I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 448 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2009 

Mr. SESTAK (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Mr. 

KING of New York) introduced the following bill; which was 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 one 

15 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp16 troller General shall report to Congress any recommenda17 tions with respect to any Federal legislation, regulations, 

18 or programs determined by the Comptroller General to be 

19 necessary to improve elder justice in the United States. 

20 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 

23 2015. 


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1 SEC. 102. VICTIM ADVOCACY GRANTS. 

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

3 after consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

4 Human Services, may award grants to eligible entities to 

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

6 and exploitation. 

7 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Funds awarded pur8 suant to subsection (a) shall be used for pilot programs 

9 that— 

10 (1) develop programs for and provide training 

11 to health care, social, and protective services pro12 viders, law enforcement, fiduciaries (including 

13 guardians), judges and court personnel, and victim 

14 advocates; and 

15 (2) examine special approaches designed to 

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

17 and exploitation. 

18 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

20 $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 

21 2015. 

22 SEC. 103. SUPPORTING LOCAL PROSECUTORS AND COURTS 

23 IN ELDER JUSTICE MATTERS. 

24 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail25 ability of appropriations under this section, the Attorney 

26 General, after consultation with the Secretary of Health 


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1 and Human Services, shall award grants to eligible enti2 ties to provide training, technical assistance, policy devel3 opment, multidisciplinary coordination, and other types of 

4 support to local prosecutors and courts handling elder jus5 tice-related cases, including— 

6 (1) funding specially designated elder justice 

7 positions or units in local prosecutors’ offices and 

8 local courts; and 

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

10 Prosecution of Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploi11 tation to advise and support local prosecutors and 

12 courts nationwide in the pursuit of cases involving 

13 elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. 

14 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

16 $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 

17 2015. 

18 SEC. 104. SUPPORTING STATE PROSECUTORS AND COURTS 

19 IN ELDER JUSTICE MATTERS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap21 propriations under this section, the Attorney General, 

22 after consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

23 Human Services, shall award grants to eligible entities to 

24 provide training, technical assistance, multidisciplinary co25 ordination, policy development, and other types of support 


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1 to State prosecutors and courts, employees of State Attor2 neys General, and Medicaid Fraud Control Units handling 

3 elder justice-related matters. 

4 (b) CREATING SPECIALIZED POSITIONS.—Grants 

5 under this section may be made for— 

6 (1) the establishment of specially designated 

7 elder justice positions or units in State prosecutors’ 

8 offices and State courts; and 

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

10 justice-related cases, training, technical assistance, 

11 and policy development for State prosecutors and 

12 courts. 

13 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 

16 2015. 

17 SEC. 105. SUPPORTING LAW ENFORCEMENT IN ELDER JUS18 TICE MATTERS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap20 propriations under this section, the Attorney General, 

21 after consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

22 Human Services, the Postmaster General, and the Chief 

23 Postal Inspector for the United States Postal Inspection 

24 Service, shall award grants to eligible entities to provide 

25 training, technical assistance, multidisciplinary coordinaVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:03 Jan 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448

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1 tion, policy development, and other types of support to po2 lice, sheriffs, detectives, public safety officers, corrections 

3 personnel, and other first responders who handle elder jus4 tice-related matters, to fund specially designated elder jus5 tice positions or units designed to support first responders 

6 in elder justice matters. 

7 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

9 $8,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 

10 2015. 

11 SEC. 106. EVALUATIONS. 

12 (a) GRANTS UNDER THIS TITLE.— 

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

14 programs under this title, the Attorney General 

15 shall— 

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

17 a portion of the funds made available through 

18 the grant to conduct a validated evaluation of 

19 the effectiveness of the activities carried out 

20 through the grant by such recipient; or 

21 (B) as the Attorney General considers ap22 propriate, use a portion of the funds available 

23 under this title for a grant program under this 

24 title to provide assistance to an eligible entity to 

25 conduct a validated evaluation of the effectiveVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:03 Jan 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448

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1 ness of the activities carried out through such 

2 grant program by each of the grant recipients. 

