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World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Ford County Public Health Department Asking Public to Wear Purple on June 15, 2017  in Recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

 

Ford County, IL - Ford County Public Health Department is asking public to wear purple on Thursday, June 15, 2017 in effort to raise awareness about elder abuse in our community.

According to Illinois Department on Aging, many adults who live at home are at risk of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation by family members and others close to them. Victims of abuse are often isolated, and they may be afraid or unable to seek help for themselves. In many cases, the only person outside the family who sees the victim is a health care professional, home care provider, financial institution, or other helping professional. Therefore, it is critical that individuals know how to report cases of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation for investigation and services.

Ford County Public Health Department’s Adult Protective Services Program responds to the following types of abuse:

  • Physical abuse means inflicting physical pain or injury upon an adult.

 

  • Sexual abuse means touching, fondling, intercourse, or any other sexual activity with an adult, when the adult is unable to understand, unwilling to consent, threatened or physically forced.

 

  • Emotional abuse means verbal assaults, threats of maltreatment, harassment or intimidation.

 

  • Confinement means restraining or isolating an adult, other than for medical reasons.

 

  • Passive neglect means the caregiver’s failure to provide an adult with life’s necessities, including, but not limited to, food, clothing, shelter or medical care.

 

  • Willful deprivation means deliberate denial of an adult medication, medical care, shelter, food, a therapeutic device, or other physical assistance and thereby exposing that person to the risk of physical, mental or emotional harm — except when the adult has expressed capacity to understand the consequences and an intent to forego such care.

 

  • Financial exploitation means the misuse or withholding of an older person’s resources to the disadvantage of the elderly person and/or the profit or advantage of another person.

 

  • Self-Neglect means a condition that is the result of an adult’s inability, due to physical or mental impairments, or both, or a diminished capacity, to perform essential self-care tasks that substantially threaten his or her own health. The term includes compulsive hoarding.

The Illinois Adult Protective Services Act directs the Illinois Department on Aging to establish an intervention program to respond to reports of alleged abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, and self-neglect of adults living in a domestic setting and to work with the adult in resolving the abusive situation. The program provides services to people over the age of 60 and to adults with disabilities age 18-59, who may be victims of abuse as described above. The Adult Protective Services Act provides that a person — who in good faith reports suspected abuse or cooperates with an investigation — shall be immune from criminal or civil liability or professional disciplinary action. It further provides that the identity of the reporter shall not be disclosed except with the written permission of the reporter or by order of a court. Anonymous reports are also accepted. To report suspected abuse, neglect, exploitation, or self-neglect, please call toll-free 1-866-800-1409, 1-888-1327 (TTY) or call the Ford County Public Health Department,a local adult protective services provider agency serving Ford County.  Callers should be prepared to report the alleged victim’s name and address, what happened, where and when it happened, and who the suspected abuser might be, circumstances which led to the report, and whether the alleged victim is in immediate danger. While reporting is voluntary for most individuals, certain professionals are mandated to report their concerns of abuse, neglect or financial exploitation.

For more information on Adult Protective Services, please visit:

https://www.illinois.gov/aging/ProtectionAdvocacy/Pages/abuse.aspx

https://www.illinois.gov/aging/ProtectionAdvocacy/Documents/APS_Act.pdf

or contact Ford County Public Health Department at 235 North Taft Street, Paxton IL 60957 (217)379-9281

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