Elderly people, who often rely on a fixed income, are particularly vulnerable to financial, emotional, and physical abuse. To shed light on this important issue, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its annual report on the States With the Best Elder-Abuse Protections, as well as expert commentary.
WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 16 key indicators of elder-abuse protection. The data set ranges from each state’s share of all elder abuse complaints to their laws concerning financial elder abuse.
| States With the Best Elder-Abuse Protections |
States With the Worst Elder-Abuse Protections |
| 1. Wisconsin | 42. Rhode Island |
| 2. Massachusetts | 43. New Jersey |
| 3. Vermont | 44. Nevada |
| 4. Ohio | 45. Tennessee |
| 5. Virginia | 46. Delaware |
| 6. Maine | 47. Montana |
| 7. Iowa | 48. California |
| 8. Kentucky | 49. South Carolina |
| 9. West Virginia | 50. Utah |
| 10. Minnesota | 51. South Dakota |
Key Stats
- Alaska has the highest total long-term care Ombudsman program funding (per resident aged 65 and older), which is 14.9 times higher than in Florida, the state with the lowest.
- The District of Columbia has the most certified volunteer Ombudsmen (per 100,000 residents aged 65 and older), whereas Delaware, Mississippi, Nevada, South Dakota and West Virginia are the states that have none.
- Connecticut, Hawaii and Wisconsin have the most frequent assisted-living facility inspections, which is ten times more frequent than in Nebraska, the state with the lowest frequency.
- Idaho has the highest nursing-home quality (share of certified nursing-home beds rated 4 or 5 stars), which is 3.1 times higher than in Louisiana, the state with the lowest.
