Physical Abuse
What is it?
"Physical abuse" is defined as causing the infliction of physical pain or injury.
What am I looking for?
- Bleeding, cuts, punctures
- Multiple injuries in different stages of healing
- Repeated injuries
- Injuries in unusual places
- Doctor/hospital hopping
- Repeated ER/hospital visits and/or admissions
- Fearful/avoidant behavior
Sexual Abuse
What is it?
"Sexual abuse" is defined as touching, fondling, sexual threats, sexually inappropriate remarks, or any other sexual activity with an eligible adult when he/she is unable to understand, unwilling to consent, threatened, or physically forced to engage in sexual behavior.
What am I looking for?
- Bruising on inner thighs
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Inappropriate/excessive hygienic care
- Lacks capacity to engage in sexual activity
- Forced to engage/observe sexual activity
- Unwanted sexual touching by alleged abuser
Emotional Abuse
What is it?
"Emotional abuse" is defined as verbal assaults, threats of maltreatment, harassment or intimidation intended to compel the eligible adult to engage in conduct from which he/she wishes and has a right to abstain, or to refrain from conduct which the eligible adult wishes and has a right to engage.
What am I looking for?
- Alleged abuser calls suspected victim names
- Humiliates, insults, blames, or stalks suspected victim
- Talks of suspected victim's death
- Talks of suspected victim as a burden
- Threatens suspected victim with abandonment / confinement / guardianship
Confinement
What is it?
"Confinement" is defined as restraining or isolating, without legal authority, an eligible adult for anything other than medical reasons, as ordered by a physician.
What am I looking for?
- Bilateral skin markings suggestive of restraints
- Gagged, locked in room
- No adequate padding on approved restraints
- Not permitted to leave home
- Over-medicated for purpose of confinement
- Not allowed to have visitors
- Restrained without medical orders/trying alternatives
- Tied to furniture, handcuffed
Passive Neglect
What is it?
"Passive neglect" is defined as another individual's failure to provide an eligible adult with the necessities of life including, but not limited to, food, clothing, shelter, or medical care because of a failure to understand the eligible adult's needs, lack of awareness of services to help meet needs, or lack of capacity to care for the eligible adult.
What am I looking for?
- Bedsores/skin breakdown/skin rashes
- Appears malnourished
- Dehydrated/fluid intake problems
- Over/underweight
- No food/spoiled food/inadequate food
- Dirty in appearance, feces/fleas/lice on person
- Inadequate clothing
- Inappropriate bedding/clothing
- Inadequate supervision
- Fires/burns from smoking/cooking
- Frequent falls, wandering, getting lost
- Stealing/begging for food
- No planned activities
- No opportunity to be with others
Willful Deprivation
What is it?
"Willful deprivation" is defined as deliberate denial of medications, medical care, shelter, food, therapeutic devices, or other physical assistance to a person who, because of age, health, or disability, requires such assistance and thereby exposes that person to the risk of physical, mental, or emotional harm because of such denial; except with respect to medical care or treatment when the dependent person has expressed an intent to forego such medical care of treatment and has the capacity to understand the consequences.
What am I looking for?
- Caregiver arranges inappropriate supervision/care
- Caregiver deliberately places call bell out of reach
- Caregiver refuses to answer
- Caregiver deliberately does not follow prescribed medical care
- Caregiver does not assist with eating/toileting
- Caregiver refuses needed services for the person
- Caregiver is well-dressed when the person is poorly dressed
- Caregiver withholds food/water/medication
- Caregiver deliberately places needed therapeutic devices out of reach
Financial Exploitation
What is it?
"Financial exploitation" is defined as the use of an eligible adult's resources by another to the disadvantage of that adult or the profit or advantage of a person other than that adult.
What am I looking for?
- Unusual/inappropriate bank activities of a person
- Depleted bank accounts/investments
- Questionable asset/property transfer
- Questionable changes in will
- Out of money with social security/other check missing
- Unpaid bills when income is adequate
- Misuse of POA/guardianship
- Alleged abuser mismanagement of assets and property
- Alleged abuser can't explain disappearance of valuables/money
- Alleged abuser can't explain unusually large bank withdrawals
- Alleged abuser forges signature of person
- Alleged abuser lives with person but pays no rent
- Alleged abuser withholds money