MAP MONDAY: 2020’s States with the Best Elder-Abuse Protections

Growing older: it’s something you just can’t avoid. And according to the U.S. Census Bureau, more and more people are doing it each year. The population aged 65 and older is expected to nearly double from 43.1 million in 2012 to 85.7 million in 2050. But not every state is posed to protect those that are among the most vulnerable.

When evaluating, elder-abuse, gross-neglect, exploitation complaints, and “financial elder-abuse laws,” the protections under the law can vary widely by state. Personal financial website WalletHub recently compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 16 key indicators of elder-abuse protection in 3 overall categories to see which were most favorable to the ever aging population.

So where does each state rank? We take a look in this week’s Map Monday.

The lowest scoring state was New Jersey, with a total score of 24.63, followed by South Carolina, California, Utah, and then Montana.

Georgia came in at No. 41 with a total score of 37.78. The Peach State scored a 27 on Prevalence, a 41 on Resources, and a 39 on Protection.

Click here to see the chart of every state’s score.

Stats to Highlight:

• Alaska has the highest total long-term care Ombudsman program funding (per resident aged 65 and older), $8.07, which is 12.8 times higher than in Florida, the state with the lowest at $0.63.
• Alaska has the most certified volunteer Ombudsmen (per 100,000 residents aged 65 and older), 68, whereas Alabama, Montana, Mississippi, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming are among the states that have none.
• Connecticut, Hawaii, Missouri and Wisconsin have the most frequent assisted-living facility inspections, twice per year, which is five times more frequent than in Nebraska, the state with the least frequent at once every five years.
• Hawaii has the highest nursing-home quality (share of certified nursing-home beds rated 4 or 5 stars), 67.90 percent, which is 2.3 times higher than in Texas, the state with the lowest at 30.10 percent.