IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 448 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

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. 


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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 Victims 

5 Act of 2009’’. 

6 TITLE I—ELDER ABUSE VICTIMS 

7 SEC. 101. ANALYSIS, REPORT, AND RECOMMENDATIONS RE8 LATED TO ELDER JUSTICE PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap10 propriations to carry out this section, the Attorney Gen11 eral, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

12 Human Services, shall carry out the following: 

13 (1) STUDY.—Conduct a study of laws and prac14 tices relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploi15 tation, which shall include— 

16 (A) a comprehensive description of State 

17 laws and practices relating to elder abuse, ne18 glect, and exploitation; 

19 (B) a comprehensive analysis of the effec20 tiveness of such State laws and practices; and 

21 (C) an examination of State laws and prac22 tices relating to specific elder abuse, neglect, 

23 and exploitation issues, including— 

24 (i) the definition of— 

25 (I) ‘‘elder’’; 


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1 (II) ‘‘abuse’’; 

2 (III) ‘‘neglect’’; 

3 (IV) ‘‘exploitation’’; and 

4 (V) such related terms the Attor5 ney General determines to be appro6 priate; 

7 (ii) mandatory reporting laws, with re8 spect to— 

9 (I) who is a mandated reporter; 

10 (II) to whom must they report 

11 and within what time frame; and 

12 (III) any consequences for not 

13 reporting; 

14 (iii) evidentiary, procedural, sen15 tencing, choice of remedies, and data re16 tention issues relating to pursuing cases 

17 relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploi18 tation; 

19 (iv) laws requiring reporting of all 

20 nursing home deaths to the county coroner 

21 or to some other individual or entity; 

22 (v) fiduciary laws, including guardian23 ship and power of attorney laws; 

24 (vi) laws that permit or encourage 

25 banks and bank employees to prevent and 


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1 report suspected elder abuse, neglect, and 

2 exploitation; 

3 (vii) laws relating to fraud and related 

4 activities in connection with mail, tele5 marketing, or the Internet; 

6 (viii) laws that may impede research 

7 on elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; 

8 (ix) practices relating to the enforce9 ment of laws relating to elder abuse, ne10 glect, and exploitation; and 

11 (x) practices relating to other aspects 

12 of elder justice. 

13 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—Develop objec14 tives, priorities, policies, and a long-term plan for 

15 elder justice programs and activities relating to— 

16 (A) prevention and detection of elder 

17 abuse, neglect, and exploitation; 

18 (B) intervention and treatment for victims 

19 of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; 

20 (C) training, evaluation, and research re21 lated to elder justice programs and activities; 

22 and 

23 (D) improvement of the elder justice sys24 tem in the United States. 


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

2 date of enactment of this Act, submit to the chair3 man and ranking member of the Special Committee 

4 on Aging of the Senate, and the Speaker and minor5 ity leader of the House of Representatives, and the 

6 Secretary of Health and Human Services, and make 

7 available to the States, a report that contains— 

8 (A) the findings of the study conducted 

9 under paragraph (1); 

10 (B) a description of the objectives, prior11 ities, policies, and a long-term plan developed 

12 under paragraph (2); and 

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

14 best practices used by States to develop, imple15 ment, maintain, and improve elder justice sys16 tems, based on such findings. 

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

18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp19 troller General shall review existing Federal programs and 

20 initiatives in the Federal criminal justice system relevant 

21 to elder justice and shall submit to Congress— 

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

23 and 


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1 (2) any recommendations the Comptroller Gen2 eral determines are appropriate to improve elder jus3 tice in the United States. 

4 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

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

7 2015. 

8 SEC. 102. VICTIM ADVOCACY GRANTS. 

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

10 after consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

11 Human Services, may award grants to eligible entities to 

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

13 and exploitation. 

14 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Funds awarded pur15 suant to subsection (a) shall be used for pilot programs 

16 that— 

17 (1) develop programs for and provide training 

18 to health care, social, and protective services pro19 viders, law enforcement, fiduciaries (including 

20 guardians), judges and court personnel, and victim 

21 advocates; and 

22 (2) examine special approaches designed to 

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

24 and exploitation. 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

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

4 2015. 

