Most people wouldn't let someone hurt a child and get away with it.

The growing problem of elder abuse hasn't inspired that kind of resolve.

A change, some experts say, may be provoked by the very group about to further strain the public safety net: aging baby boomers.

So far, citizens and public officials alike have failed to devote the attention and money to protecting the elderly that they have on child abuse and other forms of domestic violence, the Wisconsin State Journal found in an eight-month investigation of elder abuse in the state.

"The public turns a blind eye," said George Patarocke, executive director of the state's Board on Aging and Long-Term Care, which advises the governor and Legislature. "The cost of fixing this problem scares off public policy makers."

"We are not doing all we can," agreed William Hanrahan, a Dane County judge who has prosecuted elder abuse cases for Milwaukee County and the state attorney general's office. "There appears to be a widespread, unspoken belief that the issues of aging are someone else's problems."

The federal budget helps illustrate the result: Although it's hard to isolate exact totals, federal spending last year to address child abuse and neglect topped $1 billion. Violence against women drew $497 million.

Just $172 million was devoted to fighting elder abuse, according to a 2006 memo by the Congressional Research Service.

Some experts and advocates believe that a youth-oriented culture has pushed many elders into the background of life — making them as irrelevant as faded wallpaper.

"Life experience is not particularly heavily valued," said Jerry Sanders, 72, who has stayed active since retiring from the UW-Madison industrial engineering faculty more than a decade ago.

Whatever the reason, the needs of the elderly are soon going to become more urgent and, some believe, more visible.

Baby boom bubble

The generation reaching old age in the next few decades will live longer, but not necessarily better, experts predict, and is more likely than previous generations to be remote from family. That is likely to shift more care-giving needs into an already stressed public sector.

In Dane County, the Alzheimer's population alone is projected to rise 260 percent in the century's first 50 years, reaching 21,600 — about the current population of Fitchburg — by 2050.

Compared to their relatively stoic and self-reliant parents and grandparents, some experts believe, baby boomers may be more vocal about elder abuse and neglect and insist on action.

Hanrahan said he's hopeful that boomers, who confronted racism, pollution and other social issues as young people, "will again find their collective voice, speak out against injustice and reshape public policy."

Madison Senior Center director Christine Beatty believes baby boomers are going to change the stereotypes of people who are aging.

"There are very, very vibrant elderly in our community," Beatty said.

Elder baby boomers will become a "huge force in the marketplace," said Dr. Carol Ryff, director of UW-Madison's Institute on Aging. That will drive changes in the public and private sectors and in the way old people are viewed, she said.

"I see a dramatic growth in attention to the whole issue of aging," Ryff said.

A 'need to wake up'

So far, demands for better care — more social workers, police training, specialized prosecutors, more money for long-term care and tougher regulation of providers — haven't been met.

"We are on the verge of a national crisis that few people recognize," a Task Force on the Aging of Dane County warned in 2004. "As the boomers age, there will be a staggering number of vulnerable people, and a need for services. ... Residents of Dane County need to wake up and realize the scope of this problem."

Little has changed since then, said Nell Mally, the task force chairwoman, a retiree who spent a career working on elder issues and now chairs the county's Human Services Board.

"People haven't responded," she said. "It is still a hidden problem."

The county, she said, didn't even fund a half-time position to coordinate efforts to implement recommendations of the report, which included 52 suggestions for elder safety, some as detailed as coordinating efforts among attorneys, police, probate court and the register of deeds to detect suspicious land transfers.

Even so, Dane County does more than most. The pot of local, state and federal dollars spent on elder abuse in the county rose steadily in the last decade — faster than inflation or the increase in the senior population — due mainly to county tax money spent on investigators and case managers.

But spending on case managers dipped from $784,000 in 2005 to $744,000 this year. The county's Health and Human Services Department's spending on elder abuse and related problems has been flat for several years. The budget is $1.13 million this year, and it is seeking no meaningful increase for 2008.

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said the numbers aren't evidence of a weakening commitment. She believes elder abuse will get more attention as more boomers hit senior status, though she could point to no plans in the next several years for significant increases in county spending on the issue.

"These are enormous, difficult challenges." Falk said. "As we learn, we continue to evolve our strategies and invest more money into the problem."

