MANDATORY REPORTING OF ELDER ABUSE

You Will be Better Able To:

• Define mandatory reporting• Understand your reporting responsibilities • Apply your mandatory reporting laws to case

scenarios• List 2 suggestions for working with victims if a report

is required

OVERVIEW OF MANDATORY REPORTING

What is Mandatory Reporting?

• Laws that require designated individuals to report: • Certain injuries such as gunshot wounds

• Suspicions of:

• child abuse

• domestic violence

• elder or vulnerable adult abuse

• Persons who pose a danger to an identified individual (mental health professional’s “duty to warn”)

Who Receives Reports

• Law Enforcement

• Social or Protective Services Agencies

• Regulatory Agencies

• Prosecuting Attorney’s Office

UNDERSTANDING YOUR REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES• Virtually every jurisdiction requires reporting of

some forms of elder or vulnerable adult abuse• You must know your law

Local Law

• Please review your law• Create slides on the basics of your mandatory reporting

law that includes: • Who must report

• Reporting forms to be used

• Eligibility criteria for the subject of the report (e.g. age, impairment, unable to report for self)

• Who to report to

• How to report

• Contact information for submitting reports

• Penalties for failure to report

• Exceptions to Reporting Duties• Domestic violence and sexual assault community-based

advocates

• Legal privileges

• Others

Local Law Continued

CASE SCENARIOS

Scenario 1: Ms. J

• In your professional capacity, you meet Ms. J, aged 72.

• She has severe bruising on her face and neck. • She discloses to you that her son struck her.

Ms. J: Questions to Consider

1. Is this reportable conduct?

2. Are there eligibility requirements for a victim, such as age, disability or inability to report for oneself, setting or other?

3. Are you a mandated reporter?

4. If you are a mandated reporter, are there any exceptions to mandated reporting requirements for your profession?

Scenario 2: Mr. K

• In your professional capacity, you meet Mr. K.• He discloses that his granddaughter had forged his

signature on some checks and stolen almost $50,000.• At times during the conversation, Mr. K appears

confused and disoriented.

Mr. K: Questions to Consider

1. Is this reportable conduct?

2. Are there eligibility requirements for a victim, such as age, disability or inability to report for oneself, setting or other?

3. Are you a mandated reporter?

4. If you are a mandated reporter, are there any exceptions to mandated reporting requirements for your profession?

Scenario 3: Mrs. M

• Mrs. M broke her hip. She is living in a nursing home recovering from hip surgery.

• Her daughter visits and finds: • Mrs. M’s bed is soiled and her clothes are dirty.

• Mrs. M says she is thirsty and has not seen staff in hours.

• Mrs. M’s does not appear to have been bathed recently.

• She is wearing the same clothes she was wearing 2 days ago when daughter last visited.

Mrs. M: Questions to Consider

1. Is this reportable conduct?

2. Are there eligibility requirements for a victim, such as age, disability or inability to report for oneself, setting or other?

3. Are you a mandated reporter?

4. If you are a mandated reporter, are there any exceptions to mandated reporting requirements for your profession?

REPORTING AND VICTIM SAFETY

• If you are mandated reporter, prior to gathering information about possible abuse, advise the victim that you are required to report if they disclose reportable information.

• Tell victims what will happen if a disclosure is required.

Advise Older Adults If You Are a Mandated Reporter

If a Report is Required

• Advise the victim which agency will receive the report and what information will be given.

• Offer to include the victim in the reporting process.• Help the victim understand the reporting process.

Victim Safety

• Ask the victim about their concerns with reporting. Is the victim afraid of being harmed?

• With victim consent, communicate victim concerns to agency receiving the report.

• You may need to establish a procedure to communicate such information in a way that assures its confidentiality.

If the victim wants further assistance,• Link the victim with an advocate who could provide

support and services• Identify someone who can accompany the victim to

interviews with law enforcement or Adult Protective Services

• Link to an advocate for safety planning

Victim Safety Continued

SUMMARY AND RESOURCES

Summary

• You must know your jurisdiction’s law• Disclose limits of confidentiality at beginning of

relationship• Remain focused on victim safety

Resources

• Cramer, E.P., and Brady, S.R. November/December 2013. “Competing Values in Serving Older and Vulnerable Adults: Adult Protective Services, Mandated Reporting, and Domestic Violence Programs.” Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect 25(5): 453-468.

• Mindlin, J. and Brandl, B. 2011. Mandatory Reporting of Elder Abuse for Victim Service Providers: 6-Part Series of Information Sheets, Victim Rights Law Center and National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life, available at http://ncall.us/content/mr.

Links to Resources on Mandatory Reporting

• NCEA State Resources: www.ncea.aoa.gov/Stop_Abuse/Get_Help/State/index.aspx

• New York County District Attorney’s Office and NAPSA Elder Financial Exploitation Advisory Board, 2013 Nationwide Survey of Mandatory Reporting Requirements for Elderly and/or Vulnerable Persons, www.napsa-now.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Mandatory-Reporting-Chart.pdf

For more information, visit us!

ncea.aoa.govAlso on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube

centeronelderabuse.orgAlso on Facebook, YouTube

This slide set was created for the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life for the National Center on Elder Abuse and is supported in part by a grant (No. 90AB0002/01) from the Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Grantees carrying out projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Therefore, points of view or opinions do not necessarily represent official Administration on Aging or DHHS policy.”

Thank you!www.ncea.aoa.gov