5 SEC. 103. SUPPORTING LOCAL PROSECUTORS AND COURTS 

6 IN ELDER JUSTICE MATTERS. 

7 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail8 ability of appropriations under this section, the Attorney 

9 General, after consultation with the Secretary of Health 

10 and Human Services, shall award grants to eligible enti11 ties to provide training, technical assistance, policy devel12 opment, multidisciplinary coordination, and other types of 

13 support to local prosecutors and courts handling elder jus14 tice-related cases, including— 

15 (1) funding specially designated elder justice 

16 positions or units in local prosecutors’ offices and 

17 local courts; and 

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

19 Prosecution of Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploi20 tation to advise and support local prosecutors and 

21 courts nationwide in the pursuit of cases involving 

22 elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. 

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 


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1 $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 

2 2015. 

3 SEC. 104. SUPPORTING STATE PROSECUTORS AND COURTS 

4 IN ELDER JUSTICE MATTERS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap6 propriations under this section, the Attorney General, 

7 after consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services, shall award grants to eligible entities to 

9 provide training, technical assistance, multidisciplinary co10 ordination, policy development, and other types of support 

11 to State prosecutors and courts, employees of State Attor12 neys General, and Medicaid Fraud Control Units handling 

13 elder justice-related matters. 

14 (b) CREATING SPECIALIZED POSITIONS.—Grants 

15 under this section may be made for— 

16 (1) the establishment of specially designated 

17 elder justice positions or units in State prosecutors’ 

18 offices and State courts; and 

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

20 justice-related cases, training, technical assistance, 

21 and policy development for State prosecutors and 

22 courts. 

23 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 


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1 $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 

2 2015. 

3 SEC. 105. SUPPORTING LAW ENFORCEMENT IN ELDER JUS4 TICE MATTERS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap6 propriations under this section, the Attorney General, 

7 after consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services, the Postmaster General, and the Chief 

9 Postal Inspector for the United States Postal Inspection 

10 Service, shall award grants to eligible entities to provide 

11 training, technical assistance, multidisciplinary coordina12 tion, policy development, and other types of support to po13 lice, sheriffs, detectives, public safety officers, corrections 

14 personnel, and other first responders who handle elder jus15 tice-related matters, to fund specially designated elder jus16 tice positions or units designed to support first responders 

17 in elder justice matters. 

18 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

20 $8,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 

21 2015. 

22 SEC. 106. EVALUATIONS. 

23 (a) GRANTS UNDER THIS TITLE.— 


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

2 programs under this title, the Attorney General 

3 shall— 

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

5 a portion of the funds made available through 

6 the grant to conduct a validated evaluation of 

7 the effectiveness of the activities carried out 

8 through the grant by such recipient; or 

9 (B) as the Attorney General considers ap10 propriate, use a portion of the funds available 

11 under this title for a grant program under this 

12 title to provide assistance to an eligible entity to 

13 conduct a validated evaluation of the effective14 ness of the activities carried out through such 

15 grant program by each of the grant recipients. 

16 (2) APPLICATIONS.— 

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

18 a grant under this title, an entity shall submit 

19 an application to the Attorney General at such 

20 time, in such manner, and containing such in21 formation as the Attorney General may require, 

22 which shall include— 

23 (i) a proposal for the evaluation re24 quired in accordance with paragraph 

25 (1)(A); and 


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1 (ii) the amount of assistance under 

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

3 if any. 

4 (B) REVIEW AND ASSISTANCE.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—An employee of the 

6 Department of Justice, after consultation 

7 with an employee of the Department of 

8 Health and Human Services with expertise 

9 in evaluation methodology, shall review 

10 each application described in subparagraph 

11 (A) and determine whether the method12 ology described in the proposal under sub13 paragraph (A)(i) is adequate to gather 

14 meaningful information. 

