Federal and State Laws Governing Mandatory Reporting of Elderly Abuse

Mandatory Reporting of Elderly Abuse
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Mandatory Reporting of Elderly Abuse
The protection of vulnerable populations such as the elderly from abuse and neglect is a critical issue that has gained increased attention in recent years. To address this issue, both federal and state governments have enacted laws that mandate the reporting of suspected cases of elderly abuse by certain professionals such as counselors. While there are differences between federal and state laws, there are also many points of agreement in terms of their mandatory reporting requirements. This essay will compare federal and state laws governing mandatory reporting of elderly abuse.
Federal Guidelines
Notably, federal laws require a counselor to act as a mandated reporter of elderly abuse in certain circumstances. Before 2010, the federal requirements dictated that one had to report cases of elderly abuse to the management of a long-term care facility. In 2010, the Elder Justice Act (EJA) introduced mandatory reporting requirements for any facility that can be described as a “long-term care facility.” Any person who is covered by the EJA is obligated to make a report if they have reasonable suspicion that an elder receiving care from any long-term care facility funded by the government is being mistreated (Bernal 2017). The Act applies to the facilities that have received a minimum of US$ 10,000 of federal funds within a financial year. A counselor who is contracted or works in such a long-term care facility should inform the owners about crimes against the elderly. The obligation is not solely achieved when one informs the facility operator. Rather, the facility owners and the counselor are required to report such crimes to law enforcement as well as to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Lindberg, 2020). Notably, the crimes define instances of physical abuse, financial abuse, psychological abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and other crimes against the elderly as defined by the existing state and local laws.
The strictness of the federal reporting guidelines varies based on the nature of the suspected crime. If the crime involves serious bodily injury, the counselor is required to report it within two hours with a period of 24 hours given for crimes that do not involve serious bodily injury. Facilities that do not report crimes against the elderly face a US$ 300,000 fine and exclusion from federal funding.
State Guidelines
In the State of New York, the mandatory repo...