Bob Lee and his father, the late James 'Pops' Lee.
A lesser-known piece of the federal health care reform bill will almost certainly breathe new life into the Santa Cruz Adult Protective Services program, which has been beset with personnel and funding cuts even as the number of reported elder abuse cases in the county has ticked upward. “It’s enough to make one weep,” says APS program manager Sandy Skezas. “This has been so many years coming. There are those of us who have worked on this for a very long time.”
The so-called “Elder Justice Bill” was included in the reform legislation passed on Sunday night by the House of Representatives. It promises $400 million in federal funds over four years for Adult Protective Services programs and another $100 million in grants to test methods of improving APS. Another $32.5 million will go to Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs. The act also creates the federal Elder Justice Coordinating Council, a body that will collaborate the efforts of federal, state and local agencies to prevent crimes against the elderly. This is the very first such federal program.
According to Skezas, Santa Cruz APS responded to 542 reports of elder abuse in 2008 with only three caseworkers, addressing incidents of physical, mental and financial abuse against the county’s rapidly aging population. After a barrage of state and county funding cuts over the last few years, this will be the first time the agency will be able to utilize federal dollars. “Programs that are so poorly funded are always at risk of being cut,” says Skezas. “It’s been a very exciting day, but I think there’s a little bit of shock. What we don’t know yet is what is this going to mean. My hope is it’s going to be funded positions. Without bodies in the chair, it’s not going to get done.”
In Oct. 2009, Aptos resident James “Pops” Lee’s story was shared with members of Congress by his son Bob Lee in a video compiled by the Elder Justice Now campaign in an effort to push the bill forward. Lee Sr. was taken advantage of financially by a caretaker before slipping into a depression and dying soon after, according to his son. The family was able to prosecute the caregiver with help from APS and the Santa Cruz DA’s office. “These Congress people, they’re going to be there one day,” Bob Lee said at the time. “It’s something no one will avoid.”
