Fighting elder abuse is a critical priority for me, John. Oregon is actually considered a good state in which to grow old. Why? On average, people live longer here! But, with elder population growth climbing toward 20 percent in the next decade, unfortunately, reports of elder abuse in Oregon are also increasing.

From neglect to verbal and physical abuse, and even abandonment, thousands of older Oregonians are targets of elder abuse. Financial exploitation of our elderly population is also extremely common and costs our seniors an estimated $2.9 billion every year nationally.

This is not okay.

That's why, here in Oregon, we're taking action. Three years ago, with the support of the Oregon legislature, I was proud to appoint Oregon's first statewide elder abuse prosecutor, along with two highly experienced investigators. These cases are hard to prove, but we are having many successes assisting DA's throughout the state with particularly complex prosecutions.

Last month, we held our fourth annual Attorney General Rosenblum's Elder Abuse Conference, at which we train DAs, law enforcement, medical professionals, and others in this field from all over the country. Together, we are working to protect our older population from all forms of elder abuse.

Through our " Scam Jam" outreach program we also train our senior citizens directly in how to recognize the signs of a scam and to avoid becoming victims of financial exploitation.

We have succeeded in bringing this awful crime out of the shadows, and now we are working hard to prosecute the perpetrators and end all forms of elder abuse.

Let's make Oregon a good place to retire and live out the " golden years." Our older Oregonians deserve nothing less, after all they have done for us!

Ellen


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