15 (ii) DENIAL.—If the reviewing em16 ployee determines the methodology de17 scribed in such proposal is inadequate, the 

18 reviewing employee shall recommend that 

19 the Attorney General deny the application 

20 for the grant, or make recommendations 

21 for how the application should be amended. 

22 (iii) NOTICE TO APPLICANT.—If the 

23 Attorney General denies the application on 

24 the basis of such proposal, the Attorney 

25 General shall inform the applicant of the 


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1 reasons the application was denied, and 

2 offer assistance to the applicant in modi3 fying the proposal. 

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

5 appropriations under this section, the Attorney General 

6 shall award grants to appropriate entities to conduct vali7 dated evaluations of grant activities that are funded by 

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

9 to reduce elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. 

10 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

12 $7,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 

13 2015. 

14 SEC. 107. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this title: 

16 (1) ELDER.—The term ‘‘elder’’ means an indi17 vidual age 60 or older. 

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

19 means— 

20 (A) from a societal perspective, efforts 

21 to— 

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

23 and prosecute elder abuse, neglect, and ex24 ploitation; and 


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1 (ii) protect elders with diminished ca2 pacity while maximizing their autonomy; 

3 and 

4 (B) from an individual perspective, the rec5 ognition of an elder’s rights, including the right 

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

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

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

9 Indian tribe or tribal organization, or any other pub10 lic or nonprofit private entity that is engaged in and 

11 has expertise in issues relating to elder justice or a 

12 field necessary to promote elder justice efforts. 

13 TITLE II—ELDER SERVE VICTIM 

14 GRANT PROGRAMS 

15 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF ELDER SERVE VICTIM 

16 GRANT PROGRAMS. 

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

18 through the Director of the Office of Victims of Crime 

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

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

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

22 Serve Victim grant program (in this section referred to 

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

24 to establish programs to facilitate and coordinate proVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:35 Feb 13, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.RFS H448

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1 grams described in subsection (e) for victims of elder 

2 abuse. 

3 (b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTEES.— 

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

5 entity must meet the following criteria: 

6 (1) ELIGIBLE CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE PRO7 GRAM.—The entity is a crime victim assistance pro8 gram receiving a grant under the Victims of Crime 

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

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

11 grant sought under this section. 

12 (2) COORDINATION WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY

13 BASED AGENCIES AND SERVICES.—The entity shall 

14 demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director that 

15 such entity has a record of community coordination 

16 or established contacts with other county and local 

17 services that serve elderly individuals. 

18 (3) ABILITY TO CREATE ECRT ON TIMELY

19 BASIS.—The entity shall demonstrate to the satisfac20 tion of the Director the ability of the entity to cre21 ate, not later than 6 months after receiving such 

22 grant, an Emergency Crisis Response Team pro23 gram described in subsection (e)(1) and the pro24 grams described in subsection (e)(2). 


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1 For purposes of meeting the criteria described in para2 graph (2), for each year an entity receives a grant under 

3 this section the entity shall provide a record of community 

4 coordination or established contacts described in such 

5 paragraph through memoranda of understanding, con6 tracts, subcontracts, and other such documentation. 

7 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

8 (1) CONSULTATION.—Each program established 

9 pursuant to this section shall be developed and car10 ried out in consultation with the following entities, 

11 as appropriate: 

12 (A) Relevant Federal, State, and local pub13 lic and private agencies and entities, relating to 

14 elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation and other 

15 crimes against elderly individuals. 

16 (B) Local law enforcement including po17 lice, sheriffs, detectives, public safety officers, 

18 corrections personnel, prosecutors, medical ex19 aminers, investigators, and coroners. 

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

21 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—Grants under the Pro22 gram shall be issued for a three-year period. 

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

24 out in six geographically and demographically di25 verse locations, taking into account— 


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1 (A) the number of elderly individuals resid2 ing in or near an area; and 

3 (B) the difficulty of access to immediate 

4 short-term housing and health services for vic5 tims of elder abuse. 

