Massachusetts is the state with the best overall protections against elder abuse, and South Carolina is the state with the worst, according to new rankings released Tuesday by WalletHub.
Using data from government sources and organizations, the credit-related website compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three dimensions: prevalence, resources and protection.
Louisiana was the state scoring highest in prevalence, meaning it had the lowest number of elder abuse, gross neglect and exploitation complaints. Tied for last place for prevalence were California and South Carolina.
Rhode Island was tops in resources, factoring in total expenditures on elder abuse prevention, legal assistance development and long-term care ombudsman program funding per resident aged 65 or more years. Hawaii came in last for resources.
Maryland ranked first in the protection category, which included factors such as assisted living facility inspection frequency, nursing home quality, laws, organizations, services and ombudsmen. Montana placed last in the area of protection.
See the complete rankings and additional information on the WalletHub website.
