Older Americans are Less Likely to Report Fraud, Frequently a Prime Target for Criminals / PA has the Fifth Largest Population of Seniors in the Country, County by County Data Will Highlight Regional Breakdown / Estimate: Only 1 in 14 Cases of Elder Abuse Is Reported, Seniors Often Unaware of Resources
Washington, DC- Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) launched a new central web resource to protect seniors from abuse and scams. Casey discussed county by county data highlighting the regional breakdown across the state, which can be found below. Casey’s web resource centralized state and federal resources that seniors can rely on. One estimate indicates that only 1 in 14 cases of elder abuse is actually reported because seniors sometimes don’t know where to turn.
“Our older Pennsylvanians have fought in our wars, worked in our factories and taught our children. Fraud against seniors is a cowardly crime,” said Senator Casey. “I’m introducing this web resource page on my website so Pennsylvania’s two million seniors and caretakers have an easy, central place to find information and connect with agencies that can give them the help they need.”
In Pennsylvania, and across the United States, there are more and more reports of elder abuse incidents. Elder abuse is any knowing, intentional, or negligent act that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to an older adult. While definitions may vary, elder abuse may be: physical abuse; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; neglect; abandonment; exploitation; or self-neglect.
In 2010-2011, the Area Agencies on Aging in Pennsylvania received 18,129 reports of abuse, which is an increase from the 11,962 reports in 2006-2007. In 2010-2011, Pennsylvania Department of Aging found that 15.3% of substantiated abuse cases were of financial abuse or exploitation, 37.5% were cases of self-neglect, and 26.9% were caregiver neglect.
Elder abuse is often undetected, unreported, and untreated. One estimate is that only 1 in 14 cases of abuse are reported to authorities. Older adults often have excellent credit and are trusting, making them appealing to fraud perpetrators/con artists.
To help make information about elder abuse, fraud, and scams more readily available, Senator Casey has launched this resource page: http://www.casey.senate.gov/issues/seniors/scams.
Below is county data on the older Pennsylvanian population and reports of elder abuse:
|
Number and Percentage of 65+ Population by Pennsylvania County (based on Census 2010) |
|||
|
County |
Total Population |
Population Age 65+ |
Percent |
|
Adams County |
101,407 |
15,954 |
15.7% |
|
Allegheny County |
1,223,348 |
205,059 |
16.8% |
|
Armstrong County |
68,941 |
12,687 |
18.4% |
|
Beaver County |
170,539 |
31,660 |
18.6% |
|
Bedford County |
49,762 |
9,476 |
19.0% |
|
Berks County |
411,442 |
59,558 |
14.5% |
|
Blair County |
127,089 |
22,527 |
17.7% |
|
Bradford County |
62,622 |
11,152 |
17.8% |
|
Bucks County |
625,249 |
91,219 |
14.6% |
|
Butler County |
183,862 |
27,853 |
15.1% |
|
Cambria County |
143,679 |
27,071 |
18.8% |
|
Cameron County |
5,085 |
1,086 |
21.4% |
|
Carbon County |
65,249 |
11,644 |
17.8% |
|
Centre County |
153,990 |
17,366 |
11.3% |
|
Chester County |
498,886 |
63,875 |
12.8% |
|
Clarion County |
39,988 |
6,566 |
16.4% |
|
Clearfield County |
81,642 |
14,258 |
17.5% |
|
Clinton County |
39,238 |
6,350 |
16.2% |
|
Columbia County |
67,295 |
10,811 |
16.1% |
|
Crawford County |
88,765 |
14,712 |
16.6% |
|
Cumberland County |
235,406 |
36,745 |
15.6% |
|
Dauphin County |
268,100 |
36,841 |
13.7% |
|
Delaware County |
558,979 |
79,726 |
14.3% |
|
Elk County |
31,946 |
6,066 |
19.0% |
|
Erie County |
280,566 |
40,824 |
14.6% |
|
Fayette County |
136,606 |
24,580 |
18.0% |
|
Forest County |
7,716 |
1,418 |
18.4% |
|
Franklin County |
149,618 |