'More to be done'

In Wisconsin, elder abuse reports rose 62 percent between 1996 and 2005 — 11 percent in the last two years alone, the latest available data show.

But state and federal funds spent by the state Department of Health and Family Services for elder abuse and related problems rose only 1.6 percent, essentially no annual increase after inflation, to $31.2 million from 2004 through 2007. Of that money, state and federal funds for the state's Elder Abuse Program — money funneled to county agencies — is budgeted to stay at $2.2 million from 2004 through 2009.

Jane Raymond, who oversees elder abuse programs for the state, said that state government does a good job fighting elder abuse. "Would I like to grow the system more? Yes. We could always use more money," she said. "We know there's more to be done."

State and federal money spent on inspections and oversight of hospitals and long-term care in Wisconsin dropped $850,000 to $21.5 million between 2004 and 2007, while the numbers of those in such care rose. The new state budget allows spending on those inspections to rise to $22.6 million, but it's unclear how much new money will go to protect the elderly.

Otis Woods, director of the department's Division of Quality Assurance, said he'd welcome more resources to inspect long-term care facilities but believes he has enough personnel to do a good job — even though 11 percent of assisted living facilities aren't being checked every two years as called for by state policy.

Other small steps in the new state budget include a 5 percent increase — half the sum sought — in Medicaid reimbursements to nursing homes and money to expand an ombudsman program that puts volunteers into long-term care facilities.

Raymond and Department of Health and Family Services Deputy Secretary Karen Timberlake said that all problems can't be solved with money. Much can be done, they said, through innovation and partnerships.

"We have done a lot to increase our efforts — within the confines of real fiscal constraints," said Matt Canter, spokesman for Gov. Jim Doyle.

Federal effort stalls

Some advocates pin hopes for change on a proposed federal Elder Justice Act, which would deliver $650 million annually for seven years to detect, prevent, prosecute and study elder abuse. Among other things, the proposal would deliver more grants, boost training and add tools for law enforcement and set national long-term care inspection standards.

The legislation, Raymond said, "would be a godsend."

But the measure has been stalled for five years in Congress. So far, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., chairman of the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, and Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, are the lone members of the state's congressional delegation to sign on to support it.

Robert Blancato, national coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition based in Washington, D.C., told Kohl's committee the inaction "seems incomprehensible to many of us."

"The only explanation I can offer," Blancato said in an interview, is that "you still have an element of denial on the part of some members of Congress" while others "want the most perfect bill possible."

President Bush has taken no position. But, referring to an earlier draft last year, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt raised concerns about creating new entities and duplication, waste and confusion that "would impede rather than advance the department's efforts to combat elder abuse."

The potential costs, Leavitt said, are not consistent with the president's priorities.

Reaching out

For many reasons, the public doesn't demand more, Patarocke said.

"Society wants to assume that frail older persons will be taken well care of by our institutions," he said. "We want to believe that nursing homes and assisted living facilities are benevolent and safe places for folks we are too busy to watch over."

Patarocke and others believe, however, that vocal baby boomers may finally break the silence shrouding elder abuse. That could lead to improving the public safety net and spurring people to think about what they could do privately in their own families and neighborhoods.

"It's a function of public awareness, knowing who to call and believing reports will make a difference," said attorney Betsy Abramson, a leading state authority on elder abuse.

Advocates say there are many things people can do on their own to support the elderly. Family members and neighbors can give attention when something seems wrong. People can volunteer to help at a senior center. Employers can capitalize on older people's abilities, keeping them more engaged and less likely to be victimized.

And senior citizens themselves can contribute to a solution by caring for their health, remaining engaged in the community and planning ahead. That's what Sanders, the retired UW-Madison professor, did. Instead of withdrawing, he evolved by going to the gym, leading courses at the Madison Senior Center and playing saxophone in a combo.

Some seniors "see themselves as not being useful," he said. "I had to completely remake myself."

The senior center's Beatty said baby boomers could continue to be a great community resource as they age — potentially bringing significant talents to both volunteer and paid work.

Reaching out and listening to them will be the key to helping elders, experts say.

"They step back. We don't reach out to them," Beatty said. "That can create terrible circumstances."