II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1821 

To protect seniors in the United States from elder abuse by establishing 

specialized elder abuse prosecution and research programs and activities 

to aid victims of elder abuse, to provide training to prosecutors and 

other law enforcement related to elder abuse prevention and protection, 

to establish programs that provide for emergency crisis response teams 

to combat elder abuse, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 21, 2009 

Mr. KOHL (for himself, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. LEMIEUX, and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To protect seniors in the United States from elder abuse 

by establishing specialized elder abuse prosecution and 

research programs and activities to aid victims of elder 

abuse, to provide training to prosecutors and other law 

enforcement related to elder abuse prevention and protection, to establish programs that provide for emergency 

crisis response teams to combat elder abuse, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Elder Abuse Victims 

3 Act of 2009’’. 

4 TITLE I—ELDER ABUSE VICTIMS 

5 SEC. 101. ANALYSIS, REPORT, AND RECOMMENDATIONS RE6 LATED TO ELDER JUSTICE PROGRAMS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap8 propriations to carry out this section, the Attorney Gen9 eral, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

10 Human Services, shall carry out the following: 

11 (1) STUDY.—Conduct a study of laws and prac12 tices relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploi13 tation, which shall include— 

14 (A) a comprehensive description of State 

15 laws and practices relating to elder abuse, ne16 glect, and exploitation; 

17 (B) a comprehensive analysis of the effec18 tiveness of such State laws and practices; and 

19 (C) an examination of State laws and prac20 tices relating to specific elder abuse, neglect, 

21 and exploitation issues, including— 

22 (i) the definition of— 

23 (I) ‘‘elder’’; 

24 (II) ‘‘abuse’’; 

25 (III) ‘‘neglect’’; 

26 (IV) ‘‘exploitation’’; and 


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1 (V) such related terms the Attor2 ney General determines to be appro3 priate; 

4 (ii) mandatory reporting laws, with re5 spect to— 

6 (I) who is a mandated reporter; 

7 (II) to whom must they report 

8 and within what time frame; and 

9 (III) any consequences for not 

10 reporting; 

11 (iii) evidentiary, procedural, sen12 tencing, choice of remedies, and data re13 tention issues relating to pursuing cases 

14 relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploi15 tation; 

16 (iv) laws requiring reporting of all 

17 nursing home deaths to the county coroner 

18 or to some other individual or entity; 

19 (v) fiduciary laws, including guardian20 ship and power of attorney laws; 

21 (vi) laws that permit or encourage 

22 banks and bank employees to prevent and 

23 report suspected elder abuse, neglect, and 

24 exploitation; 


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1 (vii) laws relating to fraud and related 

2 activities in connection with mail, tele3 marketing, or the Internet; 

4 (viii) laws that may impede research 

5 on elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; 

6 (ix) practices relating to the enforce7 ment of laws relating to elder abuse, ne8 glect, and exploitation; and 

9 (x) practices relating to other aspects 

10 of elder justice. 

11 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—Develop objec12 tives, priorities, policies, and a long-term plan for 

13 elder justice programs and activities relating to— 

14 (A) prevention and detection of elder 

15 abuse, neglect, and exploitation; 

16 (B) intervention and treatment for victims 

17 of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; 

18 (C) training, evaluation, and research re19 lated to elder justice programs and activities; 

20 and 

21 (D) improvement of the elder justice sys22 tem in the United States. 

23 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, submit to the chair25 man and ranking member of the Special Committee 


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1 on Aging of the Senate, and the Speaker and minor2 ity leader of the House of Representatives, and the 

3 Secretary of Health and Human Services, and make 

4 available to the States, a report that contains— 

5 (A) the findings of the study conducted 

6 under paragraph (1); 

7 (B) a description of the objectives, prior8 ities, policies, and a long-term plan developed 

9 under paragraph (2); and 

10 (C) a list, description, and analysis of the 

11 best practices used by States to develop, imple12 ment, maintain, and improve elder justice sys13 tems, based on such findings. 

14 (b) GAO RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 18 

15 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp16 troller General shall review existing Federal programs and 

17 initiatives in the Federal criminal justice system relevant 

18 to elder justice and shall submit to Congress— 

19 (1) a report on such programs and initiatives; 

20 and 

21 (2) any recommendations the Comptroller Gen22 eral determines are appropriate to improve elder jus23 tice in the United States. 

24 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 


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1 $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 

2 2016. 

