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MADISON (WRN) - More of Wisconsin’s senior citizens are being abused.

Suspected cases of elder abuse rose by almost 3 percent last year, to around 4,900 statewide. 56 percent of those cases were substantiated.

Lisa Rader, an advocate for elder abuse victims in Dane County, tells the Wisconsin State Journal the economy is partially to blame. More seniors are said to be abused by their relatives, as adults who lose their jobs move in with their parents or grandparents. Two years ago, the State Journal found that justice and social service networks never handled the majority of elder abuse – and they struggled to deal with the cases which did come to their attention. But the government’s tight budgets have prevented funding increases to handle elder abuse.

The state is spending $2.2 million a year on its elder abuse program – the same as in the past. Dane County Human Services director Lynn Green says her department is doing the best it can, considering the fiscal restraints.