S.Res. 171 — Agreed to in Senate

III 113th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 171 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 13, 2013 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Nelson) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Designating June 15, 2013, as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Whereas Federal Government estimates show that more than 1 in 10 persons over age 60, or 6,000,000 individuals, are victims of elder abuse each year; Whereas the vast majority of the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults in the United States goes unidentified and unreported; Whereas only 1 in 44 cases of financial abuse of older adults is reported; Whereas at least $2,900,000,000 is taken from older adults each year due to financial abuse and exploitation; Whereas elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation have no boundaries and cross all racial, social, class, gender, and geographic lines; Whereas older adults who are abused are 3 times more likely to die earlier than older adults of the same age who are not abused; Whereas, although all 50 States have laws against elder abuse, incidents of elder abuse have increased by 150 percent over the last 10 years; Whereas public awareness has the potential to increase the identification and reporting of elder abuse by the public, professionals, and victims, and can act as a catalyst to promote issue-based education and long-term prevention; and Whereas private individuals and public agencies must work together on the Federal, State, and local levels to combat increasing occurrences of abuse, neglect, and exploitation crime and violence against vulnerable older adults and vulnerable adults, particularly in light of limited resources for vital protective services: Now, therefore, be it That the Senate— (1) designates June 15, 2013 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day; (2) recognizes judges, lawyers, adult protective services professionals, law enforcement officers, social workers, health care providers, victims’ advocates, and other professionals and agencies for their efforts to advance awareness of elder abuse; and (3) encourages members of the public and professionals who work with older adults to act as catalysts to promote awareness and long-term prevention of elder abuse by reaching out to local adult protective services agencies and by learning to recognize, detect, report, and respond to elder abuse.