3 SEC. 102. VICTIM ADVOCACY GRANTS. 

4 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Attorney General, 

5 after consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

6 Human Services, may award grants to eligible entities to 

7 study the special needs of victims of elder abuse, neglect, 

8 and exploitation. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Funds awarded pur10 suant to subsection (a) shall be used for pilot programs 

11 that— 

12 (1) develop programs for and provide training 

13 to health care, social, and protective services pro14 viders, law enforcement, fiduciaries (including 

15 guardians), judges and court personnel, and victim 

16 advocates; and 

17 (2) examine special approaches designed to 

18 meet the needs of victims of elder abuse, neglect, 

19 and exploitation. 

20 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 

23 2016. 


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1 SEC. 103. SUPPORTING LOCAL PROSECUTORS AND COURTS 

2 IN ELDER JUSTICE MATTERS. 

3 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail4 ability of appropriations under this section, the Attorney 

5 General, after consultation with the Secretary of Health 

6 and Human Services, shall award grants to eligible enti7 ties to provide training, technical assistance, policy devel8 opment, multidisciplinary coordination, and other types of 

9 support to local prosecutors and courts handling elder jus10 tice-related cases, including— 

11 (1) funding specially designated elder justice 

12 positions or units in local prosecutors’ offices and 

13 local courts; and 

14 (2) funding the creation of a Center for the 

15 Prosecution of Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploi16 tation to advise and support local prosecutors and 

17 courts nationwide in the pursuit of cases involving 

18 elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. 

19 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

21 $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 

22 2016. 

23 SEC. 104. SUPPORTING STATE PROSECUTORS AND COURTS 

24 IN ELDER JUSTICE MATTERS. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap26 propriations under this section, the Attorney General, 


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1 after consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

2 Human Services, shall award grants to eligible entities to 

3 provide training, technical assistance, multidisciplinary co4 ordination, policy development, and other types of support 

5 to State prosecutors and courts, employees of State Attor6 neys General, and Medicaid Fraud Control Units handling 

7 elder justice-related matters. 

8 (b) CREATING SPECIALIZED POSITIONS.—Grants 

9 under this section may be made for— 

10 (1) the establishment of specially designated 

11 elder justice positions or units in State prosecutors’ 

12 offices and State courts; and 

13 (2) the creation of a position to coordinate elder 

14 justice-related cases, training, technical assistance, 

15 and policy development for State prosecutors and 

16 courts. 

17 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

19 $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 

20 2016. 

21 SEC. 105. SUPPORTING LAW ENFORCEMENT IN ELDER JUS22 TICE MATTERS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap24 propriations under this section, the Attorney General, 

25 after consultation with the Secretary of Health and 


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1 Human Services, the Postmaster General, and the Chief 

2 Postal Inspector for the United States Postal Inspection 

3 Service, shall award grants to eligible entities to provide 

4 training, technical assistance, multidisciplinary coordina5 tion, policy development, and other types of support to po6 lice, sheriffs, detectives, public safety officers, corrections 

7 personnel, and other first responders who handle elder jus8 tice-related matters, to fund specially designated elder jus9 tice positions or units designed to support first responders 

10 in elder justice matters. 

11 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 $8,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 

14 2016. 

15 SEC. 106. EVALUATIONS. 

16 (a) GRANTS UNDER THIS TITLE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the grant 

18 programs under this title, the Attorney General 

19 shall— 

20 (A) require each recipient of a grant to use 

21 a portion of the funds made available through 

22 the grant to conduct a validated evaluation of 

23 the effectiveness of the activities carried out 

24 through the grant by such recipient; or 


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1 (B) as the Attorney General considers ap2 propriate, use a portion of the funds available 

3 under this title for a grant program under this 

4 title to provide assistance to an eligible entity to 

5 conduct a validated evaluation of the effective6 ness of the activities carried out through such 

7 grant program by each of the grant recipients. 

8 (2) APPLICATIONS.— 

9 (A) SUBMISSION.—To be eligible to receive 

10 a grant under this title, an entity shall submit 

11 an application to the Attorney General at such 

12 time, in such manner, and containing such in13 formation as the Attorney General may require, 

14 which shall include— 

15 (i) a proposal for the evaluation re16 quired in accordance with paragraph 

17 (1)(A); and 

18 (ii) the amount of assistance under 

19 paragraph (1)(B) the entity is requesting, 

20 if any. 

21 (B) REVIEW AND ASSISTANCE.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—An employee of the 

23 Department of Justice, after consultation 

24 with an employee of the Department of 

25 Health and Human Services with expertise 


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1 in evaluation methodology, shall review 

2 each application described in subparagraph 

3 (A) and determine whether the method4 ology described in the proposal under sub5 paragraph (A)(i) is adequate to gather 

6 meaningful information. 

