Publications. This guide is among the resources available in several languages to help fight elder abuse.
Elder Abuse
In Nursing Homes
Special Publication
Operation Guardians
Operation Guardians is a multi-agency task force established and led by the Attorney General to conduct surprise, on-site inspections of California's 1,500 skilled nursing facilities. The focus is to identify and correct violations of federal, state, and/or local laws and regulations designed to protect elderly patients. The task force is composed of regulatory and law enforcement officials from all levels of government, such as district attorneys, city attorneys, fire marshals, building code inspectors, and ombudsmen. Geriatric-care specialists from the state's top medical schools also are included.
To view reports on surprise inspections, click on "Operation Guardians: April 2001- March 2003 Report" and "Operation Guardians: 2001 Annual Report".
- The United States Census Bureau projects that California's elderly population will nearly double within the next 20 years - from 3.7 million to more than 6.4 million.
- The United States General Accounting Office claims that more than 43 percent of all Americans over the age of 65 will reside in a nursing home sometime in their lives.
- In 1998, the United States General Accounting Office reported that one in three California nursing homes was cited for serious or potentially life-threatening care problems.
- In 1999, the U.S. Congress Committee on Government Reform (USCCGR) reported that of the 439 nursing homes in Los Angeles County, only one was in total compliance with federal standards of care.
- In 2000, the USCCGR reported that only 18 of the 288 nursing homes in the San Francisco Bay Area were in full or substantial compliance with federal standards of care.
- In 2001, the USCCGR reported that all 27 of the nursing homes in the 22nd Congressional District (Santa Barbara) violated federal health and safety standards.
Together, these staggering statistics and projections illustrate the urgent need to address and remedy the poor quality of care in many of California's skilled nursing facilities.
Prosecuting Elder Abuse
In response to this crisis, the Attorney General doubled the size of the Department of Justice's elder abuse prosecution program shortly after taking office in 1999. For the first time in the history of California, he directed the Bureau to use its civil, administrative, and criminal enforcement powers to bring poorly performing care facilities into compliance with federal and state laws governing patient stewardship.
The Bureau is composed of three programs designed to bring increased accountability to those who abuse California's elderly population.
Violent Crimes Unit
The Violent Crimes Unit investigates and prosecutes physical elder abuse committed by individual employees against patients in elder care facilities. These crimes include homicide, rape, false imprisonment, assault and battery.
Facilities Enforcement Team
The Facilities Enforcement Team investigates and prosecutes corporate entities, such as skilled nursing homes, hospitals, and residential care facilities, for adopting policies or promoting practices that lead to neglect and/or poor quality of care. Institutional neglect or substandard care includes:
- Failure to provide medical care for physical and mental health needs
- Failure to attend to hygiene concerns
- Failure to provide adequate staffing
- Failure to prevent malnutrition and dehydration
- Falsification of patient charts
| Elder Abuse Enforcement 1999-2006 | 98/99 | 99/00 | 00/01 | 01/02 | 02/03 | 03/04 | 04/05 | 05/06 |
| Criminal Filings | 55 | 40 (1) | 88 | 132 | 108 | 93 | 111 | 108 |
| Criminal Convictions | 28 | 23 | 40 | 78 | 85 | 56 | 56 | 60 |
| Acquittals | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Civil Complaints Filed | 0 | 0 | 2 (2) | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| Civil Judgements | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| Civil Dismissals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Restitution and Penalties (Criminal and Civil) |
$68,001 | $20,780 | $61,301 | $739,496 | $2,887,632 | $70,843 | $300,821 | $4,806,652 |
| Operation Guardians Inspections (4) | n/a | 1 | 68 | 80 | 67 | 98 | 91 | 95 |
| Elder Abuse Enforcement 1992-1998 | 92/93 | 93/94 | 94/95 | 95/96 | 96/97 | 97/98 |
| Criminal Filings | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 24 |
| Criminal Convictions | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 22 |
| Acquittals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Civil Complaints Filed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Civil Judgements | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Civil Dismissals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Restitution and Penalties (Criminal and Civil) |
$62,765 | $0 | $30,230 | $0 | $3,927 | $6,137 |
| Operation Guardians Inspections (4) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
- (1) Preliminary results for fiscal year.
- (2) Includes State of California's first-ever criminal prosecution of a skilled nursing facility and its owner.
- (3) Includes State of California's first-ever civil lawsuit against a nursing home chain and its corporate owner.
- (4)Operation Guardians established April 2000.