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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4963 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4963

 To better protect, serve, and advance the rights of victims of elder 
 abuse and exploitation by establishing a program to encourage States 
and other qualified entities to create jobs designed to hold offenders 
accountable, enhance the capacity of the justice system to investigate, 
pursue, and prosecute elder abuse cases, identify existing resources to 
leverage to the extent possible, and assure data collection, research, 
and evaluation to promote the efficacy and efficiency of the activities 
                         described in this Act.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 15, 2016

 Mr. King of New York (for himself, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Bonamici, and 
 Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To better protect, serve, and advance the rights of victims of elder 
 abuse and exploitation by establishing a program to encourage States 
and other qualified entities to create jobs designed to hold offenders 
accountable, enhance the capacity of the justice system to investigate, 
pursue, and prosecute elder abuse cases, identify existing resources to 
leverage to the extent possible, and assure data collection, research, 
and evaluation to promote the efficacy and efficiency of the activities 
                         described in this Act.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the terms ``abuse'', ``elder'', ``elder justice'', 
        ``exploitation'', and ``neglect'' have the meanings given those 
        terms in section 2011 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1397j);
            (2) the term ``elder abuse'' includes neglect and 
        exploitation;
            (3) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office 
        appointed under section 3(b);
            (4) the term ``Office'' means the Office of Elder Justice 
        established under section 3(a);
            (5) the term ``State'' means each of the several States of 
        the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
        of Puerto Rico, and any other territory of possession of the 
        United States; and
            (6) the term ``task force'' means a multidisciplinary task 
        force on elder justice established or designated under section 
        5(c)(1).

SEC. 3. OFFICE OF ELDER JUSTICE.

    (a) In General.--There is established within the Department of 
Justice an office to be known as the Office of Elder Justice, which 
shall address issues relating to elder abuse.
    (b) Director.--The Office shall be headed by a Director who shall--
            (1) be appointed by the President, by and with the advice 
        and consent of the Senate, from among individuals with 
        experience and expertise in elder abuse; and
            (2) serve as counsel to the Attorney General on elder 
        justice and elder abuse.
    (c) Responsibilities.--The Director shall--
            (1) create, compile, evaluate, and disseminate materials 
        and information, and provide the necessary training and 
        technical assistance, to assist States and units of local 
        government in--
                    (A) investigating, prosecuting, pursuing, 
                preventing, understanding, and mitigating the impact 
                of--
                            (i) physical, sexual, and psychological 
                        abuse of elders;
                            (ii) exploitation of elders, including 
                        financial abuse and scams targeting elders; and
                            (iii) neglect of elders; and
                    (B) assessing, addressing, and mitigating the 
                physical and psychological trauma to victims of elder 
                abuse;
            (2) collect data and perform an evidence-based evaluation 
        to--
                    (A) assure the efficacy of measures and methods 
                intended to prevent, detect, respond to, or redress 
                elder abuse; and
                    (B) evaluate the number of victims of elder abuse 
                in each State and the extent to which the needs of the 
                victims are served by crime victim services, programs, 
                and sources of funding;
            (3) publish a report, on an annual basis, that describes 
        the results of the evaluations conducted under paragraphs (1) 