3 (2) APPLICATIONS.— 

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

5 a grant under this title, an entity shall submit 

6 an application to the Attorney General at such 

7 time, in such manner, and containing such in8 formation as the Attorney General may require, 

9 which shall include— 

10 (i) a proposal for the evaluation re11 quired in accordance with paragraph 

12 (1)(A); and 

13 (ii) the amount of assistance under 

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

15 if any. 

16 (B) REVIEW AND ASSISTANCE.— 

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

18 Department of Justice, after consultation 

19 with an employee of the Department of 

20 Health and Human Services with expertise 

21 in evaluation methodology, shall review 

22 each application described in subparagraph 

23 (A) and determine whether the method24 ology described in the proposal under subVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:03 Jan 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448

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1 paragraph (A)(i) is adequate to gather 

2 meaningful information. 

3 (ii) DENIAL.—If the reviewing em4 ployee determines the methodology de5 scribed in such proposal is inadequate, the 

6 reviewing employee shall recommend that 

7 the Attorney General deny the application 

8 for the grant, or make recommendations 

9 for how the application should be amended. 

10 (iii) NOTICE TO APPLICANT.—If the 

11 Attorney General denies the application on 

12 the basis of such proposal, the Attorney 

13 General shall inform the applicant of the 

14 reasons the application was denied, and 

15 offer assistance to the applicant in modi16 fying the proposal. 

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

18 appropriations under this section, the Attorney General 

19 shall award grants to appropriate entities to conduct vali20 dated evaluations of grant activities that are funded by 

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

22 to reduce elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. 

23 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 


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1 $7,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 

2 2015. 

3 SEC. 107. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this title: 

5 (1) ELDER.—The term ‘‘elder’’ means an indi6 vidual age 60 or older. 

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

8 means— 

9 (A) from a societal perspective, efforts 

10 to— 

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

12 and prosecute elder abuse, neglect, and ex13 ploitation; and 

14 (ii) protect elders with diminished ca15 pacity while maximizing their autonomy; 

16 and 

17 (B) from an individual perspective, the rec18 ognition of an elder’s rights, including the right 

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

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

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

22 Indian tribe or tribal organization, or any other pub23 lic or nonprofit private entity that is engaged in and 

24 has expertise in issues relating to elder justice or a 

25 field necessary to promote elder justice efforts. 


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1 TITLE II—ELDER SERVE VICTIM 

2 GRANT PROGRAMS 

3 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF ELDER SERVE VICTIM 

4 GRANT PROGRAMS. 

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

6 through the Director of the Office of Victims of Crime 

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

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

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

10 Serve Victim grant program (in this section referred to 

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

12 to establish programs to facilitate and coordinate pro13 grams described in subsection (e) for victims of elder 

14 abuse. 

15 (b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTEES.— 

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

17 entity must meet the following criteria: 

18 (1) ELIGIBLE CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE PRO19 GRAM.—The entity is a crime victim assistance pro20 gram receiving a grant under the Victims of Crime 

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

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

23 grant sought under this section. 

24 (2) COORDINATION WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY

25 BASED AGENCIES AND SERVICES.—The entity shall 


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1 demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director that 

2 such entity has a record of community coordination 

3 or established contacts with other county and local 

4 services that serve elderly individuals. 

5 (3) ABILITY TO CREATE ECRT ON TIMELY

6 BASIS.—The entity shall demonstrate to the satisfac7 tion of the Director the ability of the entity to cre8 ate, not later than 6 months after receiving such 

9 grant, an Emergency Crisis Response Team pro10 gram described in subsection (e)(1) and the pro11 grams described in subsection (e)(2). 

12 For purposes of meeting the criteria described in para13 graph (2), for each year an entity receives a grant under 

14 this section the entity shall provide a record of community 

15 coordination or established contacts described in such 

16 paragraph through memoranda of understanding, con17 tracts, subcontracts, and other such documentation. 

18 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

19 (1) CONSULTATION.—Each program established 

20 pursuant to this section shall be developed and car21 ried out in consultation with the following entities, 

22 as appropriate: 

23 (A) Relevant Federal, State, and local pub24 lic and private agencies and entities, relating to 


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1 elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation and other 

2 crimes against elderly individuals. 

3 (B) Local law enforcement including po4 lice, sheriffs, detectives, public safety officers, 

5 corrections personnel, prosecutors, medical ex6 aminers, investigators, and coroners. 

