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Sawyer County APS sees rising self-neglect and financial-exploitation cases, launches outreach
Summary
Adult Protective Services reported 59 clients served from May–December and rising rates of self-neglect (62%) and financial exploitation (33%); the office described new subcommittees, outreach events and a POA clinic to help elders protect assets and plan for care.
Rebecca Ericson, who took over the adult protective-services (APS) role in May, presented case data showing 59 people served from May through December: five aged 18–59, about 52 aged 60 and older, and two unreported. Ericson said 43% of referrals required no services (clients already had supports), 34% were offered services but declined (APS is voluntary), and 23% accepted services. Referral destinations included the ADRC (40%), law enforcement (11%), advocates/agencies (7%), mental-health services (7%) and managed-care organizations (5%).
Ericson said the primary concerns identified in last year’s cases were self-neglect (62%) and financial exploitation (33%). She described common scams and romance-scheme losses, noting individual cases with losses in the tens of thousands of dollars. APS reported 11 guardianships in the previous calendar year and eight so far this year (including seven protective placements and one mental-health case).
To address the trend, APS described two new subcommittees of its multidisciplinary team — one focused on financial abuse and one on elderly death review — and scheduled community outreach events: a power-of-attorney clinic April 16 (notary available) and a senior-resource open house May 15 with tabling by APS and elder-benefit specialists. Ericson said APS is mandated but underfunded, with limited reimbursement options (private guardianships may be billable); the office expects resource constraints to persist and asked the board to support state- and county-level advocacy for more elder-abuse funding.
Board members asked about involving medical providers earlier to identify at-risk elders; Ericson said providers are increasingly flagging people to APS and noted regular coordination with law enforcement and tribal partners.
