Bipartisan
coalition fighting for elder justice…Legislation
would combat crimes against Seniors
Washington
– A bipartisan group in Congress yesterday introduced legislation to
protect senior citizens from abuse and exploitation. The Elder
Justice Act of 2007 would combat the reported mistreatment of as
many as 2 million American seniors by their caregivers. The
legislation’s sponsors are Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), Sen.
Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), and Rep. Peter
King (R-NY).
“Thousands of cases of elder abuse go unaddressed every day,” Hatch
said. “We have armies of federal employees fighting child and
domestic abuse, yet we don’t have one federal employee working full
time combating elder abuse. That’s going to change when this bill
becomes law.”
“Every older person living in this country has the right to be free
of abuse, neglect, and exploitation,” Lincoln said. “The Elder
Justice Act makes combating elder abuse a national priority, and its
passage is long overdue.”
“Every year, millions of American seniors are victims of abuse and
neglect. This bill will bring focus to the problem of elder abuse
and elevate it to the same level as other family violence issues,
like domestic violence and child abuse,” Emanuel said. “Elder abuse
remains under-researched, under-reported, under-funded and
under-prosecuted.”
"Elder abuse, neglect and exploitation are alarming issues that must
be addressed by Congress,” King said. “That is why I am proud to
stand with such a bipartisan coalition to introduce this
legislation."
If enacted into law, the Elder Justice Act would provide federal
resources to state and community officials who currently grapple
with elder abuse with scarce means and fragmented systems.
Mechanisms for identifying and tracking elder abuse indicate that
many instances of injustice are not reported for appropriate
prosecution.
Some of the bill’s provisions include measures to:
• Establish an Elder Justice Coordinating Council to make
recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the
coordination of activities of the Federal, State, local and private
agencies and entities relating to elder abuse, neglect and
exploitation.
• Improve the quality of information and research related to elder
abuse.
• Create new forensic expertise in elder abuse (similar to that in
child abuse) that will promote detection and increase the capacity
to prosecute offenders. New programs will train health professionals
in both forensic pathology and geriatrics.
• Establish penalties and prosecution for failure to promptly report
crimes in long-term care facilities. The act will require reporting
of crimes in nursing homes on an official federal website.
• Provide a first-time direct funding stream for Adult Protective
Services (APS) - $100 million a year for four years.
• Establish an advisory board to create a short- and long-term
multidisciplinary strategic plan for the developing field of elder
justice.
• Authorize $10 million for national organizations or states that
represent or train long-term care ombudsman representatives to
provide training, technical assistance, demonstration programs and
research to improve ombudsman effectiveness in addressing abuse and
neglect in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
• Authorize $500,000 to determine the efficacy of establishing and
maintaining a national nurse aide registry.
• Authorize $20 million in grants to enhance long-term care staffing
through training and recruitment to establish employee incentives
including career and wage benefit ladders and programs to improve
management practices.
The legislation has been endorsed by the Elder Justice Coalition, a
national membership organization comprised of 525 groups dedicated
to eliminating elder abuse, neglect and exploitation in America,
including the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse,
National Association of Adult Protective Service Administrators,
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, National Association of
State Ombudsman Programs and the National Association of State Units
on Aging.
The coalition has said about the Elder Justice Act, “The consistent
goal of this legislation has been to produce a stronger and more
coordinated federal response to promote elder justice in our nation
through increased support to our states and communities. This
legislation will achieve that goal.”
Bipartisan
coalition fighting for elder justice…Legislation
would combat crimes against Seniors