,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hfa  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,february #bg1 #bjac 
,mr4 ,king of ,new ,york 7for himself1  
,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,mr4 ,hastings of     
,florida1 ,mr4 ,grijalva1 ,mr4 ,owens1  
and ,mr4 ,ellison7 introduced the       
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a    
,,bill  ,to better protect1 serve1 and  
advance the rights of victims of elder  
abuse and exploitation by establishing a
 program to encourage ,states and other 
qualified entities to create jobs       
designed to hold offenders accountable1 
enhance the capacity of the justice     
system to investigate1 pursue1 and      
prosecute elder abuse cases1 identify   
existing resources to leverage to the   
extent possible1 and assure data        
collection1 research1 and evaluation to 
promote the efficacy and efficiency of  
the activities described in this ,act4  
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,elder ,abuse ,victims ,act of  

#bjac4  #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act--
  7#a7 the terms abuse1 elder1 elder    
justice1 exploitation1 and neglect have 
the meanings given those terms in       
section #bjaa of the ,social ,security  
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acig;j72  7#b7 the 
term elder abuse includes neglect and   
exploitation2  7#c7 the term ,director  
means the ,director of the ,office      
appointed under section #c7;b72  7#d7   
the term ,office means the ,office of   
,elder ,justice established under       
section #c7;a72  7#e7 the term ,state   
means each of the several ,states of the
 ,united ,states1 the ,district of      
,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto 
,rico1 and any other territory of       
possession of the ,united ,states2 and  
7#f7 the term task force means a        
multidisciplinary task force on elder   
justice established or designated under 
section #e7;c77#a74  #c4 ,office of     
,elder ,justice  7a7 ,in general ,there 
is established within the ,department of
 ,justice an office to be known as the  

,office of ,elder ,justice1 which shall 
address issues relating to elder abuse4 
7b7 ,director ,the ,office shall be     
headed by a ,director who shall--  7#a7 
be appointed by the ,president1 by and  
with the advice and consent of the      
,senate1 from among individuals with    
experience and expertise in elder abuse2
 and  7#b7 serve as counsel to the      
,attorney ,general on elder justice and 
elder abuse4  7c7 ,responsibilities ,the
 ,director shall--  7#a7 create1        
compile1 evaluate1 and disseminate      
materials and information1 and provide  
the necessary training and technical    
assistance1 to assist ,states and units 
of local government in--  7,a7          
investigating1 prosecuting1 pursuing1   
preventing1 understanding1 and          
mitigating the impact of--  7i7         
physical1 sexual1 and psychological     
abuse of elders2  7ii7 exploitation of  
elders1 including financial abuse and   
scams targeting elders2 and  7iii7      
neglect of elders2 and  7,b7 assessing1 

addressing1 and mitigating the physical 
and psychological trauma to victims of  
elder abuse2  7#b7 collect data and     
perform an evidence-based evaluation    
to--  7,a7 assure the efficacy of       
measures and methods intended to        
prevent1 detect1 respond to1 or redress 
elder abuse2 and  7,b7 evaluate the     
number of victims of elder abuse in each
 ,state and the extent to which the     
needs of the victims are served by crime
 victim services1 programs1 and sources 
of funding2  7#c7 publish a report1 on  
an annual basis1 that describes the     
results of the evaluations conducted    
under paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b71 and     
submit the report to each ,federal      
agency1 each ,state1 and the ,committee 
on the ,judiciary and the ,special      
,committee on ,aging of the ,senate and 
the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the 
,house of ,representatives2  7#d7       
evaluate training models to determine   
best practices1 create replication      
guides1 create training materials for   

law enforcement officers1 prosecutors1  
judges1 emergency responders1           
individuals working in victim services1 
adult protective services1 social       
services1 and public safety1 medical    
personnel1 mental health personnel1     
financial services personnel1 and any   
other individuals whose work may bring  
them in contact with elder abuse        
regarding how to--  7,a7 conduct        
investigations in elder abuse cases2    
7,b7 address evidentiary issues and     
other legal issues2 and  7,c7           
appropriately assess1 respond to1 and   
interact with victims and witnesses in  
elder abuse cases1 including in         
administrative1 civil1 and criminal     
judicial proceedings2  7#e7 conduct1 and
 update on a regular basis1 a study of  
laws and practices relating to elder    
abuse1 including--  7,a7 a comprehensive
 description of ,state laws and         
practices2  7,b7 an analysis of the     
effectiveness of ,state laws and        
practices1 including--  7i7 whether the 

