Gov. Tom Wolf's administration has announced an expenditure of $2.1 million in additional funding for the state's Older Adults Protective Services.

The funding will be available in the state's 2018-19 budget. It is not yet known what portion of the $2.1 million Butler County will receive.

A news release from the state Aging Communications Office said the funding was secured after a decade of annual increases in elder abuse reports.

Beth Herold, administrator of the county Agency on Aging, confirmed that reports of emotional, verbal, physical, sexual and financial abuse received by her agency among those age 60 and older have doubled in the eight years she has served as director.

“A lot of them lately are financial,” Herold said.

When she was hired eight years ago, the agency investigated 30 to 35 cases per month. Today, that number has climbed to 60 to 70 reports per month.

She attributes the increased abuse cases in part to the opioid crisis, as addicted family members steal or request sums of money from their elderly relatives to support their habit.

The older relatives are an easy target, because they tend to want to help their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, Herold said.

Addicts sometimes threaten or abuse their elderly relatives due to an addiction as well.

Caregivers and neighbors of the elderly have also taken advantage of seniors by sharing a sad story to get money or by stealing it, she said.

“My population that I'm here to serve is negatively impacted (by the opioid crisis),” Herold said. “It's so sad.”

When a report is received, Herold said one of three full-time protective services workers on staff at the agency investigates the case.

Sometimes one senior citizen is abusing another in a memory care unit, or one relative reports another relative who is taking money from a senior, or actual physical abuse is involved.

The investigators often negate the situation by moving seniors away from one another in a care unit, agreeing on a payback schedule if the senior was financially abused, or removing the senior from the situation to housing that would be safer.

“Our goal is to not go to court,” Herold said. “We develop a plan where we eliminate or reduce that risk.”

In the 5 percent to 10 percent of cases that require law enforcement intervention, Herold said the agency works with the district attorney and local police.

Herold said the additional state funds, no matter the amount, will help greatly in the agency's quest to keep older adults safe.

“I think it's wonderful, because our costs of being able to provide these services and keep consumers over the age of 60 safe has increased greatly over the eight years I have been here,” Herold said. “This will help enable us to continue to meet the increased needs of this population.”

Herold was hired eight years ago because the state was poised to transfer the Butler County elder abuse cases to another county because of issues with protective services.

Last month, a state audit found no issues and gave the county Agency on Aging a glowing report.

Herold hopes the $2.1 million is just a start, and that the state continues to provide extra funds for Older Adult Protective Services.

Gov. Tom Wolf said in the release that ensuring that older Pennsylvanians are protected from all forms of abuse is a priority of his administration. “This funding is an important investment in Older Adults Protective Services and is critical to the commonwealth's fight to end elder abuse,” Wolf said.