How to Report Elder Abuse in Volusia County, Florida
- 1). Assess the abuse. If the victim is in immediate danger of bodily harm, call 911 and let the police investigate the situation. If the abuse is not of a physical nature, prepare to report the abuse by gathering the requisite details.
- 2). Determine your legal obligation to report. Everyone should report elder abuse; however, certain professionals have a mandate to report abuse, pursuant to Florida state law; namely, caregivers, medical staff, assisted-living home staff, bank employees and adult care workers. If you are a mandated reporter you must comply with reporting requirements set forth in Chapter 415 of the Florida Statutes, Reporting Abuse of Children and Vulnerable Adults.
- 3). Gather information about the abuse. To ensure that your report is accepted for investigation, verify the names of the victim and alleged perpetrators, the exact description of the type of abuse, the length of time of the abuse and where the abuse took place. Obtain the address and date of birth of the victim, together with any other helpful data that you can find.
- 4). Call the hotline for elder abuse or the hotline for domestic abuse and ask the telephone operator to open an investigation for elder abuse. If the abuse is occurring with the household of the victim, contact the 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 800-453-5145 or the Domestic Abuse Council's hotline at 800-500-1119. If the elderly victim is in a care facility or if the abuse is not occurring within the victim's household, call the 24-hour elder abuse hotline at 800-962-2873.
- 5). Make a record of your hotline call, noting the date of the call and the nature of the discussion, including whether the hotline operator accepted the report and opened an investigation. Remember that all reports are kept confidential, but if you are a mandated reporter, you must create and retain a record of your call to the hotline.
- 6). Follow up with the victim by recommending services for elders in Volusia County. The Volusia County sheriff's office has established a program called TRIAD to support and educate elderly residents. Inform the victim about that service as well as about the elder abuse hotline, so she is aware that help is available.
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