,state laws are enforced2 and  7ii7 if  
enforced--  7,i7 how the ,state laws are
 enforced2 and  7,,ii7 how enforcement  
of the ,state laws has effected elder   
abuse within the ,state2  7,c7 a review 
of ,state definitions of the terms      
abuse1 neglect1 and exploitation in the 
context of elder abuse cases2  7,d7 a   
review of ,state laws that mandate      
reporting of elder abuse1 including     
adult protective services laws1 laws    
that require the reporting of nursing   
home deaths or suspicious deaths of     
elders to coroners or medical examiners1
 and other pertinent reporting laws1    
that analyzes--  7i7 the impact and     
efficacy of the ,state laws2  7ii7      
whether the ,state laws are enforced2   
7iii7 the levels of compliance with the 
,state laws2 and  7iv7 the response to1 
and actions taken as a result of1       
reports made under the ,state laws2     
7,e7 a review of ,state evidentiary1    
procedural1 sentencing1 choice of       
remedies1 and data retention issues     

relating to elder abuse2  7,f7 a review 
of ,state fiduciary laws1 including laws
 relating to guardianship1              
conservatorship1 and power of attorney2 
7,g7 a review of ,state laws that permit
 or encourage employees of depository   
institutions 7as defined in section     
#c7;c77#a7 of the ,federal ,deposit     
,insurance ,act 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4          
#ahac7;c77#a77 and ,state credit unions 
7as defined in section #aja of the      
,federal ,credit ,union ,act 7#ab       
,u4,s4,c4 #ageb77 to prevent and report 
suspected elder abuse2  7,h7 a review of
 ,state laws used in civil court        
proceedings to prevent and address elder
 abuse2  7,i7 a review of ,state laws   
relating to fraud and related activities
 in connection with mail1 telemarketing1
 the ,internet1 or health care2  7,j7 a 
review of ,state laws that create       
programs1 offices1 or entities that     
address or respond to elder abuse2 and  
7,k7 an analysis of any other ,state    
laws relating to elder abuse2 and  7#f7 

carry out such other duties as the      
,attorney ,general determines necessary 
in connection with enhancing the        
understanding1 prevention1 and detection
 of1 and response to1 elder abuse4  #d4 
,data collection ,the ,attorney         
,general1 in consultation with the      
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services1 shall1 on an annual basis--  
7#a7 collect from ,federal1 ,state1 and 
local law enforcement agencies and      
prosecutor offices statistical data     
relating to the incidence of elder      
abuse1 including data relating to--     
7,a7 the number of elder abuse cases    
referred to law enforcement agencies1   
adult protective services1 or any other 
,state entity tasked with addressing    
elder abuse2  7,b7 the number and types 
of such cases filed in ,federal1 ,state1
 and local courts2 and  7,c7 the        
outcomes of the cases described in      
subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b7 and the     
reasons for such outcomes2  7#b7        
identify common data points among       

,federal1 ,state1 and local law         
enforcement agencies and prosecutor     
offices that would allow for the        
collection of uniform national data     
related to elder abuse2  7#c7 publish a 
summary of the data collected under     
paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b72  7#d7         
identify--  7,a7 the types of data      
relevant to elder abuse that should be  
collected2 and  7,b7 what entity is most
 capable of collecting the data         
described in subparagraph 7,a72 and     
7#e7 develop recommendations for        
collecting additional data relating to  
elder abuse4  #e4 ,elder victims grant  
program  7a7 ,in general ,the ,director 
may make grants and provide technical   
assistance to not more than #ae ,states 
to assist the ,states in developing1    
establishing1 and operating programs    
designed to improve--  7#a7 the response
 to cases of elder abuse in a manner    
that limits additional trauma to the    
elder victims2 and  7#b7 the            
investigation and prosecution of cases  

of elder abuse4  7b7 ,eligibility ,a    
,state is eligible to receive a grant   
under this section if the ,state--  7#a7
 has a crime victims compensation       
program that meets the criteria         
described in section #adjc7;b7 of the   
,victims of ,crime ,act of #aihd 7#db   
,u4,s4,c4 #ajfjb7;b772 and  7#b7 is in  
compliance with subsection 7c74  7c7    
,establishment of task force  7#a7 ,in  
general ,in order to be eligible to     
receive a grant under this section1 a   
,state shall establish or1 subject to   
paragraph 7#e71 designate a             
multidisciplinary task force on elder   
justice that is composed of             
professionals with knowledge and        
experience relating to the criminal     
justice system and issues of elder      
abuse4  7#b7 ,membership requirement    
,except as provided in paragraph 7#f71 a
 task force established or designated in
 accordance with this subsection shall  
include--  7,a7 representatives from law
 enforcement agencies1 such as police   

