I. Problem – Definition of DV and elder abuse As far as older women are concerned, the problem is that there is a serious failure to distinguish between elder abuse and domestic violence. The discrepancy creates confusion about which agency to report voluntary or mandatory cases of abuse (Kilbane & Spira, 2010). Furthermore, it is due to reporting errors that victims of abuse may not receive services consistent with the type of abuse (Kilbane & Spira, 2010), indicating "... a lack of centralized reporting of cases...." ( Kilbane & Spira, 2010, p. 165). The choice of whether an older adult victim of abuse should enter an adult protective agency or a domestic violence program often depends on his or her age and whether or not the abuser is related to or known to the person affected. . victim (Kilbane & Spira, 2010). The concept of being known to the perpetrator is similar to US law regarding sexual abuse of a child, whereas, according to Fong and Cardoso (2010), child sexual abuse comes in many forms; however, some forms of child sexual abuse do not qualify a child victim for services provided by the child protection agency. To reap the benefits of the child protection agency, “…the perpetrator of sexual abuse must be responsible for the care and custody of the child” (pp. 313). It can be argued that there is a moral failure on the part of the legislature to pass laws that do not provide the necessary protection for older women against perpetrators. The requirement that the perpetrator must be known by the elderly victim appears unfair to the elderly woman. For example, older women suffer from dementia which causes them to forget the individual/caregiver (Reingold, 2006). In this scenario, the abuser may not be known to the victim… middle of the paper… The Center uses the call log to analyze the data. The only limitation to the study is that it did not mention any costs related to obtaining the services. And it did not mention any demographic variables with respect to the race, average age, income levels, and mental health status (at the time of hire) of the population served. According to Cummings (2009) at the time of intake, clients were suffering greatly in their activities of daily living and were recently hospitalized for psychiatric problems. It would be unfair to assume that the current study takes any of these issues into account. The study was limited in revealing this pertinent information. Greater patient knowledge during intake can provide greater accuracy in determining the correct agency to refer the prospect. Apart from this, the program appears very accurate in providing services.