Required Elder Abuse Education for Iowa Mandatory Reporters

Abstract

ABSTRACTElder abuse is a societal problem that influences all members of the community. By 1993 each state had enacted laws addressing elder abuse in domestic and institutional settings (Tatara, 1995). These laws take many different forms, and in 44 states and the District of Columbia, contain sections regarding the designation of mandatory reporters of elder abuse and neglect. Health care professionals and law enforcement personnel frequently are listed as mandatory reporters. Iowa is the only state that requires education for its mandatory reporters. The purpose of this paper is to compare the investigation and substantiation rates for elder abuse allegations before and after July 1988 when Iowa statute (§ 235B. 1 IA CO) was revised to ensure training of mandatory reporters. The investigation and substantiation rates were analyzed using two-sample t-tests for comparisons of four time periods and compared to investigation rates for Texas and Wisconsin. There were no significant differences in investigation rates for the four time periods and no significant increase in investigation rates over time for Iowa. Many different state agencies are involved in implementing and enforcing this expensive and complicated endeavor of required education for mandatory reporters. Unfortunately, this education has not impacted investigation or substantiation rates for elder abuse.