II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2114

To amend the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, the Family Violence

Prevention and Services Act, the Older Americans Act of 1965, and

the Public Health Service Act to ensure that older women are protected

from institutional, community, and domestic violence and sexual assault

and to improve outreach efforts and other services available to older

women victimized by such violence, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 22, 1998

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. FAIRCLOTH, Mr. AKAKA, Ms.

MOSELEY-BRAUN, Mr. HARKIN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. WELLSTONE, Mr.

GRAHAM, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. CLELAND, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. REID, Mr.

TORICELLI, Mr. DODD, Mr. KOHL, Mr. WARNER, Mrs. BOXER, Mrs.

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

to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To amend the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, the

Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, the Older

Americans Act of 1965, and the Public Health Service

Act to ensure that older women are protected from institutional, community, and domestic violence and sexual

assault and to improve outreach efforts and other services available to older women victimized by such violence,

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,
2

•S 2114 IS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

3 ‘‘Older Women’s Protection From Violence Act of 1998’’.

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. Findings.

TITLE I—VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT OF 1994

Sec. 101. Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

TITLE II—FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND SERVICES ACT

Sec. 201. Definitions.

Sec. 202. Domestic abuse services for older individuals.

Sec. 203. State grants.

Sec. 204. Demonstration grants for community initiatives.

Sec. 205. Study regarding health professional training with respect to detection

and referral of victims of family violence.

TITLE III—OLDER AMERICANS ACT OF 1965

Sec. 301. Definitions.

Sec. 302. Research about the sexual assault of women who are older individuals.

Sec. 303. State Long-Term Care Ombudsman program.

Sec. 304. Domestic violence shelters and programs for older individuals.

Sec. 305. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 306. Community initiatives and outreach.

Sec. 307. Training for health professionals, and other providers of services to

older individuals, on screening for elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

TITLE IV—PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT

Sec. 401. Area health education centers.

Sec. 402. Geriatric centers and training.

TITLE V—FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION OF OLDER INDIVIDUALS

Sec. 501. Study and report.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
3

•S 2114 IS

1 (1) of the estimated more than 1,000,000 per2 sons age 65 and over who are victims of abuse each

3 year, at least two-thirds are women;

4 (2) in almost 9 out of 10 incidents of domestic

5 elder abuse and neglect, the perpetrator is a family

6 member and adult children of the victims are the

7 largest category of perpetrators and spouses are the

8 second largest category of perpetrators;

9 (3) the number of reports of elder abuse in the

10 United States increased by 150 percent between

11 1986 and 1996 and is expected to continue growing;

12 (4) it is estimated that at least 5 percent of the

13 Nation’s elderly are victims of moderate to severe

14 abuse and that the rate for all forms of abuse may

15 be as high as 10 percent;

16 (5) elder abuse is severely underreported, with

17 1 in 5 cases being reported in 1980 and 1 in 8 cases

18 being reported today;

19 (6) based on site-specific information from the

20 Indian Health Service, the rate of trauma and vio21 lence faced by Indian women could be considered to

22 be epidemic;

23 (7) elder abuse takes on many forms, including

24 physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological (emo-
4

•S 2114 IS

1 tional) abuse, neglect (intended or unintended), and

2 financial exploitation;

3 (8) many older persons, particularly women and

4 minorities, fail to report abuse because of shame or

5 as a result of prior unsatisfactory experiences with

6 individual agencies or others who lacked sensitivity

7 to the concerns or needs of older people;

8 (9) the lack of culturally relevant elder abuse

9 services for Indian women makes access to shelter

10 and other services difficult and often impossible for

11 some Indian women;

12 (10) many older persons fail to report abuse be13 cause they are dependent on their abusers and fear

14 being abandoned or institutionalized;

15 (11) the lack of access to telephones, law en16 forcement, and health services in remote areas, in17 cluding Indian reservations, makes access to relief

18 from elder abuse particularly difficult for some pop19 ulations;

