EAGLE and the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) teams would like to take a moment to thank our interns, Lydia Mackey and Malcolm Marett, who assisted us in the arduous task of updating EAGLE’s State Statutes, the most used resource on the EAGLE website. State laws are continually being updated. As a result, Lydia and Malcolm began a thorough sweep of the entire United States. Here is what they learned:
- Lydia Mackey – Throughout my time at EAGLE working on updating state statutes on elder abuse, one thing has been made very clear: making laws to truly protect a vulnerable group without information on the victim is hard. While there are many online resources detailing what elder abuse is, its different forms, and how it gets reported, there is a consistent asterisk next to questions regarding the scope of the problem, noting that 'we simply do not know for certain.'. This is deeply concerning and calls for national attention and government-funded research.
- Malcolm Marett – I had no idea just how much behind-the-scenes work goes into seeking justice for the countless people being abused and exploited in the U.S. each year. Working at EAGLE has allowed me to meet some of the many caring people whose work often goes unnoticed but can make a massive difference in the lives of others. This experience has opened my eyes to just how common elder abuse and exploitation is and how I, like so many other people, was unaware of the severity of this issue. Resources like EAGLE are crucial in teaching law enforcement and the general public how to recognize signs of abuse and effectively intervene to protect this vulnerable population.
They began this task possibly thinking this would be tedious work, however, by the end of this experience they had a sense of ownership and pride in their contributions to EAGLE.
- Lydia Mackey – I noticed while updating state statutes the massive difference in the number of statutes between states. Some states, like New Mexico and New Jersey, have no statutes pertaining to elder abuse, while others, like Washington and Alabama, have more than five. This fact highlights the need for more public awareness campaigns in order to interest lawmakers in the topic and more research to be done on the frequency of elder abuse to inform lawmakers.
- Malcolm Marett – My job of keeping state statutes up to date on the EAGLE website seemed like a small one at first, but I was surprised to learn just how often the laws surrounding abuse change and vary between the states. For example, Florida didn’t have a specific law for exploitation of the elderly until just this year, and Michigan only recently extended its statute of limitations to account for the significant number of exploitation cases in which perpetrators are able to conceal their crimes for years on end. It’s no wonder that these crimes and the outdated laws against it have become a matter of increasing public concern.
Thanks to the hard work of Lydia and Malcolm, the State Statutes have been updated, at least until there is a new change in the law. These changes are a positive sign that more attention is being paid to the topic and that more is being done to keep older adults in our communities safe and free from abuse. We are extremely grateful to our interns and all of you who promote elder justice.
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