II 

Calendar No. 23 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 178 

[Report No. 115–9] 

To prevent elder abuse and exploitation and improve the justice system’s 

response to victims in elder abuse and exploitation cases. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 20, 2017 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. TILLIS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, 

Mr. CORNYN, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. BENNET, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. DURBIN, 

Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. RUBIO, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Ms. 

HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

MARCH 23, 2017 

Reported by Mr. GRASSLEY, without amendment 

A BILL 

To prevent elder abuse and exploitation and improve the 

justice system’s response to victims in elder abuse and 

exploitation cases. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—SUPPORTING FEDERAL CASES INVOLVING ELDER 

JUSTICE 

Sec. 101. Supporting Federal cases involving elder justice. 

TITLE II—IMPROVED DATA COLLECTION AND FEDERAL 

COORDINATION 

Sec. 201. Establishment of best practices for local, State, and Federal data collection. 

Sec. 202. Effective interagency coordination and Federal data collection. 

TITLE III—ENHANCED VICTIM ASSISTANCE TO ELDER ABUSE 

SURVIVORS 

Sec. 301. Sense of the Senate. 

Sec. 302. Report. 

TITLE IV—ROBERT MATAVA ELDER ABUSE PROSECUTION ACT 

OF 2017 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Enhanced penalty for telemarketing and email marketing fraud directed at elders. 

Sec. 403. Training and technical assistance for States. 

Sec. 404. Interstate initiatives. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 501. Court-appointed guardianship oversight activities under the Elder 

Justice Act of 2009. 

Sec. 502. GAO reports. 

Sec. 503. Outreach to State and local law enforcement agencies. 

Sec. 504. Model power of attorney legislation. 

Sec. 505. Best practices and model legislation for guardianship proceedings. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the terms ‘‘abuse’’, ‘‘adult protective serv9 ices’’, ‘‘elder’’, ‘‘elder justice’’, ‘‘exploitation’’, ‘‘law 


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1 enforcement’’, and ‘‘neglect’’ have the meanings 

2 given those terms in section 2011 of the Social Secu3 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1397j); 

4 (2) the term ‘‘elder abuse’’ includes abuse, ne5 glect, and exploitation of an elder; and 

6 (3) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

7 States of the United States, the District of Colum8 bia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any 

9 other territory or possession of the United States. 

10 TITLE I—SUPPORTING FEDERAL 

11 CASES INVOLVING ELDER 

12 JUSTICE 

13 SEC. 101. SUPPORTING FEDERAL CASES INVOLVING ELDER 

14 JUSTICE. 

15 (a) SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE.— 

16 (1) ELDER JUSTICE COORDINATORS.—The At17 torney General shall designate in each Federal judi18 cial district not less than one Assistant United 

19 States Attorney to serve as the Elder Justice Coor20 dinator for the district, who, in addition to any other 

21 responsibilities, shall be responsible for— 

22 (A) serving as the legal counsel for the 

23 Federal judicial district on matters relating to 

24 elder abuse; 


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1 (B) prosecuting, or assisting in the pros2 ecution of, elder abuse cases; 

3 (C) conducting public outreach and aware4 ness activities relating to elder abuse; and 

5 (D) ensuring the collection of data re6 quired to be collected under section 202. 

7 (2) INVESTIGATIVE SUPPORT.—The Attorney 

8 General, in consultation with the Director of the 

9 Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall, with respect 

10 to crimes relating to elder abuse, ensure the imple11 mentation of a regular and comprehensive training 

12 program to train agents of the Federal Bureau of 

13 Investigation in the investigation and prosecution of 

14 such crimes and the enforcement of laws related to 

15 elder abuse, which shall include— 

16 (A) specialized strategies for commu17 nicating with and assisting elder abuse victims; 

18 and 

19 (B) relevant forensic training relating to 

20 elder abuse. 

21 (3) RESOURCE GROUP.—The Attorney General, 

22 through the Executive Office for United States At23 torneys, shall ensure the operation of a resource 

24 group to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, experi25 ence, sample pleadings and other case documents, 


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1 training materials, and any other resources to assist 

2 prosecutors throughout the United States in pur3 suing cases relating to elder abuse. 