7 (ii) DENIAL.—If the reviewing em8 ployee determines the methodology de9 scribed in such proposal is inadequate, the 

10 reviewing employee shall recommend that 

11 the Attorney General deny the application 

12 for the grant, or make recommendations 

13 for how the application should be amended. 

14 (iii) NOTICE TO APPLICANT.—If the 

15 Attorney General denies the application on 

16 the basis of such proposal, the Attorney 

17 General shall inform the applicant of the 

18 reasons the application was denied, and 

19 offer assistance to the applicant in modi20 fying the proposal. 

21 (b) OTHER GRANTS.—Subject to the availability of 

22 appropriations under this section, the Attorney General 

23 shall award grants to appropriate entities to conduct vali24 dated evaluations of grant activities that are funded by 


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1 Federal funds not provided under this title, or other funds, 

2 to reduce elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. 

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $7,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 

6 2016. 

7 SEC. 107. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this title: 

9 (1) ELDER.—The term ‘‘elder’’ means an indi10 vidual age 60 or older. 

11 (2) ELDER JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘elder justice’’ 

12 means— 

13 (A) from a societal perspective, efforts 

14 to— 

15 (i) prevent, detect, treat, intervene in, 

16 and prosecute elder abuse, neglect, and ex17 ploitation; and 

18 (ii) protect elders with diminished ca19 pacity while maximizing their autonomy; 

20 and 

21 (B) from an individual perspective, the rec22 ognition of an elder’s rights, including the right 

23 to be free of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. 

24 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The term ‘‘eligible 

25 entity’’ means a State or local government agency, 


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1 Indian tribe or tribal organization, or any other pub2 lic or nonprofit private entity that is engaged in and 

3 has expertise in issues relating to elder justice or a 

4 field necessary to promote elder justice efforts. 

5 TITLE II—ELDER SERVE VICTIM 

6 GRANT PROGRAMS 

7 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF ELDER SERVE VICTIM 

8 GRANT PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Attorney General, acting 

10 through the Director of the Office of Victims of Crime 

11 of the Department of Justice (in this section referred to 

12 as the ‘‘Director’’), shall, subject to appropriations, carry 

13 out a three-year grant program to be known as the Elder 

14 Serve Victim grant program (in this section referred to 

15 as the ‘‘Program’’) to provide grants to eligible entities 

16 to establish programs to facilitate and coordinate pro17 grams described in subsection (e) for victims of elder 

18 abuse. 

19 (b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTEES.— 

20 To be eligible to receive a grant under the Program, an 

21 entity must meet the following criteria: 

22 (1) ELIGIBLE CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE PRO23 GRAM.—The entity is a crime victim assistance pro24 gram receiving a grant under the Victims of Crime 

25 Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) for the period 


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1 described in subsection (c)(2) with respect to the 

2 grant sought under this section. 

3 (2) COORDINATION WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY

4 BASED AGENCIES AND SERVICES.—The entity shall 

5 demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director that 

6 such entity has a record of community coordination 

7 or established contacts with other county and local 

8 services that serve elderly individuals. 

9 (3) ABILITY TO CREATE ECRT ON TIMELY

10 BASIS.—The entity shall demonstrate to the satisfac11 tion of the Director the ability of the entity to cre12 ate, not later than 6 months after receiving such 

13 grant, an Emergency Crisis Response Team pro14 gram described in subsection (e)(1) and the pro15 grams described in subsection (e)(2). 

16 For purposes of meeting the criteria described in para17 graph (2), for each year an entity receives a grant under 

18 this section the entity shall provide a record of community 

19 coordination or established contacts described in such 

20 paragraph through memoranda of understanding, con21 tracts, subcontracts, and other such documentation. 

22 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

23 (1) CONSULTATION.—Each program established 

24 pursuant to this section shall be developed and carVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:44 Oct 22, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1821.IS S1821

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1 ried out in consultation with the following entities, 

2 as appropriate: 

3 (A) Relevant Federal, State, and local pub4 lic and private agencies and entities, relating to 

5 elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation and other 

6 crimes against elderly individuals. 

7 (B) Local law enforcement including po8 lice, sheriffs, detectives, public safety officers, 

9 corrections personnel, prosecutors, medical ex10 aminers, investigators, and coroners. 

11 (C) Long-term care and nursing facilities. 

12 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—Grants under the Pro13 gram shall be issued for a three-year period. 

