DFPS - Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

Teamwork is the key to fighting financial exploitation

Cindy Chumley of Adult Protective Services and Bruce Friar of the Austin Police Department have teamed up to investigate financial exploitation cases against the elderly for the last 3 years.

As the population of elderly Texans grows every year--from 1.9 million in 1998 to almost 2.4 million in 2008--so does the number of those swindled out of their life savings. Often it's by the people they trust the most.

These financial exploitation crimes are usually not committed by Wall Street renegades or internet scam artists. Relatives, caregivers, housekeepers, and a range of handymen and helpers are most often the culprits.

Elder financial abuse costs older Americans more than $2.6 billion a year, according to "Broken Trust: Elders, Family, and Finances" a March 2009 study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute. But that is only a rough estimate. Many elderly are too embarrassed, unwilling, or afraid to report the crimes.

Child Drownings Continue Unchecked, Extreme Caution Urged

100
Texas Child Drownings
4
Texas Hot Car Deaths
as of Monday, October 05, 2009

Drownings of children are continuing to occur, and all parents and caregivers are urged to watch children constantly anywhere in the vicinity of water. Most of the drownings have been in residential pools, both in-ground and above-ground, and most of the children have been toddlers.

So far in 2009, 100 children (17 and younger) have drowned, according to the count by the Department of Family and Protective Services. In addition, there have been 4 children who died due to being left alone in a hot vehicle.

"If you can't see a child, you can't save a child," said Sasha Rasco, DFPS assistant commissioner for Child Care Licensing. "Children should never be left unsupervised for any length of time in or around water, because the results can be devastating."

DFPS launches new Spanish-language web site to help protect state's most vulnerable citizens

¿Se Habla Español?

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services announces a newly improved section of its public web site for Spanish-speaking visitors. The site can be found off the main DFPS home page at http://www.dfps.state.tx.us in the left-hand navigation bar under "En Español." The direct link is http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/default-sp.asp

"We have many Spanish speaking clients and realize the importance of making our information as accessible and user-friendly as possible," said Darrell Azar, DFPS communications manager. "Launching the site will give Spanish-speaking Texans vital information about how to access services or exercise their rights. While we've provided Spanish web content for many years, it has never been as organized or as easy to find as it is today. The new site is easy to navigate and can be fully searched using our built-in Google search engine."