My family and I were reported to the Dept of Aging for not taking care of my mother by her former boss. My mom is 82 years old and just retired because she made home made pasta at a little italian store but her shoulder is just shot. She is rubbing bone on bone in there and has been for years. I don't know how she even lasted as long as she did. So her bosses got mad that she retired and turned me in to be investigated for elder abuse and neglect. I just got a phone call from the Dept of Aging that they came into my home while was at work and made my mom open the door and let them in. Our home is two apartments but we have a common door in the downstairs hallway and we use this as one home and not two. Two women went up to mom's floor and looked around her house and spoke with her without my knowledge. I am quite bothered that someone just came into my home without my permission or knowledge and made my mother open the door and let them in. What rights if any do we have to find out of they are just permitted to come into your home and not tell you? I don't know how they got my mother's phone number as it is not published and she also does not have a doorbell because I don't want her to open doors for strangers. She has middle stage dementia. The dept. of aging said they found nothing wrong and they were going to close the case. They contacted my uncle who is mom's POA and told him we were not entitled to know who filed the complaint and we also cannot get a copy of the report. Is this legitimate?????? If anyone knows anything about being investigated and how to handle our rights and also get a copy of this report, it would be appreciated very much. I feel like my home has been burglarized and I was violated with my privacy. I am now installing cameras outside and inside that I can monitor online during the day to see who is coming and going and to make sure my mom is ok and no strangers are coming in. ALso changing her phone number again so this does not happen again.
But yes i would be very upset too, because we only want the best for our elderly and someone saying your bad when you aren't just sets a higher stress level.
Just know you are doing what you can and thats good.
Italianbabs, I'm concerned that this incident happened about 100 days ago and it still seems a source of deep aggravation to you. Especially in light of the fact you were essentially vindicated, this kind of obsession with seeing yourself as a victim just doesn't seem to be doing you any good. It is not changing your sister or the boss or whoever else might have called in a claim. It is not changing the agency that was doing the job they are mandated to do. You can't change what happened. You can control your response to it. Maybe for your own sake, it is time to let the outrage go.
This is America. If we give up our liberty for safety we are no longer a free people with a free will.
I agree with you completely.
We used to have these crazy ideas floating around, like "Illegal search and seizure", "innocent until proven guilty", "the right to privacy", and "the right to face your accusers". What happened?
So now the gov needs a warrant to walk in on a drug dealer or violent criminal, but for an accused caregiver, just barge right in?
Somewhere between the extremes of "doing nothing", and "sending in the SWAT team", there ought to be at least one intermediate solution.
For example, if the complaint was health related, they might call you and you could say, "Look, we just saw Dr. Schmo last week. Please give him a ring. Not only that, but the pharmacy can verify that we filled her 6 prescriptions the day before yesterday."
It seems to me that there must be different levels of suspected abuse, and that realization alone calls into question the practice of all-or-nothing solutions.
Not only that, but the investigating agency by now knows that many of the complaints are going to be illegitimate claims from interfering troublemakers.
Neighbors, ex-employers, AH family members. That's the real world for ya.
Anyway, I see why we need to protect the anonymity of the complainer, but I think that the victimized caregiver should be entitled to see the exact wording of the complaint.
If you feel that your rights have been violated and you want to take action, you probably need to consult a lawyer.
Some vulnerable adults really are neglected or mistreated. I'm sure you'd agree that such situations need to be investigated and stopped. And asking permission of the person reported as doing the neglect or mistreatment wouldn't get the investigators very far, would it?
You've learned that Mom will let strangers in if they are persuasive enough, so the cameras may serve a purpose. I'm not sure that changing her phone number would stop a legitimate government agency from finding it out.
Be glad that the case is closed.