Don’t bury your head in the sand!

Financial elder abuse is rife in aged care and you are best placed to prevent it! Steve Cowell from State Trustees Victoria explains.

 

By Yasmin Noone

Do you know of an older person cared for by your organisation that has been, is being or is about to be financially abused by their own children?

It seems like a far out question, one intended to stir the pot and possibly even over-dramatise a situation that may not actually occur all that often.

But when the personal financial solutions manager of State Trustees Victoria, Steven Cowell, asked 190 aged care staff at the Aged & Community Care Victoria (ACCV) Residential Care Seminar whether or not they had encountered elder abuse on the job, 75 per cent of the audience raised their hand.

“If I can give you anything this morning, it’s an insight into and education about financial elder abuse so that it doesn’t happen in your facility,” Mr Cowell said at the Melbourne seminar last week.

“It’s a hidden crime. The fact that so many people put up their hands says to me that what we see are the cases where people get caught. What we don’t see is those who are smart and shrewd and get away with it. God knows how many of those [type of] people are out there.”

State Trustees recently commissioned Monash University (Victoria) to conduct research on the matter, to get a clearer picture of what is going on.

“Five separate reports essentially confirmed all the things I have been saying,” he said.

“The main perpetrators are children…It’s not the person you meet at the tram stop, a dodgy priest or a neighbour. It’s the people the older person trusts intrinsically and it’s their sons and daughters.”

More offenders are sons than daughters, he said, and they usually abuse “when their father passes away and leaves the mother alone”.

“It’s opportunistic. They know the full nature and extent to their parent’s assets, their pin numbers and have access to documents and bank accounts.”

A faceless crime

Branding financial elder abuse as a “faceless crime”, Mr Cowell went on to highlight that the number of older people being financially abused has grown over the last decade.

He explained why, citing the credit crisis as hypothesis number one, where children turn to parents for cash once rejected by the banks. The rise of banking technology has also made it easier for perpetrators to transfer money from one account to another at the touch of a button, without ever having to look the victim in the eye.

“I can shift your assets from this office chair,” he said. “I can have your title in my hands in under 20 minutes.

Above: Personal financial solutions manager of State Trustees Victoria, Steven Cowell

Ageism is also a factor, where children (amoung other people) assume that the retired older person does not need money – after all, they may have a pension, have paid off their mortgage and don’t need to pay their children’s tuition fees anymore.

“Our research found that the kids believe it is their money and say, ‘We need it now’.”

“There is a myth in the community that old people don’t need money. They can’t use it. But when you get old, you do need money especially if you want quality of life.

“…There is a big difference in the care you receive if you are in a concessional bed [as opposed to] extra services.

“That’s why it is critical for elders to [take steps] to ensure their funds are managed and protected so when it comes time for them to go into aged care, their money, future and care is secure.”

Not taking steps to protect assets when of sound mind will, he said, is a decision that will come at a cost. “…And it is a handsome cost as well.

“It is so critical that they protect their assets and get proper planning.”

What you can do

Aged care staff play an essential role in the prevention of financial elder abuse, for it is they who can monitor a situation and identify a suspected perpetrator, before the older person is deprived of their life savings.

“But facilities usually take the view that money matters are family matters. So they say, ‘We will leave it in the family as family knows best’.

“It’s about awareness and education. You are best placed to provide that to the people you care for. You are best placed to help if the person needs help.

“Don’t feel that, because the matter is about money, you can’t ask the resident [what is going on]. You are okay with asking about hygiene and other personal issues but when it comes to money, everyone in the health care sector freezes up.

“Don’t be afraid to get onto the issue.”

Mr Cowell expressed his sorrow for the older, abused person, especially when the Victorian Civil Administration Tribunal (VCAT) is called in as administrator to protect and manage affairs or State Trustees are called into help, albeit too late.

“Too often we get in after the horse has bolted. There is nothing worse than getting involved and then finding out we could’ve done something 12 months ago.

“It’s the greedy and stupid people who take advantage of older people that get caught. If you are shrewd, you get away with it….So don’t think there is a magic wand and the justice system will just bring you justice because it just won’t.”

So what is Mr Cowell’s main piece of advice to people working in the sector? “Get involved early.

“You are best placed to discuss the resident’s options, and provide information about enduring powers of attorney and entrusting guardianship to a professional entity. The older person doesn’t have to choose that [option] but as long as the person is aware that there are other options and things that they can do.

“Financial abuse is ever present. Yours is the profession that needs to identify it early, provide advice and initiate legal remedies before it is too late.”

To contact your local State Trustees for advice, click here.

Tags: elder-abuse, financial-elder-abuse, state-trustees,

1 thought on “Don’t bury your head in the sand!

  1. Mr. Cowell makes a good point, however better protection starts from state legislation which currently along with the Aged Care Act ties aged care operators up in a circular arguement about security of tenure; potential financial abuse; and privacy. In Queensland it can take months to have what seems a straight forward case even considered, and in the meantime as the family member dries up the bank account of the elder, and there are no funds to pay fees for care, it is the aged care organisation that ends up with the bad debt write off – something not factored into any subsidy consideration. Perhaps it is time for COAG to get serious about elder protection, especially given that about 85% of people over 85 remain in the community. It seems so typical of bureacracy to focus on what is convenient within the aged care industry – after all it’s an easy target isn’t it? Perhaps Mr. Cowell would do well to liaise with his other state and commonwealth counter parts to take this issue on within the community more generally.

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