Elder Law

Illinois Elder Abuse on the Rise; Illinois Responds with Task Forces

By Levin & Perconti

Elder abuse in Illinois has increased by 53% since 1993 according to the Illinois Department on Aging. In 2007, 9,489 complaints of elder abuse were reported. Unfortunately, the department estimates that upwards of 90,000 cases of elder and nursing home abuse go unreported each year. As the population of Illinoisans over 60 is expected to rise above 3.7 million by 2030, this means that a staggering number of elder abuse cases could go unreported in the near future.

The new law will encourage individual counties to create task forces on elder abuse and will allow investigators to share sensitive patient information with team members, helping to shed light on often unreported cases of abuse. The new Illinois task forces will involve collaboration between medical examiners? offices, state?s attorneys? offices, county sheriffs, and the Illinois Department of Public Health and Department of Aging.

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Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on April 10, 2008 (boomark / email).