officers1 sheriffs and deputy sheriffs1 
detectives1 public safety officers1     
corrections officers1 investigators and 
victims' service personnel2  7,b7 a     
representative from the crime victim    
compensation program of the ,state2     
7,c7 judicial and legal officers1       
including individuals who work on cases 
of elder abuse2  7,d7 elder justice and 
elder law advocates1 including local    
agencies on aging and local public and  
private agencies and entities relating  
to elder abuse and other crimes against 
elders2  7,e7 health and mental health  
professionals2  7,f7 representatives    
from social services agencies in the    
,state2 and  7,g7 family members of     
victims of elder abuse4  7#c7 ,review   
and evaluation ,a task force established
 or designated in accordance with this  
subsection shall--  7,a7 review and     
evaluate the investigative1             
administrative1 and judicial responses  
to cases of elder abuse in the ,state2  
7,b7 make recommendations to the ,state 

based on the review and evaluation      
conducted under subparagraph 7,a71      
including recommendations relating to-- 
7i7 modifying the investigative1        
administrative1 and judicial response to
 cases of elder abuse in a manner that--
  7,i7 reduces additional trauma to the 
elder victim2 and  7,,ii7 ensures       
procedural fairness to the individual   
accused of elder abuse2 and  7ii7       
experimental1 model1 and demonstration  
programs for testing innovative         
approaches and techniques that may      
improve the rate of successful          
prosecution or enhance the effectiveness
 of judicial and administrative action  
in elder abuse cases1 and which ensure  
procedural fairness to the accused1     
including a determination of which      
programs are most effective2 and  7,c7  
submit the recommendations described in 
subparagraph 7,b7 to the ,office4  7#d7 
,task force alternative ,if determined  
appropriate by the ,director1 a ,state  
may comply with the eligibility         

requirement described in paragraph 7#a7 
by designating a commission or task     
force established by a ,state before    
,january #a1 #bjac1 with membership and 
functions comparable to those described 
in paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c71            
respectively1 as the task force on elder
 justice required under such paragraph  
7#a74  7#e7 ,task force membership      
waiver ,the ,director may waive1 in     
part1 the task force membership         
requirements under paragraph 7#b7 for a 
,state that demonstrates a need for the 
waiver4  7d7 ,use of funds ,grant funds 
awarded under this section may be used  
by a ,state to support--  7#a7 ,state   
and local prosecutor offices and courts 
in elder abuse matters1 including--     
7,a7 hiring or paying salary and        
benefits for employees and establishing 
or implementing units designated to work
 on elder justice issues in ,state      
prosecutors' offices and ,state courts2 
and  7,b7 hiring or paying salary and   
benefits for an employee to coordinate  

elder justice-related cases1 training1  
technical assistance1 and policy        
development for ,state and local        
prosecutors and courts2  7#b7 ,state and
 local law enforcement agencies         
investigating cases of elder abuse2 and 
7#c7 adult protective services4  7e7    
,state reports ,not later than #a year  
after a ,state receives grant funds     
under this section1 the ,state shall    
submit to the ,director a report that   
includes--  7#a7 an evaluation of the   
effectiveness of the grant program2     
7#b7 a list of all laws of the ,state   
relating to elder abuse2 and  7#c7 any  
other information the ,director may     
require4  7f7 ,evaluation and report    
,not later than #a year after the date  
on which the ,director makes available  
the final funds awarded under a grant   
under this section1 the ,director       
shall--  7#a7 evaluate the grant program
 established under this section2 and    
7#b7 submit to the appropriate          
congressional committees a report on the

 evaluation conducted under paragraph   
7#a71 including recommendations on      
whether the grant program should be     
continued4  #f4 ,elder ,justice         
,coordinating ,council ,section         
#bjba7;b77#a77;,b7 of the ,social       
,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4           
#acigk7b77#a77;,b77 is amended by       
striking 7or the ,attorney ,general's   
designee7 and inserting 7or the         
,director of the ,office of ,elder      
,justice74  #g4 ,authorization of       
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to carry out this ,act  
#bj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years    
#bjad through #bjaf4 ,such sums shall be
 derived from amounts appropriated in   
each such fiscal year for ,general      
,administration1 ,salaries and          
,expenses1 for the ,department of       
,justice4