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Senators
Kohl, Leahy, Mikulski, Lemieux introduce
bill to improve enforcement of Elder Abuse
Laws
October 21, 2009--WASHINGTON,
D.C. – Today Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI),
Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on
Aging, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT),
Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee,
Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Chairwoman
of the Senate HELP Subcommittee on
Retirement and Aging, and Senator George
LeMieux (R-FL) introduced the Elder Abuse
Victims Act, a bill that would
improve the law enforcement community’s
ability to target and combat abuse and
exploitation of senior citizens.
A companion to the Elder Abuse Victims Act
(H.R. 448), introduced by Congressman Joe
Sestak (D-PA), was passed earlier this year
by a vote of 397 to 25 in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
“For years, Congress has failed to take
concrete action to address the consequences
of elder abuse, and that must change,” said Senator
Kohl.
“With this bill, we hope to help local
enforcement agencies and other advocates
tackle the often-hidden scourge of elder
abuse.”
“The elderly are often among the most
vulnerable in our communities,” said Senator
Leahy. “We must do all we
can to protect our seniors from abuse and
exploitation. The Elder Abuse Victims Act
takes a positive step in that direction.”
“I believe ‘honor thy mother and father’ is
not just a good commandment to live by, it
is good public policy to govern by. For too
long, we’ve invested too little in training
law enforcement how to respond to and
prevent the abuse and exploitation of our
seniors,”Senator
Mikulski said.
“This bill gives law enforcement new tools
to tackle elder abuse, in all the insidious
forms it takes.”
“The growing number of older Americans
demands we have enough programs and law
enforcement services in place to protect our
seniors,” said Senator
LeMieux.
“This measure is aimed at preventing
situations where abuse could occur, as well
as giving our justice system the tools it
needs to prosecute offenders who mistreat or
try to defraud the elderly.”
Specifically, the Elder Abuse Victims Act
would establish a robust portfolio of grant
programs at the U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) for courts and law enforcement
officials in states and localities to
establish specially designated elder justice
positions or units, and to provide support
for prosecutorial training on laws regarding
abuse of the elderly.
The bill also provides funding for elder
abuse victims advocacy groups. Additionally,
the measure requires DOJ to establish more
uniform procedures to improve the
identification and handling of elder justice
matters, and to thoroughly study state and
local practices of enforcement of elder
abuse laws, including those on mandatory
reporting and financial exploitation.
The legislation complements both the Elder
Justice Act (S. 795) and the Patient Safety
and Abuse Prevention Act (S. 631), two other
vital policies that address elder abuse. The
Elder Justice Act takes several important
steps to help protect vulnerable elders by
boosting funding for the long-term care
ombudsman program, providing funds to focus
on and develop the forensics of elder abuse,
providing funds for adult protective
services programs, improving training and
working conditions for long-term care
professionals, and creating a coordinating
council of federal agencies to make policy
recommendations and submit reports on elder
abuse to Congress every two years.
The Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act
would do much to prevent physical, emotional
and financial abuse of older Americans by
providing states with the resources they
need to significantly improve background
check screening processes for those who work
with vulnerable populations, including frail
elders and individuals with
disabilities.
Provisions from S. 631 were recently
added to
the Senate Finance Committee’s health care
reform bill by Senator Debbie Stabenow
(D-MI).
The Elder Abuse Victims Act has been
endorsed by the non-partisan, 581-member
Elder Justice Coalition.
# # #
Among key provisions, the Elder Abuse
Victims Act:
· Stipulates
that elder abuse includes mail,
telemarketing, and Internet fraud aimed at
elderly people;
· Seeks
to develop a common definition of elder
abuse as knowing infliction of physical or
psychological harm, or the knowing
deprivation of goods or services that are
necessary to meet essential needs or to
avoid physical or psychological harm;
· Seeks
to develop a common definition of elder
exploitation as fraudulent or otherwise
illegal, unauthorized, or improper acts or
processes of an individual, including a
caregiver or fiduciary, that uses the
resources of an elder for monetary or
personal benefit, profit, or gain, or that
results in depriving an elder of rightful
access to, or use of, benefits, resources,
belongings, or assets; and
· Funds
creation of positions within State courts,
prosecutors’ offices or State Medicaid Fraud
Control Units to coordinate elder
justice-related cases, training, technical
assistance, and policy development for State
prosecutors and courts.
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