Proposal Presented for the Master Plan For Aging (#109)
Disclaimer
Throughout the MPA process, more than 100 proposals were developed thanks in particular to thousands of hours of work by external stakeholders and members of the public. These proposals and the MPA Council commentary are being submitted to the Governor and shared with policymakers and the public to inform policymaking. These proposals represent a starting point for discussion. Further discussion is necessary between relevant state agencies and stakeholders to both refine these proposals and assess which may be appropriate to adopt and implement.
Summary
Improve comprehensive education efforts and public awareness of financial scams and fraud. This proposal recommends creating a public awareness program to address financial exploitation and stability, a fraud notification program, and promotion of best practices to prevent fraud.
Justification
Financial abuse and fraud negatively impact the lives of older adults and people with disabilities and may result in financial loss. Increased awareness and implementation of best practices may reduce financial crimes against older adults and people with disabilities.
Full Proposal
Improve comprehensive education efforts and public awareness of financial scams and fraud:
- Create culturally responsive and evidence-based public awareness programs and campaigns with multiyear strategy to consistently reach as many people as possible, specifically those working with older adults, community "gate keepers," religious entities, and healthcare providers.
- Campaigns should include information for victims of scams and resources for recouping losses.
- Campaigns and educational programs should utilize information from the “2021 Seeking Solutions Summit: Elder Abuse - Creating a Clear Vision of Where We Go from Here,” Person-Centered Education Expansion.
- Public awareness programs should encourage conversations about financial wellness and fraud/scam prevention and can be modeled after the existing “Conversation Project.”
- Create a notification program to allow individuals to designate an interdisciplinary team of family, friends, and caregivers to receive notifications of account irregularities and indications of fraud.
- Promote existing community document shredding days.
- Create statewide palm cards to be distributed at events and encourage housing providers to share materials on scams and fraud.
- Expand statewide 'NYS scam watch' and Public Service Announcements on local scams.
- Expand provider and business-centered approaches to increase awareness about fraud and scams by:
- Expanding and funding Enhanced Multidisciplinary Teams (E-MDT) statewide and to underserved communities.
- Expanding statewide reporting of scams and develop a centralized location to report scams.
- Increasing support for elder abuse specialists in law enforcement.
- Creating culturally and trauma-informed policy recommendations for handling locally reported scams.
MPA Council Commentary
Components 1 and 6 are categorized as long-term. A fiscal analysis would be needed to understand the costs and savings to the state. Components 2,3,4, and 5 may require state agency collaboration regarding resources and authorities for the proposed activities.