10 States Offer The Best Protections Against Elder Abuse. New Jersey Is Not One Of Them

According to the National Council on Aging, approximately 1 in 10 Americans aged 60 and older have experienced some form of elder abuse.  Some estimates range as high as 5 million elders who are abused each year. One study estimated that many cases go unreported – only 1 in 14 cases of abuse are reported to  authorities. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a spike in the number of reports of elder harm and neglect.

Elder abuse is a silent problem. It robs seniors of their dignity, security, and—in some cases—costs them their lives. Elder Abuse includes physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation, neglect, and abandonment. Perpetrators include children, other family members, and spouses—as well as staff at nursing homes, assisted living, and other facilities.

The various types of elder abuse can be summarized as follows:

• Physical abuse means inflicting physical pain or injury upon an older adult.
• Sexual abuse means touching, fondling, intercourse, or any other sexual activity with an older adult, when the older adult is unable to understand, unwilling to consent, threatened, or physically forced.
• Emotional abuse means verbal assaults, threats of abuse, harassment, or intimidation.
• Confinement means restraining or isolating an older adult, other than for medical reasons.
• Passive neglect is a caregiver’s failure to provide an older adult with life’s necessities, including, but not limited to, food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.
• Willful deprivation means denying an older adult medication, medical care, shelter, food, a therapeutic device, or other physical assistance, and exposing that person to the risk of physical, mental, or emotional harm—except when the older, competent adult has expressed a desire to go without such care.
• Financial exploitation means the misuse or withholding of an older adult’s resources by another.

Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Vermont offer older Americans the best protections against elder abuse in the country, according to a study by personal finance site WalletHub. Of the 50 states and D.C., New Jersey, South Carolina and California rank in the bottom three slots, offering the least protections against elder abuse. In addition, New Jersey is one of the top three states with the highest number of elder abuse, gross neglect and exploitation claims filed.

Unless states take action to prevent further abuse, the problem will grow as America becomes an increasingly aging nation. The U.S. Census Bureau expects the population aged 65 and older to nearly double from 43.1 million in 2012 to 85.7 million in 2050, much to the credit of aging Baby Boomers who began turning 65 in 2011. And by just 2030, 1 in 5 U.S. residents will be retirement age.

Here are the 10 best states in the country for protections against elder abuse:

1. Massachusetts
2. Wisconsin
3. Vermont
4. Michigan
5. West Virginia
6. Virginia
7. District of Columbia
8. Iowa
9. Louisiana
10. Maine

States with the Best Elder-Abuse Protections

(New Jersey is ranked LAST on this List – See Below)