        and (2), and submit the report to each Federal agency, each 
        State, and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Special 
        Committee on Aging of the Senate and the Committee on the 
        Judiciary of the House of Representatives;
            (4) evaluate training models to determine best practices, 
        create replication guides, create training materials for law 
        enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, emergency 
        responders, individuals working in victim services, adult 
        protective services, social services, and public safety, 
        medical personnel, mental health personnel, financial services 
        personnel, and any other individuals whose work may bring them 
        in contact with elder abuse regarding how to--
                    (A) conduct investigations in elder abuse cases;
                    (B) address evidentiary issues and other legal 
                issues; and
                    (C) appropriately assess, respond to, and interact 
                with victims and witnesses in elder abuse cases, 
                including in administrative, civil, and criminal 
                judicial proceedings;
            (5) conduct, and update on a regular basis, a study of laws 
        and practices relating to elder abuse, including--
                    (A) a comprehensive description of State laws and 
                practices;
                    (B) an analysis of the effectiveness of State laws 
                and practices, including--
                            (i) whether the State laws are enforced; 
                        and
                            (ii) if enforced--
                                    (I) how the State laws are 
                                enforced; and
                                    (II) how enforcement of the State 
                                laws has effected elder abuse within 
                                the State;
                    (C) a review of State definitions of the terms 
                ``abuse'', ``neglect'', and ``exploitation'' in the 
                context of elder abuse cases;
                    (D) a review of State laws that mandate reporting 
                of elder abuse, including adult protective services 
                laws, laws that require the reporting of nursing home 
                deaths or suspicious deaths of elders to coroners or 
                medical examiners, and other pertinent reporting laws, 
                that analyzes--
                            (i) the impact and efficacy of the State 
                        laws;
                            (ii) whether the State laws are enforced;
                            (iii) the levels of compliance with the 
                        State laws; and
                            (iv) the response to, and actions taken as 
                        a result of, reports made under the State laws;
                    (E) a review of State evidentiary, procedural, 
                sentencing, choice of remedies, and data retention 
                issues relating to elder abuse;
                    (F) a review of State fiduciary laws, including 
                laws relating to guardianship, conservatorship, and 
                power of attorney;
                    (G) a review of State laws that permit or encourage 
                employees of depository institutions (as defined in 
                section 3(c)(1) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act 
                (12 U.S.C. 1813(c)(1)) and State credit unions (as 
                defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act 
                (12 U.S.C. 1752)) to prevent and report suspected elder 
                abuse;
                    (H) a review of State laws used in civil court 
                proceedings to prevent and address elder abuse;
                    (I) a review of State laws relating to fraud and 
                related activities in connection with mail, 
                telemarketing, the Internet, or health care;
                    (J) a review of State laws that create programs, 
                offices, or entities that address or respond to elder 
                abuse; and
                    (K) an analysis of any other State laws relating to 
                elder abuse; and
            (6) carry out such other duties as the Attorney General 
        determines necessary in connection with enhancing the 
        understanding, prevention, and detection of, and response to, 
        elder abuse.

SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION.

    The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, shall, on an annual basis--
            (1) collect from Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
        agencies and prosecutor offices statistical data relating to 
        the incidence of elder abuse, including data relating to--
                    (A) the number of elder abuse cases referred to law 
                enforcement agencies, adult protective services, or any 
                other State entity tasked with addressing elder abuse;
                    (B) the number and types of such cases filed in 
                Federal, State, and local courts; and
                    (C) the outcomes of the cases described in 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B) and the reasons for such 
                outcomes;
            (2) identify common data points among Federal, State, and 
        local law enforcement agencies and prosecutor offices that 
        would allow for the collection of uniform national data related 
        to elder abuse;
            (3) publish a summary of the data collected under 
        paragraphs (1) and (2);
            (4) identify--
                    (A) the types of data relevant to elder abuse that 
                should be collected; and
                    (B) what entity is most capable of collecting the 
                data described in subparagraph (A); and
            (5) develop recommendations for collecting additional data 
        relating to elder abuse.

SEC. 5. ELDER VICTIMS GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Director may make grants and provide technical 
assistance to not more than 15 States to assist the States in 
developing, establishing, and operating programs designed to improve--
            (1) the response to cases of elder abuse in a manner that 
        limits additional trauma to the elder victims; and
            (2) the investigation and prosecution of cases of elder 
        abuse.
    (b) Eligibility.--A State is eligible to receive a grant under this 
section if the State--
            (1) has a crime victims compensation program that meets the 
        criteria described in section 1403(b) of the Victims of Crime 
        Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10602(b)); and
            (2) is in compliance with subsection (c).
    (c) Establishment of Task Force.--
            (1) In general.--In order to be eligible to receive a grant 
        under this section, a State shall establish or, subject to 
        paragraph (5), designate a multidisciplinary task force on 
        elder justice that is composed of professionals with knowledge 
        and experience relating to the criminal justice system and 
        issues of elder abuse.
            (2) Membership requirement.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (6), a task force established or designated in 
        accordance with this subsection shall include--
                    (A) representatives from law enforcement agencies, 
                such as police officers, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, 
                detectives, public safety officers, corrections 
                officers, investigators and victims' service personnel;
                    (B) a representative from the crime victim 
                compensation program of the State;
                    (C) judicial and legal officers, including 
                individuals who work on cases of elder abuse;
                    (D) elder justice and elder law advocates, 
                including local agencies on aging and local public and 
                private agencies and entities relating to elder abuse 
                and other crimes against elders;
                    (E) health and mental health professionals;
                    (F) representatives from social services agencies 
                in the State; and
                    (G) family members of victims of elder abuse.
            (3) Review and evaluation.--A task force established or 
        designated in accordance with this subsection shall--
                    (A) review and evaluate the investigative, 
                administrative, and judicial responses to cases of 
                elder abuse in the State;
                    (B) make recommendations to the State based on the 
                review and evaluation conducted under subparagraph (A), 
                including recommendations relating to--
                            (i) modifying the investigative, 
                        administrative, and judicial response to cases 
                        of elder abuse in a manner that--
                                    (I) reduces additional trauma to 
                                the elder victim; and
                                    (II) ensures procedural fairness to 
                                the individual accused of elder abuse; 
                                and
                            (ii) experimental, model, and demonstration 
                        programs for testing innovative approaches and 
                        techniques that may improve the rate of 
                        successful prosecution or enhance the 
                        effectiveness of judicial and administrative 
                        action in elder abuse cases, and which ensure 
                        procedural fairness to the accused, including a 
                        determination of which programs are most 
                        effective; and
                    (C) submit the recommendations described in 
                subparagraph (B) to the Office.
            (4) Task force alternative.--If determined appropriate by 
        the Director, a State may comply with the eligibility 
        requirement described in paragraph (1) by designating a 
        commission or task force established by a State before January 
        1, 2013, with membership and functions comparable to those 
        described in paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively, as the task 
        force on elder justice required under such paragraph (1).
            (5) Task force membership waiver.--The Director may waive, 
        in part, the task force membership requirements under paragraph 
        (2) for a State that demonstrates a need for the waiver.
    (d) Use of Funds.--Grant funds awarded under this section may be 
used by a State to support--
            (1) State and local prosecutor offices and courts in elder 
        abuse matters, including--
                    (A) hiring or paying salary and benefits for 
                employees and establishing or implementing units 
                designated to work on elder justice issues in State 
                prosecutors' offices and State courts; and
                    (B) hiring or paying salary and benefits for an 
                employee to coordinate elder justice-related cases, 
                training, technical assistance, and policy development 
                for State and local prosecutors and courts;
            (2) State and local law enforcement agencies investigating 
        cases of elder abuse; and
            (3) adult protective services.
    (e) State Reports.--Not later than 1 year after a State receives 
grant funds under this section, the State shall submit to the Director 
a report that includes--
            (1) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the grant 
        program;
            (2) a list of all laws of the State relating to elder 
        abuse; and
            (3) any other information the Director may require.
    (f) Evaluation and Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
which the Director makes available the final funds awarded under a 
grant under this section, the Director shall--
            (1) evaluate the grant program established under this 
        section; and
            (2) submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
        report on the evaluation conducted under paragraph (1), 
        including recommendations on whether the grant program should 
        be continued.

SEC. 6. ELDER JUSTICE COORDINATING COUNCIL.

    Section 2021(b)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1397k(b)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ``(or the Attorney General's 
designee)'' and inserting ``(or the Director of the Office of Elder 
Justice)''.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2019. Such sums shall 
be derived from amounts appropriated in each such fiscal year for 
General Administration, Salaries and Expenses, for the Department of 
Justice.
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