Elder Financial Abuse Regulation/Regulator

Answered by:

Question:

Can you tell me what law regulates Elder Financial Abuse? We have been contacted several times about training, but I have searched both the FDIC site and The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance site and I can't find any requirement for training of bank employees on Elder Abuse. Before I hire someone to come in and train our staff, I would like to read the law/regulation and what is required and what agency requires it.

Answer:

Answer by John Burnett: In Georgia, you should contact the Division of Aging Services (Department of Human Resources) for guidance on establishing a reporting program within your bank. Under Georgia Code Section 30-5-4(a)(1)(B), financial institution employees are mandatory reporters of elder financial abuse.

Answer:

Answer by Ken Golliher: Just a suggestion... Train your employees to report suspicious activity and include elder abuse on the list of suspicious activity. Identify "red flags" just as you would with other behaviors. Employees need to understand that they are not to have their antennae pointed in a single direction, that they need to report anything they think is remarkable and that elder abuse is at least as important as anything else.

First published on BankersOnline.com 6/11/07