{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/aging-committee-chairman-collins-and-ranking-member-mccaskill-hold-hearing-elder-financial", "Aging Committee Chairman Collins and Ranking Member McCaskill Hold Hearing on Elder Financial Abuse:  Trust Betrayed: Financial Abuse of Older Americans by Guardians and Others in Power", "2016-12-01", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "ME", "Susan Collins", "C001035", "www.collins.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Click HERE to read a copy of Senator Collins\u2019 opening statement  Click HERE to read a copy of Senator McCaskill\u2019s opening statement as prepared for delivery\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 The number of adults over age 65 is expected to nearly double in the United States by 2050. When an older adult becomes incapable of making informed decisions, a guardianship may be necessary. Unfortunately, a new government report finds the extent of abuse by guardians remains too difficult to determine. Efforts to better protect older adults with guardians were the focus of a Senate Aging Committee hearing today titled, \u201cTrust Betrayed: Financial Abuse of Older Americans by Guardians and Others in Power.\"\nIn addition to robbing seniors of their hard-earned savings, financial abuse of older adults often puts seniors\u2019 health and safety at risk. The scope of this form of exploitation is broad and can be perpetrated by a range of fiduciaries, such as a court-appointed guardian, a family member with power of attorney privileges, or a senior\u2019s personal attorney. In addition, senior financial abuse can be committed by \u201cfriends\u201d or family members who are handling the victim\u2019s affairs informally.\n\u201cFinancial abuse of seniors by those they trust is far too common. Today\u2019s hearing will help us understand the extent to which our seniors remain at risk of financial exploitation by guardians, and what is being done to protect them from this reprehensible crime,\u201d said Senator Susan Collins, Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee. \u201cSeniors in need of assistance to manage their financial affairs should not have their trust betrayed, leaving them destitute in some cases. While much more remains to be done, I am encouraged to hear of the important work being carried out in a number of states to protect seniors.\u201d\nPointing to a recent report recommending better inter-governmental communication, Senator Claire McCaskill, Ranking Member, asked, \u201cThe problem is, when Social Security finds out there is fraud they are not sharing that information with state courts, even though they share it with other federal agencies\u2014what\u2019s the rationale for that? The (Social Security Administration) have caught someone ripping someone off, what in the good lord\u2019s name are they doing keeping that information from state authorities?\u201d\nDuring the hearing, the Committee released a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report requested by Chairman Collins and Ranking Member McCaskill on guardianship abuse. The GAO\u2019s report builds on a previous study it released in 2010, which found hundreds of cases of abuse, neglect, and exploitation and identified $5.4 million that had been improperly diverted. The updated report examined cases of elder financial abuse over a four-year period, from 2011 to 2015, and examined measures taken by several states to help protect older adults with guardians.\nAccording to the GAO, guardianship abuse is widespread, but it remains difficult to determine the extent of elder abuse by guardians nationally due to limited data. GAO noted that some progress is being made to collect data on guardianships and improve the guardianship process. In 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services began developing the National Adult Mistreatment Reporting System (NAMRS) to provide consistent and accurate national data on senior abuse. HHS has completed the pilot project and expects to roll out the system next year.\nIn addition, GAO identified a number of measures that can be taken to protect seniors from guardianship abuse, including for courts to ensure that a guardianship is truly needed before appointing one and periodically reexamine whether a guardianship is still needed. Courts should also make sure that guardians are screened for criminal backgrounds and are properly educated on their role and responsibilities.\nWitnesses for the hearing included:\nKathryn Larin, Acting Director, Forensic Audit and Investigative Services Team, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington, D.C. Click HERE to read her testimony.\nCate Boyko, Manager, Minnesota Conservator Account Auditing Program, Ramsey, MN. Click HERE to read her testimony.\nJaye Martin, Executive Director, Maine Legal Services for the Elderly, Augusta, ME. Click HERE to read her testimony.\nJessica Kruse, Attorney, Ozarks Elder Law, Springfield, MO. Click HERE to read her testimony.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/aging-committee-chairman-collins-and-ranking-member-mccaskill-hold-hearing-elder-financial"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6007418744266033, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}