Guardianship reform, a statewide event and new legal tools, drive change this May.
Thank you for your interest in Michigan’s Elder Abuse Task Force (EATF) – an alliance representing more than 55 different organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors – all working together to reduce barriers facing our aging population.
Please take a few minutes to catch up on what the Task Force has been up to since our last issue in October 2024.
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In Fiscal Year 2024, the APS program received a total of 57,504 referrals concerning allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation. Our dedicated APS staff investigated 21,137 of these cases, concluding that 41% were substantiated. Each referral underscores the critical need to protect Michigan’s most vulnerable adults from these harmful situations.
This year’s report also incorporates census data from Michigan, offering insights into our state’s demographic shifts as one of the top 10 states with the highest aging population. Given the increasing aging population, it is crucial to protect Michigan’s most vulnerable adults from abuse, neglect or exploitation.
The need for substantive reform to our state’s guardianship and conservatorship system has been recognized for decades. However, real reform has proven elusive. Many measures, such as protections for medical decisions and professional guardian standards, were never implemented, even though task teams established in 1998 and 2007 made strong, consistent recommendations.
The Elder Abuse Task Force has made the need for reforms a priority once again and are working with the state legislature to reintroduce a bill package that would finally put long-overdue changes into effect. The package, if signed into law, would strengthen guardian visiting rules, mandate that courts document the reasons why a family member with appointment priority was disregarded and establish certification and compliance standards to help weed out bad actors.
In order to guarantee that emergency guardianships are indeed required, the proposals would also improve the process to safeguard a ward’s rights. In addition to requiring guardians to think about supportive resources that would enable a senior to stay in their community, further measures would help prevent needlessly removing wards from their home.
Guardianship is a critical tool for supporting vulnerable seniors—but oversight is key. This legislation would bring long-standing recommendations closer than ever to becoming a reality.
A powerful package of legislation is moving through the Michigan Legislature, and it’s poised to significantly improve the way we protect older adults and vulnerable individuals across the state. These proposed laws target elder abuse from every angle: personal safety, financial exploitation, organized crime, and community collaboration.
Modeled after Michigan’s Domestic Violence and Anti-Stalking PPOs, this bill would create a new personal protection order (PPO) specifically for adults aged 60 or older, those with developmental disabilities, or individuals legally defined as vulnerable. It empowers courts to block abusive behavior—physical violence, threats, stalking, and financial exploitation—and offers added protections, like freezing access to the victim’s assets. As with all Michigan PPOs, a personal protection order is effective and immediately enforceable anywhere in this state after being signed by a judge.
SB 112 amends Michigan's racketeering laws to include embezzlement from a vulnerable adult to the list of offenses that constitute racketeering. If multiple people or entities (limited liability company, partnerships, corporation) commit repeated acts of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult they could be prosecuted as a criminal enterprise. This change gives prosecutors sharper tools to fight organized criminal behavior and financial abuse.
Because exploitation doesn’t always stop after death, SB 113 allows prosecution of financial abuse that occurs during a vulnerable adult’s lifetime and the money or property is stolen at death. Often the exploitation occurs during the vulnerable adult’s lifetime, but the transfer of money or property is triggered by the death of the vulnerable adult.
This bill would create a statutory definition of multidisciplinary teams in Michigan that can coordinate services, investigate abuse, and raise awareness regarding protecting vulnerable adults. These teams would include experts from law enforcement, health care, and social services, all working together to keep vulnerable adults safe. The investigation meetings of these teams would be exempt from the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act to protect the privacy of the alleged victim and the integrity of the investigation. Together, these bills represent a bold, comprehensive step forward in the fight against elder abuse.
Every June 15, communities across the globe recognize World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) to shed light on the abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation faced by older adults.
The 5K Awareness Walk will take place Thursday, June 12 to highlight WEAAD. You can join the walk at your local county office or take part in the main event in downtown Lansing hosted by the Division of Adult Services. The Lansing walk will begin at the Grand Tower and conclude at the Capitol.
We encourage you to invite colleagues, friends, and community members to walk with you in support of Michigan’s older adults. Don’t forget to capture the moments with pictures! We’d love to WEAAD 2025 Awareness Walk photos from across our state.
If you have questions or need more information, please reach out to Melissa Dyke.
Let’s walk together to raise awareness and stand up for the dignity and safety of Michigan’s seniors.
The Michigan Department of Attorney General has launched updated websites devoted to raising awareness of elder abuse and the work of the Elder Abuse Task Force.
These refreshed resources offer vital information to help you recognize, report, and prevent abuse of older adults.
The updated Elder Abuse webpage outlines key forms of abuse — physical, emotional, financial — and highlights common warning signs, such as unexplained injuries, sudden fearfulness, or missing funds. It also includes practical tools like the Vulnerable Adult Incident Report and the numbers for reporting hotlines to take action quickly. Abuse often goes unreported, especially when the abuser is a trusted friend, caregiver, or family member. These updates empower everyone to speak up and protect those who can’t protect themselves.
Since 2019, over 55 public, commercial, and charity partners have been battling elder abuse; their efforts are highlighted on the updated Elder Abuse Task Force page.
Visitors can explore recent successes like the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act and the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, as well as the Task Force’s nine committees that tackle issues from public awareness to court reform and legislative change.
The page also contains guidance on how communities can create Enhanced Multidisciplinary Teams (E-MDTs) to address elder abuse at the local level using the Michigan Vulnerable Adult Teams (MI-VAT) protocol.
Together, these resources reinforce our commitment to safeguarding Michigan’s aging population. Visit the pages today and join the movement to protect the dignity, safety, and rights of our elders.
