Senate Hearing Focuses on Addressing Elder Abuse

Two key committees of the Minnesota Senate held a joint meeting Wednesday, January 24, to review the latest state efforts to address the backlog of complaints of elder abuse at care facilities. Due to recent news accounts citing inadequate state review of the complaints, Governor Dayton assigned the Department of Human Services to assist in eliminating the backlog.

"I'm here because the governor has marshaled resources across state government...," Department of Human Services Commissioner Emily Johnson Piper told the committee. Piper's agency, along with the Department of Health, have been charged with improving the work at the Office of Health Facilities Complaints. According to Piper, over 60 percent of the office's staff said it was a toxic and disrespectful environment. She explained that new efforts are underway to improve training of staff and complaint handling processes before additional staff are hired to reduce the backlog of complaints.

Senator Karin Housley, Chair of the Committee on Aging and Long Term Care Policy, said, "Our main goal is to protect our vulnerable adults and come up with solutions to prevent the abuse and maltreatment of our most vulnerable in the state of Minnesota." Her committee will be preparing recommendations for the 2018 legislature, which will convene February 20.

To view the entire meeting, select the Senate Committees tab on the left.