20 (12) public and professional awareness and

21 identification of elder abuse is difficult because older

22 persons are not tied into many social networks (such

23 as schools or jobs), and may become isolated in their

24 homes, which can increase the risk of elder abuse;
5

•S 2114 IS

1 (13) the Department of Justice does not in2 clude age as a category for criminal statistics report3 ing;

4 (14)(A) there are relatively few statistics and

5 research studies regarding violence against older

6 women, and even less is known about the incidence

7 of violence against Indian women; and

8 (B) there is no national data base regarding vi9 olence against Indian women; and

10 (15) older persons would greatly benefit from

11 policies that develop, strengthen, and implement pro12 grams for the prevention of abuse, including neglect

13 and exploitation, and provide related assistance for

14 victims.

15 TITLE I—VIOLENCE AGAINST

16 WOMEN ACT OF 1994

17 SEC. 101. ELDER ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION.

18 The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (108 Stat.

19 1902) is amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘Subtitle H—Elder Abuse, Neglect,

21 and Exploitation, Including Do22 mestic Violence and Sexual As23 sault Against Older Individuals

24 ‘‘SEC. 40801. DEFINITIONS.

25 ‘‘In this subtitle:
6

•S 2114 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘elder abuse, ne2 glect, and exploitation’, ‘domestic violence’, and

3 ‘older individual’ have the meanings given the terms

4 in section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965

5 (42 U.S.C. 3002).

6 ‘‘(2) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as7 sault’ has the meaning given the term in section

8 2003 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe

9 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–2).

10 ‘‘SEC. 40802. LAW SCHOOL CLINICAL PROGRAMS ON ELDER

11 ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION.

12 ‘‘The Attorney General shall make grants to law

13 school clinical programs for the purposes of funding the

14 inclusion of cases addressing issues of elder abuse, neglect,

15 and exploitation, including domestic violence, and sexual

16 assault, against older individuals.

17 ‘‘SEC. 40803. TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR LAW ENFORCE18 MENT OFFICERS.

19 ‘‘The Attorney General shall develop curricula and

20 offer, or provide for the offering of, training programs to

21 assist law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and relevant

22 officers of Federal, State, tribal, and local courts in rec23 ognizing, addressing, investigating, and prosecuting in24 stances of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including
7

•S 2114 IS

1 domestic violence, and sexual assault, against older indi2 viduals.

3 ‘‘SEC. 40804. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

5 as may be necessary to carry out this subtitle.’’.

6 TITLE II—FAMILY VIOLENCE

7 PREVENTION AND SERVICES

8 ACT

9 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

10 Section 309 of the Family Violence Prevention and

11 Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10408) is amended by adding at

12 the end the following:

13 ‘‘(7) The term ‘elder domestic abuse’ means do14 mestic violence, as defined in section 102 of the

15 Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002),

16 against an older individual, as defined in such sec17 tion.’’.

18 SEC. 202. DOMESTIC ABUSE SERVICES FOR OLDER INDIVID19 UALS.

20 Section 311(a) of the Family Violence Prevention and

21 Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10410(a)) is amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

23 end;

24 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at

25 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
8

•S 2114 IS

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

2 ‘‘(6) work with domestic violence programs to

3 encourage the development of programs, including

4 outreach, support groups, and counseling, targeted

5 to victims of elder domestic abuse.’’.

6 SEC. 203. STATE GRANTS.

7 Section 303(a)(2)(C) of the Family Violence Preven8 tion and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10402(a)(2)(C)) is

9 amended by inserting ‘‘age,’’ after ‘‘because of’’.

10 SEC. 204. DEMONSTRATION GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY INI11 TIATIVES.

12 Section 318(b)(2)(F) of the Family Violence Preven13 tion and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10418(b)(2)(F)) is

14 amended by inserting ‘‘and adult protective services enti15 ties’’ before the semicolon.