24,679 |
16.5% |
|
Fulton County |
14,845 |
2,544 |
17.1% |
|
Greene County |
38,686 |
5,931 |
15.3% |
|
Huntingdon County |
45,913 |
7,458 |
16.2% |
|
Indiana County |
88,880 |
13,944 |
15.7% |
|
Jefferson County |
45,200 |
8,255 |
18.3% |
|
Juniata County |
24,636 |
4,134 |
16.8% |
|
Lackawanna County |
214,437 |
37,895 |
17.7% |
|
Lancaster County |
519,445 |
77,780 |
15.0% |
|
Lawrence County |
91,108 |
17,128 |
18.8% |
|
Lebanon County |
133,568 |
22,729 |
17.0% |
|
Lehigh County |
349,497 |
51,604 |
14.8% |
|
Luzerne County |
320,918 |
57,595 |
17.9% |
|
Lycoming County |
116,111 |
19,112 |
16.5% |
|
McKean County |
43,450 |
7,381 |
17.0% |
|
Mercer County |
116,638 |
21,556 |
18.5% |
|
Mifflin County |
46,682 |
8,643 |
18.5% |
|
Monroe County |
169,842 |
21,701 |
12.8% |
|
Montgomery County |
799,874 |
120,727 |
15.1% |
|
Montour County |
18,267 |
3,395 |
18.6% |
|
Northampton County |
297,735 |
46,606 |
15.7% |
|
Northumberland County |
94,528 |
17,516 |
18.5% |
|
Perry County |
45,969 |
6,294 |
13.7% |
|
Philadelphia County |
1,526,006 |
185,309 |
12.1% |
|
Pike County |
57,369 |
9,303 |
16.2% |
|
Potter County |
17,457 |
3,403 |
19.5% |
|
Schuylkill County |
148,289 |
26,828 |
18.1% |
|
Snyder County |
39,702 |
6,144 |
15.5% |
|
Somerset County |
77,742 |
14,431 |
18.6% |
|
Sullivan County |
6,428 |
1,557 |
24.2% |
|
Susquehanna County |
43,356 |
7,845 |
18.1% |
|
Tioga County |
41,981 |
7,562 |
18.0% |
|
Union County |
44,947 |
6,654 |
14.8% |
|
Venango County |
54,984 |
9,884 |
18.0% |
|
Warren County |
41,815 |
7,840 |
18.7% |
|
Washington County |
207,820 |
36,366 |
17.5% |
|
Wayne County |
52,822 |
10,028 |
19.0% |
|
Westmoreland County |
365,169 |
68,877 |
18.9% |
|
Wyoming County |
28,276 |
4,528 |
16.0% |
|
York County |
434,972 |
61,057 |
14.0% |
|
TOTAL |
12,702,379 |
1,959,307 |
15.4% |
|
Source: http://pasdc.hbg.psu.edu/Data/PAStats/tabid/1014/Default.aspx Census 2010: Demographic Profile, State, and Counties |
|
Abuse Frequency Report for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 |
|
|
County |
Number of Reports |
|
Adams |
16 |
|
Allegheny |
1,535 |
|
Armstrong |
113 |
|
Beaver |
404 |
|
Bedford |
136 |
|
Berks |
456 |
|
Blair |
77 |
|
Bradford (see Tioga) |
* |
|
Bucks |
387 |
|
Butler |
274 |
|
Cambria |
140 |
|
Cameron |
256 |
|
Carbon |
80 |
|
Centre |
96 |
|
Chester |
395 |
|
Clarion |
53 |
|
Clearfield |
265 |
|
Clinton |
81 |
|
Columbia |
212 |
|
Crawford |
91 |
|
Cumberland |
273 |
|
Dauphin |
226 |
|
Delaware |
866 |
|
Elk (see Cameron) |
* |
|
Erie |
320 |
|
Fayette (see Washington) |
* |
|
Forest |
81 |
|
Franklin |
176 |
|
Fulton (see Bedford) |
* |
|
Greene (see Washington) |
* |
|
Huntingdon (see Bedford) |
* |
|
Indiana |
49 |
|
Jefferson |
143 |
|
Juniata (see Mifflin) |
* |
|
Lackawanna |
374 |
|
Lancaster |
1,307 |
|
Lawrence |
135 |
|
Lebanon |
75 |
|
Lehigh |
271 |
|
Luzerne |
861 |
|
Lycoming (see Clinton) |
* |
|
Mckean (see Cameron) |
* |
|
Mercer |
31 |
|
Mifflin |
133 |
|
Monroe |
99 |
|
Montgomery |
936 |
|
Montour (see Columbia) |
* |
|
Northampton |
112 |
|
Northumberland |
153 |
|
Perry |
60 |
|
Philadelphia |
2,871 |
|
Pike |
45 |
|
Potter |
34 |
|
Schuylkill |
376 |
|
Snyder (see Union) |
* |
|
Somerset |
60 |
|
Sullivan (see Tioga) |
* |
|
Susquehanna (see Tioga) |
* |
|
Tioga |
168 |
|
Union |
245 |
|
Venango |
189 |
|
Warren (see Forest) |
* |
|
Washington |
1,205 |
|
Wayne |
70 |
|
Westmoreland |
759 |
|
Wyoming (see Luzerne) |
* |
|
York |
630 |
|
STATEWIDE TOTAL* |
18,129 |
|
* Cases shared between multiple AAAs are counted for each AAA, but not duplicated in Statewide Total |
|
|
Source: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/agency_publications/17894 Pennsylvania Department of Aging. The Older Adults Protective Services Annual Report: FY2010-2011. Appendix A. |
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