Report from the Secretary's Task Force on Elder Abuse

The purpose of this paper is to provide background information which summarizes various perspectives on the definitions, incidence and causes of abuse of elderly citizens in institutional and domestic settings. Also, this paper will describe the range of programs, both in HHS and in the states, that address elder abuse. Finally, the paper identifies issues that have been raised by practitioners, policymakers and other which should be considered by the members of the Task Force on Elder Abuse. Among the issues are: lack of reliable data and a consistent data collection system; lack of coordination among state, federal, and local agencies involved in elder abuse; lack of resources to carry out existing mandates; lack of accurate public knowledge about elder abuse; and lack of a uniform definition of elder abuse. [25 PDF pages