adults has been associated with the Older American’s Act and more recently the Elder Justice Act which was enacted with the Affordable Care Act. When enacted, EJA was not properly funded until the pandemic exposed a great deal of elder mistreatment necessitating emergency assistance with the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan. Rather than merely responding to maltreatment, our policies should be geared toward primary prevention—keeping the event from occurring in the first place.