II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2181 

To amend the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act to authorize 

the Elder Justice Initiative, to require that online resources of such 

initiative are made available in Spanish, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 22, 2021 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act 

to authorize the Elder Justice Initiative, to require that 

online resources of such initiative are made available 

in Spanish, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Elder Abuse Protection 

5 Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ELDER JUSTICE INITIATIVE. 

2 Section 101(b) of the Elder Abuse Prevention and 

3 Prosecution Act (34 U.S.C. 21711(b)) is amended to read 

4 as follows: 

5 ‘‘(b) ELDER JUSTICE INITIATIVE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PERMANENT INITIATIVE.—The Attorney 

7 General shall establish an Elder Justice Initiative to 

8 coordinate criminal enforcement and public engage9 ment efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect, and fi10 nancial fraud and scams that target elders, and to 

11 support and coordinate the efforts of the Elder Jus12 tice Coordinator designated under subsection (a). 

13 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ELDER JUSTICE

14 COORDINATOR.—The Attorney General shall des15 ignate an Elder Justice Coordinator within the De16 partment of Justice who, in addition to any other re17 sponsibilities, shall be responsible for— 

18 ‘‘(A) coordinating and supporting the law 

19 enforcement efforts and policy activities as the 

20 head of the Elder Justice Initiative for the De21 partment of Justice on elder justice issues; 

22 ‘‘(B) evaluating training models to deter23 mine best practices and creating or compiling 

24 and making publicly available replication guides 

25 and training materials for law enforcement offi26 cers, prosecutors, judges, emergency respondVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2181.IS S2181

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1 ers, individuals working in victim services, adult 

2 protective services, social services, and public 

3 safety, medical personnel, mental health per4 sonnel, financial services personnel, and any 

5 other individuals whose work may bring them in 

6 contact with elder abuse regarding how to— 

7 ‘‘(i) conduct investigations in elder 

8 abuse cases; 

9 ‘‘(ii) address evidentiary issues and 

10 other legal issues; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) appropriately assess, respond to, 

12 and interact with victims and witnesses in 

13 elder abuse cases, including in administra14 tive, civil, and criminal judicial pro15 ceedings; and 

16 ‘‘(C) carrying out such other duties as the 

17 Attorney General determines necessary in con18 nection with enhancing the understanding, pre19 vention, and detection of, and response to, elder 

20 abuse. 

21 ‘‘(3) ONLINE PUBLIC RESOURCES.—The Elder 

22 Justice Initiative shall maintain and publish on the 

23 internet, information aimed at protecting elders 

24 from fraudulent schemes and contain resources 

25 aimed at preventing elder abuse. 


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1 ‘‘(4) TELEPHONE HOTLINE.—The Attorney 

2 General, in consultation with the Elder Justice Coor3 dinator and the Office of Victims of Crime, shall es4 tablish a national elder fraud telephone hotline to 

5 provide support to victims and resources to help vic6 tims, including referrals to federal, local and state 

7 law enforcement where appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(5) TRIBAL CONSULTATION.—The Elder Jus9 tice Coordinator shall provide recommendations to 

10 the Office of Tribal Justice on a yearly basis on how 

11 to address elder abuse and elder fraud that takes 

12 place on federally recognized tribal reservations. 

13 ‘‘(6) LEGAL AID.—The Elder Justice Coordi14 nator shall consult with components of the Depart15 ment of Justice to promote the provision of civil 

16 legal aid to victims of elder abuse and elder fraud. 

17 ‘‘(7) SPANISH LANGUAGE RESOURCES.—The 

18 Attorney General shall ensure that Elder Justice 

19 Initiative online resources are available in Spanish 

20 and link linguistically appropriate resources to in21 form Spanish-speaking elders of Federal and State 

22 resources to combat fraud and abuse that targets 

23 the elderly, to include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) Spanish-language resources and links 

2 that help report instances of elder fraud and 

3 abuse to State and local law enforcement; and 

4 ‘‘(B) resources that help prevent financial 

5 exploitation of elders.’’. 

Æ 


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