4 (4) DESIGNATED ELDER JUSTICE WORKING

5 GROUP OR SUBCOMMITTEE TO THE ATTORNEY GEN6 ERAL’S ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF UNITED STATES

7 ATTORNEYS.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in 

9 consultation with the Director of the Executive Of10 fice for United States Attorneys, shall establish a 

11 subcommittee or working group to the Attorney 

12 General’s Advisory Committee of United States At13 torneys, as established under section 0.10 of title 28, 

14 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor there15 to, for the purposes of advising the Attorney General 

16 on policies of the Department of Justice relating to 

17 elder abuse. 

18 (b) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ELDER JUSTICE CO19 ORDINATOR.—Not later than 60 days after the date of en20 actment of this Act, the Attorney General shall designate 

21 an Elder Justice Coordinator within the Department of 

22 Justice who, in addition to any other responsibilities, shall 

23 be responsible for— 


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1 (1) coordinating and supporting the law en2 forcement efforts and policy activities for the De3 partment of Justice on elder justice issues; 

4 (2) evaluating training models to determine 

5 best practices and creating or compiling and making 

6 publicly available replication guides and training ma7 terials for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, 

8 judges, emergency responders, individuals working in 

9 victim services, adult protective services, social serv10 ices, and public safety, medical personnel, mental 

11 health personnel, financial services personnel, and 

12 any other individuals whose work may bring them in 

13 contact with elder abuse regarding how to— 

14 (A) conduct investigations in elder abuse 

15 cases; 

16 (B) address evidentiary issues and other 

17 legal issues; and 

18 (C) appropriately assess, respond to, and 

19 interact with victims and witnesses in elder 

20 abuse cases, including in administrative, civil, 

21 and criminal judicial proceedings; and 

22 (3) carrying out such other duties as the Attor23 ney General determines necessary in connection with 

24 enhancing the understanding, prevention, and detec25 tion of, and response to, elder abuse. 


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1 (c) FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.— 

2 (1) FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ELDER JUS3 TICE COORDINATOR.—Not later than 60 days after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Chairman of 

5 the Federal Trade Commission shall designate with6 in the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Fed7 eral Trade Commission an Elder Justice Coordi8 nator who, in addition to any other responsibilities, 

9 shall be responsible for— 

10 (A) coordinating and supporting the en11 forcement and consumer education efforts and 

12 policy activities of the Federal Trade Commis13 sion on elder justice issues; and 

14 (B) serving as, or ensuring the availability 

15 of, a central point of contact for individuals, 

16 units of local government, States, and other 

17 Federal agencies on matters relating to the en18 forcement and consumer education efforts and 

19 policy activities of the Federal Trade Commis20 sion on elder justice issues. 

21 (2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 

22 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

23 once every year thereafter, the Chairman of the Fed24 eral Trade Commission and the Attorney General 

25 shall each submit to the Committee on the Judiciary 


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1 of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 

2 of the House of Representatives a report detailing 

3 the enforcement actions taken by the Federal Trade 

4 Commission and the Department of Justice, respec5 tively, over the preceding year in each case in which 

6 not less than one victim was an elder or that in7 volved a financial scheme or scam that was either 

8 targeted directly toward or largely affected elders, 

9 including— 

10 (A) the name of the district where the case 

11 originated; 

12 (B) the style of the case, including the case 

13 name and number; 

14 (C) a description of the scheme or scam; 

15 and 

16 (D) the outcome of the case. 

17 (d) USE OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.—No additional 

18 funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 

19 section. 


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1 TITLE II—IMPROVED DATA COL2 LECTION AND FEDERAL CO3 ORDINATION 

4 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF BEST PRACTICES FOR 

5 LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL DATA COLLEC6 TION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in con8 sultation with Federal, State, and local law enforcement 

9 agencies, shall— 

10 (1) establish best practices for data collection to 

11 focus on elder abuse; and 

12 (2) provide technical assistance to State, local, 

13 and tribal governments in adopting the best prac14 tices established under paragraph (1). 

