Senator Alsobrooks Questions Professor Barkoff on Combating Senior Trafficking and Elder Abuse

The Sandwich Generation and Caregiver Struggles

• 😥 Senator Alsobrooks shares her personal experience as part of the "sandwich generation," balancing her role as a U.S. Senator with caring for her aging parents.
• 💔 She highlights the immense challenges faced by caregivers, especially when they themselves face health issues, as exemplified by her father's recent cancer diagnosis while caring for her mother with dementia.
• ⚠️ Many seniors lack family advocates or the resources to afford care, leading them to fall through the cracks.

Impact of ACL Staff Reductions

• 📉 Professor Alison Barkoff explains that the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the only federal agency focused on community living for older adults and people with disabilities, has been significantly impacted by staff cuts.
• 🚫 Less than half of ACL's staff remain, affecting critical teams like policy, evaluation, grants, and communications, hindering its ability to support aging and disability networks.
• 🏛️ Barkoff urges Congress to continue funding ACL and for HHS to adequately staff it to meet its mandates.

Senior Trafficking and Unlicensed Facilities

• 🏘️ The discussion addresses the disturbing proliferation of unlicensed assisted living facilities, which house elderly residents in substandard conditions in exchange for their social security or disability checks.
• 🚨 This practice, known as "benefit" or "senior trafficking," is not limited to Maryland but exists across several states.
• ⚖️ Senator Alsobrooks seeks to understand how states can be better equipped with tools to monitor and combat these bad actors.

Addressing Elder Abuse and Exploitation

• 🔍 Professor Barkoff confirms that abuse, neglect, and exploitation in unlicensed facilities are widespread.
• 🆘 ACL plays a crucial role in implementing elder justice initiatives, including adult protective services and the long-term care ombudsman program, working with states to identify and address abuse.
• 💰 However, the resources allocated to adult protective services and ombudsmen are minuscule compared to the scale of the abuse and neglect occurring.