This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Pa. Supreme Court Appoints Task Force to Tackle Abuse Against Older Pennsylvanians

A special judicial task force has been appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, to study abuses to older Pennsylvanians.

A special judicial task force has been appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, to study abuses to older Pennsylvanians within the state courts. The first meeting took place on April 16th and 17th in Harrisburg. The task force is made up of 38 elder law experts including judges, lawyers and social workers. They are broken into three subcommittees: one devoted to appointment and qualifications of guardians and attorneys in Pennsylvania courts, a second will monitor and collect data collection regarding guardianship cases in the state courts, and a third on elder abuse and powers of attorney. Their work is expected to last for one year.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court state that they recognize problems involved in guardianship, abuse and neglect of seniors, and access of seniors to justice. They recommend solutions that include new court rules, legislation, education and best practices.

According to research funded by the National Institute of Justice, almost 11 percent of people ages 60 and older, or 5.7 million individuals, suffered from some form of abuse in 2009. Elder abuse is also deadly. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, victims of abuse, neglect and financial exploitation have three times the risk of dying prematurely.

Find out what's happening in Marple Newtownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In appointing the task force, Chief Justice Castille said. “The needs of this growing population will continue for years to come, especially in regards to guardianship, elder abuse and access to justice. Now is the time to put in place solutions that will allow older Pennsylvanians to age without worries that they will be abused or their money will be taken.”

Do you want to express any concern the committee should look into, or issues they should investigate? If you add it the comments below, I will make sure it is received by the task force.

Find out what's happening in Marple Newtownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Stay will until the next post.

Bob Gasparro

Bob Gasparro is an Elder Practitioner (accountant and attorney). He can be reached at Robert.Gasparro@lifespanlegal.com or (484) 297-2050. Comments to this post, and ideas for future posts are welcome.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?