15 (b) DEADLINE.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall pub17 lish the best practices established under subsection (a)(1) 

18 on the website of the Department of Justice in a publicly 

19 accessible manner. 

20 (c) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

21 construed to require or obligate compliance with the best 

22 practices established under subsection (a)(1). 


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1 SEC. 202. EFFECTIVE INTERAGENCY COORDINATION AND 

2 FEDERAL DATA COLLECTION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in con4 sultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv5 ices shall, on an annual basis— 

6 (1) collect from Federal law enforcement agen7 cies, other agencies as appropriate, and Federal 

8 prosecutors’ offices statistical data related to elder 

9 abuse cases, including cases or investigations where 

10 one or more victims were elders, or the case or in11 vestigation involved a financial scheme or scam that 

12 was either targeted directly toward or largely af13 fected elders; and 

14 (2) publish on the website of the Department of 

15 Justice in a publicly accessible manner— 

16 (A) a summary of the data collected under 

17 paragraph (1); and 

18 (B) recommendations for collecting addi19 tional data relating to elder abuse, including 

20 recommendations for ways to improve data re21 porting across Federal, State, and local agen22 cies. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The data collected under sub24 section (a)(1) shall include— 

25 (1) the total number of investigations initiated 

26 by Federal law enforcement agencies, other agencies 


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1 as appropriate, and Federal prosecutors’ offices re2 lated to elder abuse; 

3 (2) the total number and types of elder abuse 

4 cases filed in Federal courts; and 

5 (3) for each case described in paragraph (2)— 

6 (A) the name of the district where the case 

7 originated; 

8 (B) the style of the case, including the case 

9 name and number; 

10 (C) a description of the act or acts giving 

11 rise to the elder abuse; 

12 (D) in the case of a scheme or scam, a de13 scription of such scheme or scam giving rise to 

14 the elder abuse; 

15 (E) information about each alleged perpe16 trator of the elder abuse; and 

17 (F) the outcome of the case. 

18 (c) HHS REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Health 

19 and Human Services shall, on an annual basis, provide 

20 to the Attorney General statistical data collected by the 

21 Secretary relating to elder abuse cases investigated by 

22 adult protective services, which shall be included in the 

23 summary published under subsection (a)(2). 


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1 (d) PROHIBITION ON INDIVIDUAL DATA.—None of 

2 the information reported under this section shall include 

3 specific individual identifiable data. 

4 TITLE III—ENHANCED VICTIM 

5 ASSISTANCE TO ELDER 

6 ABUSE SURVIVORS 

7 SEC. 301. SENSE OF THE SENATE. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following: 

9 (1) The vast majority of cases of abuse, neglect, 

10 and exploitation of older adults in the United States 

11 go unidentified and unreported. 

12 (2) Not less than $2,900,000,000 is taken from 

13 older adults each year due to financial abuse and ex14 ploitation. 

15 (3) Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation have 

16 no boundaries and cross all racial, social, class, gen17 der, and geographic lines. 

18 (4) Older adults who are abused are 3 times 

19 more likely to die earlier than older adults of the 

20 same age who are not abused. 

21 (5) Up to half of all older adults with dementia 

22 will experience abuse. 

23 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the 

24 Senate that— 


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1 (1) elder abuse involves the exploitation of po2 tentially vulnerable individuals with devastating 

3 physical, mental, emotional, and financial con4 sequences to the victims and their loved ones; 

5 (2) to combat this affront to America’s older 

6 adults, we must do everything possible to both sup7 port victims of elder abuse and prevent the abuse 

8 from occurring in the first place; and 

9 (3) the Senate supports a multipronged ap10 proach to prevent elder abuse and exploitation, pro11 tect the victims of elder abuse and exploitation from 

12 further harm, and bring the perpetrators of such 

13 crimes to justice. 

