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Board proclaims June as Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Awareness Month and highlights prevention steps
Summary
Supervisors declared June Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Awareness Month, heard county Adult Protective Services statistics and prevention guidance and urged outreach to older adults.
Contra Costa County supervisors on June 10 proclaimed June 2025 as Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Awareness Month and received a presentation from Aging and Adult Services staff on prevention and reporting.
Tracy Murray, director of Aging and Adult Services, told the board that Adult Protective Services (APS) received 7,784 reports of elder or dependent‑adult abuse in calendar year 2024; staff assigned 6,030 of those reports for investigation. APS staff outlined the forms of abuse—physical, financial, emotional, neglect and abandonment—and said financial abuse was a rapidly growing concern.
A short APS video excerpted comments from a social worker who described cases of online fraud and exploitation. Marcy Harrah, APS division manager, offered prevention tips (monitor credit reports, simplify finances, assign money‑management to trusted people, check for sudden spending changes) and provided the APS hotline numbers: (925) 299‑8434 and 1‑805‑102‑0200 (integrated call center).
Supervisors praised APS staff and family justice centers for outreach and emphasized removing stigma that keeps elders from reporting abuse. Board members urged wider public education and department coordination to reach isolated seniors.
Why it matters: County staff said older adults are the fastest‑growing segment of the county population (an estimated 267,000 people aged 60 and over) and that APS reports are likely a subset of actual abuse events; the board asked staff to expand outreach and prevention messaging.
