Thursday, December 23, 2010
Bills For The Elderly
KENTUCKY....
Kentucky's population is aging rapidly and reports of adult abuse and exploitation are rising. Since 2008, nearly $6 million has been cut from the Department for Aging and Independent Living which funds senior centers, Meals on Wheels and other services for the elderly. Despite the increasing need to provide better protection and more services for Kentucky's elderly and vulnerable adults, advocates and lawmakers see little hope for improvement.
Representative Joni Jenkins, D-Louisville, is sponsoring two bills meant to better protect seniors from abuse and financial exploitation, and she says they would cost little to enact. One bill would bar anyone convicted of abusing, neglecting or exploiting an adult from inheriting after the victim's death. A second bill would bar anyone convicted of such offenses from serving as the victim's guardian, executor of the estate or serving under power of attorney. State Sen. Denise Harper Angel, D-Louisville, says she will seek to increase protections in a 2009 law requiring private agencies that provide personal care at home for adults to be certified by the state and conduct criminal background checks on prospective employees.
Kentucky's population is aging rapidly and reports of adult abuse and exploitation are rising. Since 2008, nearly $6 million has been cut from the Department for Aging and Independent Living which funds senior centers, Meals on Wheels and other services for the elderly. Despite the increasing need to provide better protection and more services for Kentucky's elderly and vulnerable adults, advocates and lawmakers see little hope for improvement.
Representative Joni Jenkins, D-Louisville, is sponsoring two bills meant to better protect seniors from abuse and financial exploitation, and she says they would cost little to enact. One bill would bar anyone convicted of abusing, neglecting or exploiting an adult from inheriting after the victim's death. A second bill would bar anyone convicted of such offenses from serving as the victim's guardian, executor of the estate or serving under power of attorney. State Sen. Denise Harper Angel, D-Louisville, says she will seek to increase protections in a 2009 law requiring private agencies that provide personal care at home for adults to be certified by the state and conduct criminal background checks on prospective employees.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 11:37 PM 