16 SEC. 205. STUDY REGARDING HEALTH PROFESSIONAL

17 TRAINING WITH RESPECT TO DETECTION

18 AND REFERRAL OF VICTIMS OF FAMILY VIO19 LENCE.

20 The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (42

21 U.S.C. 10401 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

22 the following:
9

•S 2114 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 319. STUDY REGARDING HEALTH PROFESSIONAL

2 TRAINING WITH RESPECT TO DETECTION

3 AND REFERRAL OF VICTIMS OF FAMILY VIO4 LENCE.

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall request that

6 the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of

7 Sciences, in collaboration with the Family Violence Pre8 vention Fund, conduct a study of the adequacy of training

9 for health professionals with respect to the detection and

10 referral of victims of family violence.

11 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE OF STUDY.—The study conducted

12 under this section shall—

13 ‘‘(1) determine the number of teaching institu14 tions that incorporate training for health profes15 sionals in the area of domestic violence and elder

16 abuse;

17 ‘‘(2) assess whether when such training is avail18 able, the training is adequate for both detection and

19 referral of victims of domestic violence and elder

20 abuse; and

21 ‘‘(3) examine whether increased training is

22 needed with respect to detection of domestic violence

23 and elder abuse.

24 ‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Secretary shall en25 sure that the Institute of Medicine, in consultation with

26 the Family Violence Prevention Fund and based on the
10

•S 2114 IS

1 results of the study under this section, develops rec2 ommendations for improvements in training for health

3 professionals with respect to detection and referral of vic4 tims of family violence, through legislative or non5 legislative means.

6 ‘‘(d) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In developing

7 the recommendations described in subsection (c), the Sec8 retary shall ensure that Institute of Medicine—

9 ‘‘(1) examines whether preferences, in federally

10 funded educational programs for medical educational

11 entities that include domestic violence and elder

12 abuse training in the curricula of the entities, are ef13 fective in providing an incentive for incorporation of

14 such training in the curricula;

15 ‘‘(2) determines whether there are other legisla16 tive means that may be effective in encouraging the

17 training described in paragraph (1), such as grant

18 programs for curriculum development; and

19 ‘‘(3) determines an appropriate level of funding

20 for any such grant program recommended.

21 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—The Secretary shall ensure that, not

22 later than 12 months after the date of enactment of the

23 Older Women’s Protection From Violence Act of 1998, a

24 report concerning the study conducted under this section
11

•S 2114 IS

1 is prepared by the Institute of Medicine and submitted

2 to Congress.’’.

3 TITLE III—OLDER AMERICANS

4 ACT OF 1965

5 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS.

6 Section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42

7 U.S.C. 3002) is amended by adding at the end the follow8 ing:

9 ‘‘(45) The term ‘domestic violence’ means an

10 act or threat of violence, not including an act of self

11 defense, committed—

12 ‘‘(A) by a current or former spouse of the

13 victim;

14 ‘‘(B) by a person related by blood or mar15 riage to the victim;

16 ‘‘(C) by a person who is cohabiting with or

17 has cohabited with the victim;

18 ‘‘(D) by a person with whom the victim

19 shares a child in common;

20 ‘‘(E) by a person who is or has been in the

21 social relationship of a romantic or intimate na22 ture with the victim; or

23 ‘‘(F) by a person similarly situated to a

24 spouse of the victim, or by any other person, if

25 the domestic or family violence laws of the ju-
12

•S 2114 IS

1 risdiction of the victim provide for legal protec2 tion of the victim from the person.

3 ‘‘(46) The term ‘sexual assault’ has the mean4 ing given the term in section 2003 of the Omnibus

5 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42

6 U.S.C. 3796gg–2).’’.

7 SEC. 302. RESEARCH ABOUT THE SEXUAL ASSAULT OF

8 WOMEN WHO ARE OLDER INDIVIDUALS.

9 Section 202(d)(3)(C) of the Older Americans Act of

10 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3012(d)(3)(C)) is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (i);

12 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause

13 (ii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

15 ‘‘(iii) in establishing research priorities under

16 clause (i), consider the importance of research about

17 the sexual assault of women who are older individ18 uals.’’.