14 SEC. 302. REPORT. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date on which the collection of statistical data under sec17 tion 202(a)(1) begins and once each year thereafter, the 

18 Director of the Office for Victims of Crime shall submit 

19 a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 

20 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep21 resentatives that addresses, to the extent data are avail22 able, the nature, extent, and amount of funding under the 

23 Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601 et seq.) 

24 for victims of crime who are elders. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub2 section (a) shall include— 

3 (1) an analysis of victims’ assistance, victims’ 

4 compensation, and discretionary grants under which 

5 elder abuse victims (including elder victims of finan6 cial abuse, financial exploitation, and fraud) received 

7 assistance; and 

8 (2) recommendations for improving services for 

9 victims of elder abuse. 

10 TITLE IV—ROBERT MATAVA 

11 ELDER ABUSE PROSECUTION 

12 ACT OF 2017 

13 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Robert Matava Elder 

15 Abuse Prosecution Act of 2017’’. 

16 SEC. 402. ENHANCED PENALTY FOR TELEMARKETING AND 

17 EMAIL MARKETING FRAUD DIRECTED AT EL18 DERS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 113A of title 18, United 

20 States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) in the chapter heading, by inserting ‘‘AND 

22 EMAIL MARKETING’’ after ‘‘TELE23 MARKETING’’; 

24 (2) by striking section 2325 and inserting the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 2325. Definition 

2 ‘‘In this chapter, the term ‘telemarketing or email 

3 marketing’— 

4 ‘‘(1) means a plan, program, promotion, or 

5 campaign that is conducted to induce— 

6 ‘‘(A) purchases of goods or services; 

7 ‘‘(B) participation in a contest or sweep8 stakes; 

9 ‘‘(C) a charitable contribution, donation, or 

10 gift of money or any other thing of value; 

11 ‘‘(D) investment for financial profit; 

12 ‘‘(E) participation in a business oppor13 tunity; 

14 ‘‘(F) commitment to a loan; or 

15 ‘‘(G) participation in a fraudulent medical 

16 study, research study, or pilot study, 

17 by use of one or more interstate telephone calls, 

18 emails, text messages, or electronic instant messages 

19 initiated either by a person who is conducting the 

20 plan, program, promotion, or campaign or by a pro21 spective purchaser or contest or sweepstakes partici22 pant or charitable contributor, donor, or investor; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(2) does not include the solicitation through 

25 the posting, publication, or mailing of a catalog or 

26 brochure that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) contains a written description or il2 lustration of the goods, services, or other oppor3 tunities being offered; 

4 ‘‘(B) includes the business address of the 

5 solicitor; 

6 ‘‘(C) includes multiple pages of written 

7 material or illustration; and 

8 ‘‘(D) has been issued not less frequently 

9 than once a year, 

10 if the person making the solicitation does not solicit 

11 customers by telephone, email, text message, or elec12 tronic instant message, but only receives interstate 

13 telephone calls, emails, text messages, or electronic 

14 instant messages initiated by customers in response 

15 to the written materials, whether in hard copy or 

16 digital format, and in response to those interstate 

17 telephone calls, emails, text messages, or electronic 

18 instant messages does not conduct further solicita19 tion.’’; 

20 (3) in section 2326, in the matter preceding 

21 paragraph (1)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘or 1344’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘1344, or 1347 or section 1128B of the Social 

24 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7b)’’; and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘or email marketing’’ 

2 after ‘‘telemarketing’’; and 

3 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘§ 2328. Mandatory forfeiture 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The court, in imposing sentence 

6 on a person who is convicted of any offense for which an 

7 enhanced penalty is provided under section 2326, shall 

8 order that the defendant forfeit to the United States— 

9 ‘‘(1) any property, real or personal, constituting 

10 or traceable to gross proceeds obtained from such of11 fense; and 

12 ‘‘(2) any equipment, software, or other tech13 nology used or intended to be used to commit or to 

14 facilitate the commission of such offense. 

