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Recognizing World Elder Abuse Awareness Day in Ohio, | 1 |
June 15. | 2 |
WHEREAS, Federal government estimates show that more than one | 3 |
in ten persons over age sixty, or six million individuals, are | 4 |
victims of elder abuse each year; and | 5 |
WHEREAS, The vast majority of the abuse, neglect, and | 6 |
exploitation of older adults in the United States goes | 7 |
unidentified and unreported; and | 8 |
WHEREAS, Only one in forty-four cases of financial abuse of | 9 |
older adults is reported; and | 10 |
WHEREAS, At least two billion nine hundred million dollars is | 11 |
taken from older adults each year due to financial abuse and | 12 |
exploitation; and | 13 |
WHEREAS, Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation have no | 14 |
boundaries and cross all racial, social, class, gender, and | 15 |
geographic lines; and | 16 |
WHEREAS, Older adults who are abused are three times more | 17 |
likely to die earlier than older adults of the same age who are | 18 |
not abused; and | 19 |
WHEREAS, Although all fifty states have laws against elder | 20 |
abuse, incidents of elder abuse have increased by one hundred | 21 |
fifty per cent over the last ten years; and | 22 |
WHEREAS, Public awareness has the potential to increase the | 23 |
identification and reporting of elder abuse by the public, | 24 |
professionals, and victims, and can act as a catalyst to promote | 25 |
issue-based education and long-term prevention; and | 26 |
WHEREAS, Private individuals and public agencies must work | 27 |
together on the federal, state, and local levels to combat | 28 |
increasing occurrences of abuse, neglect, and exploitation crime | 29 |
and violence against vulnerable older adults and vulnerable | 30 |
adults, particularly in light of limited resources for vital | 31 |
protective services; now therefore be it | 32 |
RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 130th General Assembly | 33 |
of the State of Ohio, recognize June 15 as World Elder Abuse | 34 |
Awareness Day in Ohio; and be it further | 35 |
RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 130th General Assembly | 36 |
of the State of Ohio, recognize judges, lawyers, adult protective | 37 |
services professionals, law enforcement officers, social workers, | 38 |
health care providers, victims' advocates, and other professionals | 39 |
and agencies for their efforts to advance awareness of elder | 40 |
abuse; and be it further | 41 |
RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 130th General Assembly | 42 |
of the State of Ohio, encourage members of the public and | 43 |
professionals who work with older adults to act as catalysts to | 44 |
promote awareness and long-term prevention of elder abuse by | 45 |
reaching out to local adult protective services agencies and by | 46 |
learning to recognize, detect, report, and respond to elder abuse; | 47 |
and be it further | 48 |
RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly | 49 |
authenticated copies of this resolution to the news media of Ohio. | 50 |