19 SEC. 303. STATE LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM.

20 Section 303(a)(1) of the Older Americans Act of

21 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3023(a)(1)) is amended by inserting be22 fore the period the following: ‘‘, except that for grants to

23 carry out section 321(a)(10), there are authorized to be

24 appropriated such sums as may be necessary without fiscal

25 year limitation’’.
13

•S 2114 IS

1 SEC. 304. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND PROGRAMS

2 FOR OLDER INDIVIDUALS.

3 Section 422(b) of the Older Americans Act of 1965

4 (42 U.S.C. 3035a(b)) is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

6 (11);

7 (2) by striking the period at the end of para8 graph (12) and inserting a semicolon; and

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

10 ‘‘(13) expand access to domestic violence shel11 ters and programs, including mental health services,

12 for older individuals and encourage the use of senior

13 housing, nursing homes, or other suitable facilities

14 or services when appropriate as emergency short15 term shelters or measures for older individuals who

16 are the victims of elder abuse, including domestic vi17 olence, and sexual assault, against older individuals;

18 and

19 ‘‘(14) promote research on legal, organizational,

20 or training impediments to providing services to

21 older individuals through shelters and programs,

22 such as impediments to provision of the services in

23 coordination with delivery of health care or senior

24 services.’’.
14

•S 2114 IS

1 SEC. 305. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 (a) OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM.—Section 702(a) of the

3 Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3058a(a)) is

4 amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(a) OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM.—There are authorized

6 to be appropriated to carry out chapter 2 such sums as

7 may be necessary without fiscal year limitation.’’.

8 (b) ELDER ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAM.—Section

9 702(b) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C.

10 3058a(b)) is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(b) PREVENTION OF ELDER ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND

12 EXPLOITATION.—There are authorized to be appropriated

13 to carry out chapter 3 such sums as may be necessary

14 without fiscal year limitation.’’.

15 SEC. 306. COMMUNITY INITIATIVES AND OUTREACH.

16 Title VII of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42

17 U.S.C. 3058 et seq.) is amended—

18 (1) by redesignating subtitle C as subtitle D;

19 (2) by redesignating sections 761 through 764

20 as sections 771 through 774, respectively; and

21 (3) by inserting after subtitle B the following:
15

•S 2114 IS

1 ‘‘Subtitle C—Community Initiatives

2 and Outreach

3 ‘‘SEC. 761. COMMUNITY INITIATIVES TO COMBAT ELDER

4 ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION.

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary shall

6 make grants to nonprofit private organizations or tribal

7 organizations to support projects in local communities, in8 volving diverse sectors of each community, to coordinate

9 activities concerning intervention in and prevention of

10 elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic

11 violence, and sexual assault, against older individuals.

12 ‘‘(b) AWARD REQUIREMENT.—In awarding grants

13 under subsection (a) the Assistant Secretary shall take

14 into consideration—

15 ‘‘(1) State and tribal efforts to carry out the

16 activities described in such subsection; and

17 ‘‘(2) encouraging coordination among the State

18 and tribal efforts, State adult protective service ac19 tivities, and activities of private nonprofit organiza20 tions.

21 ‘‘SEC. 762. OUTREACH TO OLDER INDIVIDUALS.

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary shall

23 make grants to develop and implement outreach programs

24 directed toward assisting older individuals who are victims

25 of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation (including domes-
16

•S 2114 IS

1 tic violence, and sexual assault, against older individuals),

2 including programs directed toward assisting the individ3 uals in senior housing complexes, nursing homes, board

4 and care facilities, and senior centers.

5 ‘‘(b) AWARD REQUIREMENT.—In awarding grants

6 under subsection (a) the Assistant Secretary shall take

7 into consideration—

8 ‘‘(1) State and tribal efforts to develop and im9 plement outreach programs described in such sub10 section; and

11 ‘‘(2) encouraging coordination among the State

12 and tribal efforts, State adult protective service ac13 tivities, and activities of private nonprofit organiza14 tions.