15 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURES.—The procedures set forth in sec16 tion 413 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 

17 853), other than subsection (d) of that section, and in 

18 Rule 32.2 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, 

19 shall apply to all stages of a criminal forfeiture proceeding 

20 under this section.’’. 

21 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (1) The table of chapters at the beginning of 

23 part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

24 by striking the item relating to chapter 113A and 

25 inserting the following: 

‘‘113A. Telemarketing and email marketing fraud ................................. 2325’’. 


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1 (2) The table of sections for chapter 113A of 

2 title 18, United States Code, is amended by insert3 ing after the item relating to section 2327 the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘2328. Mandatory forfeiture.’’. 

5 SEC. 403. TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR 

6 STATES. 

7 The Attorney General, in consultation with the Sec8 retary of Health and Human Services and in coordination 

9 with the Elder Justice Coordinating Council (established 

10 under section 2021 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 1397k)), shall create, compile, evaluate, and disseminate 

12 materials and information, and provide the necessary 

13 training and technical assistance, to assist States and 

14 units of local government in— 

15 (1) investigating, prosecuting, pursuing, pre16 venting, understanding, and mitigating the impact 

17 of— 

18 (A) physical, sexual, and psychological 

19 abuse of elders; 

20 (B) exploitation of elders, including finan21 cial abuse and scams targeting elders; and 

22 (C) neglect of elders; and 

23 (2) assessing, addressing, and mitigating the 

24 physical and psychological trauma to victims of elder 

25 abuse. 


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1 SEC. 404. INTERSTATE INITIATIVES. 

2 (a) INTERSTATE AGREEMENTS AND COMPACTS.— 

3 The consent of Congress is given to any two or more 

4 States (acting through State agencies with jurisdiction 

5 over adult protective services) to enter into agreements or 

6 compacts for cooperative effort and mutual assistance— 

7 (1) in promoting the safety and well-being of el8 ders; and 

9 (2) in enforcing their respective laws and poli10 cies to promote such safety and well-being. 

11 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS ON INTERSTATE COMMU12 NICATION.—The Executive Director of the State Justice 

13 Institute, in consultation with State or local adult protec14 tive services, aging, social, and human services and law 

15 enforcement agencies, nationally recognized nonprofit as16 sociations with expertise in data sharing among criminal 

17 justice agencies and familiarity with the issues raised in 

18 elder abuse cases, and the Secretary of Health and 

19 Human Services, shall submit to Congress legislative pro20 posals relating to the facilitation of interstate agreements 

21 and compacts. 


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1 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 SEC. 501. COURT-APPOINTED GUARDIANSHIP OVERSIGHT 

3 ACTIVITIES UNDER THE ELDER JUSTICE ACT 

4 OF 2009. 

5 Section 2042(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 1397m–1(c)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(and, in the 

8 case of demonstration programs described in para9 graph (2)(E), to the highest courts of States)’’ after 

10 ‘‘States’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

13 (A), by inserting ‘‘(and the highest courts of 

14 States, in the case of demonstration programs 

15 described in subparagraph (E))’’ after ‘‘local 

16 units of government’’; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

18 after the semicolon; 

19 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 

20 subparagraph (F); and 

21 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (D), 

22 the following new subparagraph: 

23 ‘‘(E) subject to paragraph (3), programs 

24 to assess the fairness, effectiveness, timeliness, 

25 safety, integrity, and accessibility of adult 


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1 guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, 

2 including the appointment and the monitoring 

3 of the performance of court-appointed guard4 ians and conservators, and to implement 

5 changes deemed necessary as a result of the as6 sessments such as mandating background 

7 checks for all potential guardians and conserva8 tors, and implementing systems to enable the 

9 annual accountings and other required con10 servatorship and guardianship filings to be com11 pleted, filed, and reviewed electronically in order 

12 to simplify the filing process for conservators 

13 and guardians and better enable courts to iden14 tify discrepancies and detect fraud and the ex15 ploitation of protected persons; or’’; 

16 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and 

17 (5) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; 

18 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2), the fol19 lowing new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR COURT-APPOINTED

21 GUARDIANSHIP OVERSIGHT DEMONSTRATION PRO22 GRAMS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) AWARD OF GRANTS.—In awarding 

24 grants to the highest courts of States for dem25 onstration programs described in paragraph 


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1 (2)(E), the Secretary shall consider the rec2 ommendations of the Attorney General and the 

3 State Justice Institute, as established by sec4 tion 203 of the State Justice Institute Act of 

5 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10702). 