14 (3) LOCATIONS.—The Program shall be carried 

15 out in six geographically and demographically di16 verse locations, taking into account— 

17 (A) the number of elderly individuals resid18 ing in or near an area; and 

19 (B) the difficulty of access to immediate 

20 short-term housing and health services for vic21 tims of elder abuse. 

22 (d) PERSONNEL.—In providing care and services, 

23 each program established pursuant to this section may 

24 employ a staff to assist in creating an Emergency Crisis 

25 Response Teams under subsection (e)(1). 


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1 (e) USE OF GRANTS.— 

2 (1) EMERGENCY CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM.— 

3 Each entity that receives a grant under this section 

4 shall use such grant to establish an Emergency Cri5 sis Response Team program by not later than the 

6 date that is six months after the entity receives the 

7 grant. Under such program the following shall 

8 apply: 

9 (A) Such program shall include immediate, 

10 short-term emergency services, including shel11 ter, care services, food, clothing, transportation 

12 to medical or legal appointment as appropriate, 

13 and any other life services deemed necessary by 

14 the entity for victims of elder abuse. 

15 (B) Such program shall provide services to 

16 victims of elder abuse, including those who have 

17 been referred to the program through the adult 

18 protective services agency of the local law en19 forcement or any other relevant law enforce20 ment or referral agency. 

21 (C) A victim of elder abuse may not re22 ceive short-term housing under the program for 

23 more than 30 consecutive days. 

24 (D) The entity that established the pro25 gram shall enter into arrangements with the 


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1 relevant local law enforcement agencies so that 

2 the program receives quarterly reports from 

3 such agencies on elder abuse. 

4 (2) ADDITIONAL SERVICES REQUIRED TO BE

5 PROVIDED.—Not later than one year after the date 

6 an entity receives a grant under this section, such 

7 entity shall have established the following programs 

8 (and community collaborations to support such pro9 grams): 

10 (A) COUNSELING.—A program that pro11 vides counseling and assistance for victims of 

12 elder abuse accessing health care, educational, 

13 pension, or other benefits for which seniors may 

14 be eligible under Federal or applicable State 

15 law. 

16 (B) MENTAL HEALTH SCREENING.—A 

17 program that provides mental health screenings 

18 for victims of elder abuse to identify and seek 

19 assistance for potential mental health disorders 

20 such as depression or substance abuse. 

21 (C) EMERGENCY LEGAL ADVOCACY.—A 

22 program that provides legal advocacy for vic23 tims of elder abuse and, as appropriate, their 

24 families. 


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1 (D) JOB PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE.—A pro2 gram that provides job placement assistance 

3 and information on employment, training, or 

4 volunteer opportunities for victims of elder 

5 abuse. 

6 (E) BEREAVEMENT COUNSELING.—A pro7 gram that provides bereavement counseling for 

8 families of victims of elder abuse. 

9 (F) OTHER SERVICES.—A program that 

10 provides such other care, services, and assist11 ance as the entity considers appropriate for 

12 purposes of the program. 

13 (f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Director shall 

14 enter into contracts with private entities with experience 

15 in elder abuse coordination or victim services to provide 

16 such technical assistance to grantees under this section 

17 as the entity determines appropriate. 

18 (g) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 12 

19 months after the commencement of the Program, and an20 nually thereafter, the entity shall submit a report to the 

21 Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on the 

22 Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and the Chair23 man and Ranking Member of the Special Committee on 

24 Aging of the Senate. Each report shall include the fol25 lowing: 


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1 (1) A description and assessment of the imple2 mentation of the Program. 

3 (2) An assessment of the effectiveness of the 

4 Program in providing care and services to seniors, 

5 including a comparative assessment of effectiveness 

6 for each of the locations designated under subsection 

7 (c)(3) for the Program. 

8 (3) An assessment of the effectiveness of the 

9 coordination for programs described in subsection 

10 (e) in contributing toward the effectiveness of the 

11 Program. 

12 (4) Such recommendations as the entity con13 siders appropriate for modifications of the Program 

14 in order to better provide care and services to sen15 iors. 

16 (h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

17 (1) ELDER ABUSE.—The term ‘‘elder abuse’’ 

18 means any type of violence or abuse, whether mental 

19 or physical, inflicted upon an elderly individual, and 

20 any type of criminal financial exploitation of an el21 derly individual. 

22 (2) ELDERLY INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘elderly 

23 individual’’ means an individual who is age 60 or 

24 older. 


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1 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Jus3 tice to carry out this section $3,000,000 for each of the 

4 fiscal years 2010 through 2012. 

Æ 


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