Washington ranks 20th in a study of states’ efforts to combat elder abuse in the U.S.
The personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2019’s “States with the Best Elder-Abuse Protections.†The study compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 16 key metrics, ranging from share of elder-abuse, gross-neglect and exploitation complaints, to financial elder-abuse laws.
Washington, in addition to ranking 20th overall, is fifth in the number of certified volunteer ombudsmen.
Abuse happens every day and takes many forms. But vulnerable older Americans are among the easiest targets for this misconduct, especially those who are women, have disabilities and rely on others for care. By one estimate, elder abuse affects as much as 10 percent of the population older than 60, and many cases go unreported, according to the WalletHub study.