AARP Iowa renews push to make elder abuse a crime

DES MOINES — AARP Iowa is making a renewed push to persuade the Legislature to make elder abuse a crime in the state.

“We’ve come so close. We want to get this done,” AARP Iowa spokesman Anthony Carroll said about the group’s efforts to win Iowa House passage of Senate File 522.

The bill, which would set penalties and mandatory minimum sentences for the abuse of a person age 60 or older, was approved 47-0 last year by the Iowa Senate. A House Judiciary Committee subcommittee unanimously recommended passage, but the full committee didn’t take up the bill in 2021.

Advocates say that elder abuse — often hidden — takes many forms, including physical, sexual, emotional, neglect and financial exploitation. The Iowa Department of Human Services saw a 37 percent increase in dependent abuse reports from the first half of 2020 to the second half of 2021, with 5,800 cases.

However, about half of those reports are rejected by the department, which does not keep its own statistics on elder abuse. That the department rejected about half those reports is an indication of the holes in state law, Carroll said.

“The alleged victim is a dependent adult, a narrow definition that starts with someone aged 18 and plus,” he explained, and the alleged perpetrator has to fit the narrow legal definition of a caretaker. SF 522 would give Iowa law enforcement and financial institutions tools to stop and prevent elder abuse, Carroll said.

Defining elder abuse as a crime punishable by law had the support of 95 percent of Iowans 50 and older surveyed by AARP in July 2021, giving it more support than any other issue.

“Getting legislation across the finish line during this session is a top priority for AARP Iowa,” said Chuck Betts of Keokuk, state AARP president. “We won’t let off the gas until everything is settled and we get this pushed through.”

AARP isn’t alone in the effort to codify elder abuse. Law enforcement, banking interests, caregivers and several groups that serve seniors are backing passage of SF 522.

No lobbyist is registered to oppose the bill, according to state disclosures. Over 40 lobbyists for organizations are registered in support, while 17 are registered as undecided.

SF 522 would give county attorneys “an appropriate tool to prosecute these unique and difficult crimes,” according to Iowa County Attorneys Association Executive Director Jessica Reynolds.

Alzheimer's Association of Iowa is on board because “people with dementia are especially vulnerable because the disease may prevent them from reporting the abuse or recognizing it,” said Robyn Mills, public policy director. “They also may fall prey to strangers who take advantage of their cognitive impairment.”

In Iowa, where 18 percent of the population is 65 or older, there were 64,000 people with Alzheimer's in 2018, 66,000 two years later, and that number is projected by the Alzheimer's Association to grow to 73,000 by 2025.

SF 522 would establish several crimes, including older individual assault, theft against an older individual and financial exploitation of an older individual. Criminal penalties would range from a serious misdemeanor to a Class C felony, depending on the circumstances and extent of injuries.

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