Report Explores Need for More Elder Abuse Services

A report delivered by the Los Angeles County Aging & Disabilities Department (ADD) provides more evidence that a strategy for a Senior Safe Home Pilot Program needs to be established and implemented throughout the county and its cities. Data collected by that department is showing the prevalence of elder and dependent abuse for adults aged 55 or older who are also at risk of homelessness.

In April 2024, the LA County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal by Supervisor Janice Hahn to explore creating a Senior Safe Home to protect victims of elder abuse.

The board had instructed the ADD to continue to build on the work from a Long Beach Senior Safe Home Coalition report.

ADD was directed to provide a report back in 180 days on developing a roadmap and establishing a countywide strategy that would include multiple County departments and community stakeholders. It would tap into Adult Protective Services (APS) data and other data sources that could demonstrate the prevalence of the abuse, and it would identify a feasible pilot site and funding for the program.

At the department’s request, Supervisorial District 4, which is Hahn’s district and includes Long Beach, approved extending the report submission date to July 30, 2025. The ADD report was submitted at the beginning of that month.

Taking further action on the report’s recommendations may have to wait a while, and the county will need to tap into its existing resources and working relationships.

“There are no new updates since the July report to the Board of Supervisors,” says Aging & Disabilities Department’s interim director, Maral Karaccusian, MSW. “The Senior Safe Home pilot, designed as a safe, temporary housing option for Adult Protective Services (APS) clients, has not advanced due to lack of funds and broader County fiscal challenges.

“Having said that, we remain committed to the program’s goals and are exploring partnerships and funding opportunities to better serve older adults and adults with disabilities who need safe housing options.”

Long Beach’s Advisory Commission on Aging, and the Long Beach Senior Safe Home Coalition, played an important role in getting this project started.

The specific location of the Senior Safe Home in the County’s Pilot Program has yet to be identified and announced, including if that would be in Long Beach; and if that location would remain confidential for the safety of residents and staff.

Connection Between Abuse and Housing Instability

In the July ADD report, LA County Adult Protective Services (APS)  had received an average of 58,500 abuse reports annually between fiscal year 2019-2020 and FY 2023-2024, which rose to over 68,000 in FY 2023-2024 as pandemic-era underreporting subsided. While about 85% of the reports proceeded to investigation, only 28% were substantiated. This reality reflects national trends and emphasizes the challenges “of gathering evidence from frightened, cognitively impaired, or dependent victims,” according to the report.

The confirmation rate highlights the complexities of conducting elder abuse investigations, the county report says. ADD estimates that there could be just one in twenty abuse incidents reported to APS, which suggests thousands of cases could remain hidden.

Data collected for the report shows a strong link between elder abuse and housing instability among clients of county services. From 2019 to 2024, APS conducted an average of 1,600 new investigations annually involving clients experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Referrals that were sent to housing and relocation services rose from 432 in FY 2019-2020 to a peak of 1,246 in FY 2023-2024.

The study found that many of these abuse victims have been displaced due to financial exploitation, fraud, or unsafe living conditions. This harsh reality has created significantly increased costs for emergency departments, law enforcement and interim housing systems.

Data from the findings showed that 35% of victims were identified as White, 35% as Latino/Hispanic, 18% as African American, and 8% as Asian. The median age of APS clients is 75, with women making up a slight majority. However, in about 44% of the cases included in the study, the victim’s race or ethnicity was not reported, which limits the definitive conclusions about distinctions among the demographic groups.

There was an average of 8,638 confirmed abuse cases involving older adults aged 55 and over across the five Supervisorial Districts from FY 2019/20 to FY 2023/24, the study says. District 4 made up around 20% of these confirmed cases, or roughly 1,758, including over 400 cases in the City of Long Beach.

While the City of Long Beach has explored creating its own Senior Safe Home, the city decided that county support is necessary to make the project viable and financially stable. The county report did draw upon the feasibility analysis conducted by the Long Beach Senior Safe Home Coalition and from another model template. It considered the recommendation of establishing a 15-bed Senior Safe Home pilot in Supervisorial District 4 contingent upon Measure A funding.

How Measure A Funding Could Support These Efforts

Approved by LA County voters in November 2024, Measure A implemented a half-cent sale tax for services to support people currently experiencing homelessness through affordable housing construction, homelessness prevention and support for vulnerable renters.

[Editor’s Note: The county’s Measure A is not the same as Long Beach’s Measure A, which is intended for infrastructure and public safety purposes.]

The Long Beach Senior Safe Home Coalition says that ideal facility would encompass approximately 15,000 to 16,000 square feet, featuring ADA-compliant bathrooms; exam and counseling rooms; a warming kitchen; communal dining and recreation spaces; secure entry points; and an outdoor courtyard with proximity to public transit and senior centers.

A possible model recommended in the county report is the APS Home Safe Program’s DHS Enriched Residential Care Model. This residential care model’s cost under the APS Home Safe Model from FY 23-25 would be approximately $22 million dollars.

Measure A could be the most viable and stable funding source, according to the study. That comes within the context of the current fiscal climate at both the state and federal levels, and due to the limited available of funding from philanthropic and grant sources.

A portion of this Measure A funding is recommended in the report to be set aside for older adult housing in FY 2025-2026.

LA County cited its initial attempt to create a shelter program a decade ago. The APS emergency bed program was operated from FY 2014-2015 until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This program relied on over five contracted Adult Residential Facilities and Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly and provided temporary shelter averaging 14 to 20 days per resident. These services went to about 80 clients every year over three fiscal years.

Placement rates declined early in the pandemic, causing the facilities to struggle to find needed financial stability. Many clients required higher-acuity medical or cognitive support beyond what their business licenses permitted. The contracts were ended in FY 2022-2023.

The county report says that the most durable success has come from the pilot-tested Home Safe Program, and the Department of Health Services’ Enriched Residential Care (ERC) model. Home Safe, which was funded by the California Budget Acts of 2021 and 2022, has been able to serve about 950 APS clients with rental housing subsidies, relocation assistance and intensive case management delivered through Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA’s) network of community based providers.

The study concludes that, “Without targeted intervention, thousands of APS clients will continue to cycle through unsafe homes, the streets, emergency rooms and motels, incurring human and financial costs far greater than prevention. If Measure A funding is provided to older and disabled adults with an evidence-based ERC service model and supported by robust cross-departmental agreements, it would provide a pathway to safety, recovery and dignity.”

Jon LeSage is a resident of Long Beach and a veteran business media reporter and editor. You can reach him at jtlesage1@yahoo.com.