AUSTIN, Texas — June is "Elder Abuse Awareness Month." New data from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) shows a month like this is absolutely necessary with the number of cases the State is investigating.
Nearly 120,000 reports of abuse, neglect or exploitation of Texas elders were sent to the State in the 2022 fiscal year. The DFPS' Adult Protective Service (APS) staff investigated nearly 85,000 of those claims and validated more than 50,000 of them.
"It can be physical. It can be emotional. It can be verbal abuse," said Michael Aguirre, who works with APS in Travis County.
Aguirre said his team validated nearly 4,500 local cases of abuse or neglect in 2022. But exploitation cases may be harder to investigate because the person at the center of the allegations may have a close relationship with the victim.
"They're using their ongoing role to support that individual to help them and then taking advantage through some form of exploitation. So, you know, most often financial exploitation," Aguirre said.
The more than 50,000 reports that APS validated are only tied to issues behind the doors of private residences. To make sure residents in care facilities are accounted for, a state employee called an ombudsman, like Patty Ducayet, is there to step in.
"Being at the bedside of residents, visiting them room to room and introducing ourselves and reminding them of our service, which is to meet with them, provide them information about their rights and the responsibilities of the facility," Ducayet said.
According to Ducayet, signs of abuse and neglect in a facility include:
- First, if a person says they are being abused, believe them
- Physical signs like bruises or broken bones, multiple falls, new sores on the body
- Emotional signs like talking less, avoiding other people, crying or anger
"In [calendar year] 2022, ombudsmen made almost 11,000 visits to assisted living facilities [ALFs] and over 13,000 visits to nursing facilities," Ducayet said. "At the same time, we investigated 1,339 complaints in ALFs and 6,703 complaints in nursing facilities. In ALFs, we resolved 83% of the complaints we received and 87% in nursing facilities."
Both departments said they work with authorities to help put an end to any issues, but for the Office of the Ombudsman, it's all about what the patient is comfortable with before taking the next steps.
"Ideally, we're really trying to help them communicate with the facility where they live, talk to the people who care for them and who manage the building operations, help them express what they need," Ducayet said.
Both Ducayet and Aguirre said during "Elder Abuse Awareness Month," it's important for older adults to know the resources that are available to report abuse, neglect or exploitation.
"There's national research that shows that for every one case of a reported abuse, neglect or exploitation, that there are about 24 cases that are unreported, unknown to programs similar to ours," Aguirre said.
If you or a loved one needs help to report elder abuse, you can call 1-800-252-5400 or visit TxAbuseHotline.org. For the State Ombudsman, you can call 800-252-2412 and email them at ltc.ombudsman@hhs.texas.gov.