15 ‘‘SEC. 763. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

17 this subtitle such sums as may be necessary without fiscal

18 year limitation.’’.

19 SEC. 307. TRAINING FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, AND

20 OTHER PROVIDERS OF SERVICES TO OLDER

21 INDIVIDUALS, ON SCREENING FOR ELDER

22 ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION.

23 Section 411 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42

24 U.S.C. 3031) is amended by adding at the end the follow25 ing:
17

•S 2114 IS

1 ‘‘(f)(1) The Assistant Secretary for Aging shall, in

2 consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Children and

3 Families, the Surgeon General, the Indian Health Service,

4 the Director of the National Institute on Aging, the Fam5 ily Violence Prevention Fund, the National Center on

6 Elder Abuse, the National Coalition Against Domestic Vi7 olence, and other specialists working in the areas of do8 mestic violence against seniors and elder abuse, update

9 and improve curricula and implement continuing edu10 cation training programs for adult protective service work11 ers, persons carrying out a State Long-Term Care Om12 budsman program, health care providers (including home

13 health care providers) and mental health providers (in14 cluding specialists), social workers, clergy, domestic vio15 lence service providers, and other community-based social

16 service providers in settings, including senior centers,

17 adult day care facilities, nursing homes, board and care

18 facilities, senior housing, and the homes of older individ19 uals, to improve the ability of the persons using the cur20 riculum and training programs to recognize and address

21 instances of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, includ22 ing domestic violence, and sexual assault, against older in23 dividuals.

24 ‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Assistant

25 Secretary shall develop and implement separate curricula
18

•S 2114 IS

1 and training programs for medical students, physicians,

2 mental health providers, physician assistants, nurse prac3 titioners, nurses, and social workers.

4 ‘‘(3) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Assistant

5 Secretary shall provide information about the curricula

6 and training programs to entities described in sections

7 791(c)(2) and 860(f)(2) of the Public Health Service Act

8 (42 U.S.C. 295j(c)(2) and 298b–7(f)(2)) that seek grants

9 or contracts under title VII or VIII of such Act.’’.

10 TITLE IV—PUBLIC HEALTH

11 SERVICE ACT

12 SEC. 401. AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTERS.

13 Subparagraphs (D) and (E) of section 746(d)(2) of

14 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293j(d)(2)) are

15 each amended by inserting ‘‘, which may include training

16 in domestic violence and elder abuse screening and referral

17 protocols’’ before the semicolon.

18 SEC. 402. GERIATRIC CENTERS AND TRAINING.

19 (a) GERIATRIC EDUCATION CENTERS.—Section

20 777(a)(4) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.

21 294o(a)(4)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, including training

22 and retraining of faculty to provide instruction regarding

23 identification and treatment of older individuals who are

24 the victims of domestic violence and elder abuse’’ before

25 the semicolon.
19

•S 2114 IS

1 (b) GERIATRIC TRAINING REGARDING PHYSICIANS

2 AND DENTISTS.—Section 777(b)(2)(D) of the Public

3 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294o(b)(2)(D)) is amend4 ed—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and exposure’’ and inserting ‘‘,

6 exposure’’; and

7 (2) by inserting ‘‘, and screening for elder

8 abuse and domestic abuse,’’ after ‘‘of elderly individ9 uals’’.

10 TITLE V—FINANCIAL EXPLOI11 TATION OF OLDER INDIVID12 UALS

13 SEC. 501. STUDY AND REPORT.

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—

15 (1) the term ‘‘financial exploitation’’ means any

16 fraud, coercion, or other conduct by a caregiver,

17 family member, or fiduciary that constitutes a viola18 tion of any Federal, State, or tribal law, including

19 any legally enforceable professional standard appli20 cable to any profession or occupation;

21 (2) the term ‘‘financial institution’’ has the

22 meaning given the term in section 1101 of the Right

23 to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3401);
20

•S 2114 IS

1 (3) the term ‘‘older individual’’ has the meaning

2 given the term in section 102 of the Older Ameri3 cans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002); and

4 (4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

5 of the Treasury.