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

8 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—Grants under the Pro9 gram shall be issued for a three-year period. 

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

11 out in six geographically and demographically di12 verse locations, taking into account— 

13 (A) the number of elderly individuals resid14 ing in or near an area; and 

15 (B) the difficulty of access to immediate 

16 short-term housing and health services for vic17 tims of elder abuse. 

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

19 each program established pursuant to this section may 

20 employ a staff to assist in creating an Emergency Crisis 

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

22 (e) USE OF GRANTS.— 

23 (1) EMERGENCY CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM.— 

24 Each entity that receives a grant under this section 

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1 sis Response Team program by not later than the 

2 date that is six months after the entity receives the 

3 grant. Under such program the following shall 

4 apply: 

5 (A) Such program shall include immediate, 

6 short-term emergency services, including shel7 ter, care services, food, clothing, transportation 

8 to medical or legal appointment as appropriate, 

9 and any other life services deemed necessary by 

10 the entity for victims of elder abuse. 

11 (B) Such program shall provide services to 

12 victims of elder abuse, including those who have 

13 been referred to the program through the adult 

14 protective services agency of the local law en15 forcement or any other relevant law enforce16 ment or referral agency. 

17 (C) A victim of elder abuse may not re18 ceive short-term housing under the program for 

19 more than 30 consecutive days. 

20 (D) The entity that established the pro21 gram shall enter into arrangements with the 

22 relevant local law enforcement agencies so that 

23 the program receives quarterly reports from 

24 such agencies on elder abuse. 


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1 (2) ADDITIONAL SERVICES REQUIRED TO BE

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

3 an entity receives a grant under this section, such 

4 entity shall have established the following programs 

5 (and community collaborations to support such pro6 grams): 

7 (A) COUNSELING.—A program that pro8 vides counseling and assistance for victims of 

9 elder abuse accessing health care, educational, 

10 pension, or other benefits for which seniors may 

11 be eligible under Federal or applicable State 

12 law. 

13 (B) MENTAL HEALTH SCREENING.—A 

14 program that provides mental health screenings 

15 for victims of elder abuse to identify and seek 

16 assistance for potential mental health disorders 

17 such as depression or substance abuse. 

18 (C) EMERGENCY LEGAL ADVOCACY.—A 

19 program that provides legal advocacy for vic20 tims of elder abuse and, as appropriate, their 

21 families. 

22 (D) JOB PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE.—A pro23 gram that provides job placement assistance 

24 and information on employment, training, or 


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1 volunteer opportunities for victims of elder 

2 abuse. 

3 (E) BEREAVEMENT COUNSELING.—A pro4 gram that provides bereavement counseling for 

5 families of victims of elder abuse. 

6 (F) OTHER SERVICES.—A program that 

7 provides such other care, services, and assist8 ance as the entity considers appropriate for 

9 purposes of the program. 

10 (f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Director shall 

11 enter into contracts with private entities with experience 

12 in elder abuse coordination or victim services to provide 

13 such technical assistance to grantees under this section 

14 as the entity determines appropriate. 

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

16 months after the commencement of the Program, and an17 nually thereafter, the entity shall submit a report to the 

18 Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on the 

19 Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and the Chair20 man and Ranking Member of the Special Committee on 

21 Aging of the Senate. Each report shall include the fol22 lowing: 

23 (1) A description and assessment of the imple24 mentation of the Program. 


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1 (2) An assessment of the effectiveness of the 

2 Program in providing care and services to seniors, 

3 including a comparative assessment of effectiveness 

4 for each of the locations designated under subsection 

5 (c)(3) for the Program. 

6 (3) An assessment of the effectiveness of the 

7 coordination for programs described in subsection 

8 (e) in contributing toward the effectiveness of the 

9 Program. 

10 (4) Such recommendations as the entity con11 siders appropriate for modifications of the Program 

12 in order to better provide care and services to sen13 iors. 

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

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

16 means any type of violence or abuse, whether mental 

17 or physical, inflicted upon an elderly individual, and 

18 any type of criminal financial exploitation of an el19 derly individual. 

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

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

22 older. 

23 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

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1 tice to carry out this section $3,000,000 for each of the 

2 fiscal years 2009 through 2011. 

Æ 


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