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

7 each program established pursuant to this section may 

8 employ a staff to assist in creating an Emergency Crisis 

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

10 (e) USE OF GRANTS.— 

11 (1) EMERGENCY CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM.— 

12 Each entity that receives a grant under this section 

13 shall use such grant to establish an Emergency Cri14 sis Response Team program by not later than the 

15 date that is six months after the entity receives the 

16 grant. Under such program the following shall 

17 apply: 

18 (A) Such program shall include immediate, 

19 short-term emergency services, including shel20 ter, care services, food, clothing, transportation 

21 to medical or legal appointment as appropriate, 

22 and any other life services deemed necessary by 

23 the entity for victims of elder abuse. 

24 (B) Such program shall provide services to 

25 victims of elder abuse, including those who have 


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1 been referred to the program through the adult 

2 protective services agency of the local law en3 forcement or any other relevant law enforce4 ment or referral agency. 

5 (C) A victim of elder abuse may not re6 ceive short-term housing under the program for 

7 more than 30 consecutive days. 

8 (D) The entity that established the pro9 gram shall enter into arrangements with the 

10 relevant local law enforcement agencies so that 

11 the program receives quarterly reports from 

12 such agencies on elder abuse. 

13 (2) ADDITIONAL SERVICES REQUIRED TO BE

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

15 an entity receives a grant under this section, such 

16 entity shall have established the following programs 

17 (and community collaborations to support such pro18 grams): 

19 (A) COUNSELING.—A program that pro20 vides counseling and assistance for victims of 

21 elder abuse accessing health care, educational, 

22 pension, or other benefits for which seniors may 

23 be eligible under Federal or applicable State 

24 law. 


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1 (B) MENTAL HEALTH SCREENING.—A 

2 program that provides mental health screenings 

3 for victims of elder abuse to identify and seek 

4 assistance for potential mental health disorders 

5 such as depression or substance abuse. 

6 (C) EMERGENCY LEGAL ADVOCACY.—A 

7 program that provides legal advocacy for vic8 tims of elder abuse and, as appropriate, their 

9 families. 

10 (D) JOB PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE.—A pro11 gram that provides job placement assistance 

12 and information on employment, training, or 

13 volunteer opportunities for victims of elder 

14 abuse. 

15 (E) BEREAVEMENT COUNSELING.—A pro16 gram that provides bereavement counseling for 

17 families of victims of elder abuse. 

18 (F) OTHER SERVICES.—A program that 

19 provides such other care, services, and assist20 ance as the entity considers appropriate for 

21 purposes of the program. 

22 (f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Director shall 

23 enter into contracts with private entities with experience 

24 in elder abuse coordination or victim services to provide 


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1 such technical assistance to grantees under this section 

2 as the entity determines appropriate. 

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

4 months after the commencement of the Program, and an5 nually thereafter, the entity shall submit a report to the 

6 Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on the 

7 Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and the Chair8 man and Ranking Member of the Special Committee on 

9 Aging of the Senate. Each report shall include the fol10 lowing: 

11 (1) A description and assessment of the imple12 mentation of the Program. 

13 (2) An assessment of the effectiveness of the 

14 Program in providing care and services to seniors, 

15 including a comparative assessment of effectiveness 

16 for each of the locations designated under subsection 

17 (c)(3) for the Program. 

18 (3) An assessment of the effectiveness of the 

19 coordination for programs described in subsection 

20 (e) in contributing toward the effectiveness of the 

21 Program. 

22 (4) Such recommendations as the entity con23 siders appropriate for modifications of the Program 

24 in order to better provide care and services to sen25 iors. 


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

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

3 means any type of violence or abuse, whether mental 

4 or physical, inflicted upon an elderly individual, and 

5 any type of criminal financial exploitation of an el6 derly individual. 

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

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

9 older. 

10 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

11 authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Jus12 tice to carry out this section $3,000,000 for each of the 

13 fiscal years 2009 through 2011. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 11, 

2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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