WalletHub: New Jersey is 2020’s state with the worst elder-abuse protections

NEW JERSEY – New Jersey is 2020’s state with the worst elder-abuse protections, according to a study done by WalletHub.

With as many as 13 out of every 14 elder-abuse cases going unreported and seniors especially vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub released their 2020’s states with the best elder-abuse protections on Wednesday.

To determine which states fight the hardest against elder abuse, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 16 key metrics. The data set ranges from “elder-abuse, gross-neglect and exploitation complaints” to “financial elder-abuse laws.”

Elder-Abuse Protections in New Jersey (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

• 48^th – Elder-Abuse, Gross-Neglect & Exploitation Complaints*
• 21^st – Total Expenditures on Elder-Abuse Prevention*
• 38^th – Total Long-Term Care Ombudsman-Program Funding*
• 32^nd – Number of Eldercare Organizations & Services*
• 38^th – Financial Elderly-Abuse Laws

*Per resident aged 65+