Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Elder Abuse Prevention topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County, advocates mark June as Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Awareness Month; outreach campaign launches
Summary
County Aging and Adult Services and partner agencies briefed supervisors on elder abuse prevention efforts and a June public information campaign called Stop Elder Abuse Marin. The board received remarks from the long‑term care ombudsman, the public guardian and the district attorney and approved the related consent calendar items on the agenda.
Marin County officials and community partners on June 24 recognized National Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Awareness Month and described a Stop Elder Abuse Marin public‑information campaign using posters, videos and geo‑targeted outreach.
Speakers included Dan Stecklein, program coordinator for the Long‑Term Care Ombudsman Program; Janae Cottrell, director of Aging and Adult Services; Chua Zhao, APS program manager; Camille Jolley, Area Agency on Aging program manager; and Mark Banderskoff, public guardian and chair of the Marin Financial Abuse Specialist Team (FAST). They summarized recent service volumes and outreach activity.
Janae Cottrell told the board the county received about 2,600 reports of suspected elder or dependent adult abuse last year and that financial abuse or exploitation was a concern in roughly 46% of those reports. She said the county’s outreach campaign is using posters, targeted digital media and materials distributed at locations frequented by older adults, with emphasis on communities of color and rural areas.
Mark Banderskoff said the volunteer FAST team reached about 1,300 people last year through presentations and distributed approximately 2,000 pieces of printed materials about fraud prevention. Oak Dowling, a FAST volunteer, urged continuing public education and described scams targeting older adults.
District Attorney Lori Figoli described cross‑agency efforts including a deed‑fraud program and a new grant that will look at elder abuse later in life and at financial exploitation as well as physical abuse and domestic violence. Shelley Scott, Marin County assessor‑recorder, thanked the DA’s office and partners for the deed‑fraud work.
Speakers urged residents to report suspected abuse to Adult Protective Services at (415) 473‑2774. The related items were part of the consent calendar that the board approved later in the meeting.