6 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The highest court 

7 of a State awarded a grant to conduct a dem8 onstration program described in paragraph 

9 (2)(E) shall collaborate with the State Unit on 

10 Aging for the State and the Adult Protective 

11 Services agency for the State in conducting the 

12 demonstration program.’’; 

13 (5) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by para14 graph (3) of this section), by inserting ‘‘(and, in the 

15 case of demonstration programs described in para16 graph (2)(E), the highest court of a State)’’ after ‘‘a 

17 State’’; and 

18 (6) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated), by 

19 inserting ‘‘(or, in the case of demonstration pro20 grams described in paragraph (2)(E), the highest 

21 court of a State)’’ after ‘‘State’’ each place it ap22 pears. 

23 SEC. 502. GAO REPORTS. 

24 (a) ELDER JUSTICE RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 

25 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 


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1 the Comptroller General of the United States shall review 

2 existing Federal programs and initiatives in the Federal 

3 criminal justice system relevant to elder justice and shall 

4 submit to Congress— 

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

6 and 

7 (2) any recommendations the Comptroller Gen8 eral determines are appropriate to improve elder jus9 tice in the United States. 

10 (b) REPORT ON ELDER ABUSE AND INTERNATIONAL

11 CRIMINAL ENTERPRISES.—Not later than 18 months 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

13 General of the United States shall submit to Congress a 

14 report on— 

15 (1) the extent to which older adults of the 

16 United States are being exploited in global drug 

17 trafficking schemes and other international criminal 

18 enterprises; 

19 (2) the extent to which the exploitation of older 

20 adults of the United States by international criminal 

21 enterprises has resulted in the incarceration of these 

22 citizens of the United States in foreign court sys23 tems, including a description of the total number of 

24 such cases pending in foreign court systems; and 


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1 (3) whether, and to what extent, the Federal 

2 Government has intervened with foreign officials on 

3 behalf of citizens of the United States who are elder 

4 abuse victims in international criminal enterprises, 

5 including a description, to the extent such data is 

6 available, of— 

7 (A) the total annual number of elder abuse 

8 cases pending in the United States and foreign 

9 court systems; and 

10 (B) the total annual number of citizens of 

11 the United States who are over the age of 60 

12 years and who are incarcerated overseas as a 

13 result of their exploitation in global drug traf14 ficking schemes or other international criminal 

15 enterprises. 

16 SEC. 503. OUTREACH TO STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCE17 MENT AGENCIES. 

18 The Attorney General shall submit to the Committee 

19 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 

20 Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report on ef21 forts by the Department of Justice to conduct outreach 

22 to State and local law enforcement agencies on the process 

23 for collaborating with the Federal Government for the 

24 purpose of investigating and prosecuting interstate and 

25 international elder financial exploitation cases. 


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1 SEC. 504. MODEL POWER OF ATTORNEY LEGISLATION. 

2 The Attorney General shall publish model power of 

3 attorney legislation for the purpose of preventing elder 

4 abuse. 

5 SEC. 505. BEST PRACTICES AND MODEL LEGISLATION FOR 

6 GUARDIANSHIP PROCEEDINGS. 

7 The Attorney General shall publish best practices for 

8 improving guardianship proceedings and model legislation 

9 relating to guardianship proceedings for the purpose of 

10 preventing elder abuse. 


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Calendar No. 23 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 178 

[Report No. 115–9] 

A BILL 

To prevent elder abuse and exploitation and imelder abuse and exploitation cases. prove the justice system’s response to victims in 

MARCH 23, 2017 

Reported without amendment 


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