6 (b) STUDY.—The Secretary, in consultation with the

7 Attorney General of the United States, State attorneys

8 general, and tribal and local prosecutors, shall conduct a

9 study of the nature and extent of financial exploitation

10 of older individuals.

11 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study under

12 this section, the Secretary shall solicit comments and in13 formation from—

14 (1) senior citizen advocacy groups;

15 (2) law centers specializing in elder law;

16 (3) financial institutions;

17 (4) elder abuse coalitions;

18 (5) privacy experts;

19 (6) providers of adult protective services;

20 (7) Indian tribes, the Director of Indian Health

21 Service of the Department of Health and Human

22 Services, and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of

23 the Department of the Interior;
21

•S 2114 IS

1 (8) State Long-Term Care Ombudsmen de2 scribed in the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42

3 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.);

4 (9) area agencies on aging (as defined in sec5 tion 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42

6 U.S.C. 3002));

7 (10) recipients of grants under title VI of the

8 Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3057 et

9 seq.); and

10 (11) other service providers.

11 (d) PURPOSE OF STUDY.—In conducting the study

12 under this section, the Secretary shall—

13 (1) define and describe the scope of the problem

14 of financial exploitation of older individuals;

15 (2) conduct a survey of financial institutions in

16 order to obtain—

17 (A) an estimate of the number and type of

18 financial transactions that are considered by

19 those institutions to constitute financial exploi20 tation of older individuals; and

21 (B) a detailed description of the types and

22 characteristics of risk faced by elderly cus23 tomers with respect to financial exploitation;
22

•S 2114 IS

1 (3) examine whether Federal, State, and tribal

2 laws and regulatory practices are adequate to pro3 tect older individuals from financial exploitation; and

4 (4) examine the extent to which a better public

5 understanding of Federal, State, and tribal laws

6 would help to prevent financial exploitation of older

7 individuals, including an examination regarding

8 whether improved training of officers, employees,

9 and agents of financial institutions concerning their

10 responsibilities under section 1103 of the Right to

11 Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3403)

12 would help to combat the problem of financial exploi13 tation of older individuals.

14 (e) RECOMMENDATIONS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Based on the results of the

16 study under this section, the Secretary, in consulta17 tion with the Attorney General and State attorneys

18 general, shall develop recommendations for legisla19 tive or other action to prevent the financial exploi20 tation of older individuals.

21 (2) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In devel22 oping the recommendations under paragraph (1),

23 the Secretary shall—

24 (A) balance the needs of older individuals

25 to be free from financial exploitation with their
23

•S 2114 IS

1 need for financial privacy, and their right

2 against self-incrimination;

3 (B) consider the most effective and least

4 intrusive legislative solutions to combat the

5 problem of financial exploitation of older indi6 viduals;

7 (C) with respect to the reporting of

8 incidences of financial exploitation of older indi9 viduals, consider—

10 (i) the appropriate Federal, State, or

11 tribal agency to which such incidences

12 should be reported, and the means by

13 which a financial institution would obtain

14 information regarding the manner in which

15 to report such an incidence; and

16 (ii) whether there should be limita17 tions on the authority of a financial insti18 tution to disclose information relating to

19 an older individual who is a customer of

20 the financial institution in order to combat

21 the problem of financial exploitation of

22 older individuals, including limitations

23 on—

24 (I) the number of times such a

25 disclosure may be made;
24

•S 2114 IS

1 (II) the number and type of gov2 ernmental or tribal agencies to which

3 such a disclosure may be made; and

4 (III) the duration of the author5 ity of the financial institution to make

6 such a disclosure; and

7 (D) whether there is a need for adult pro8 tective services to combat such exploitation.

9 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit

11 to Congress a report, which shall include—

12 (1) the results of the study conducted under

13 this section, including an analysis of the extent of

14 the problem of financial exploitation of older individ15 uals; and

16 (2) the recommendations developed under sub17 section (e).

Æ