I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 973 

To establish pilot programs that provide for emergency crisis response teams 

to combat elder abuse. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 10, 2009 

Mr. YARMUTH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish pilot programs that provide for emergency crisis 

response teams to combat elder abuse. 

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 Serve Act of 

5 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The proportion of the United States popu9 lation 60 years of age or older will drastically inVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:25 Feb 17, 2009 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H973.IH H973

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1 crease in the next 30 years as more than 76,000,000 

2 baby boomers approach retirement and old age. 

3 (2) Every year an estimated 2.1 million older 

4 Americans are victims of physical, psychological, or 

5 other forms of abuse and neglect. 

6 (3) Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation have 

7 no boundaries, and cross all racial, social class, gen8 der, and geographic lines. 

9 (4) For every case of elder abuse and neglect 

10 reported to authorities, experts estimate that there 

11 may be as many as 5 cases not reported. 

12 (5) Nearly 70 percent of the annual caseloads 

13 of Adult Protective Service agencies involve elder 

14 abuse. 

15 (6) The most recent Bureau of Justice Statis16 tics report states that 90 percent of elder abuse and 

17 neglect incidents are by known perpetrators, usually 

family members, and 2 18 ⁄3 of such incidents are by 

19 adult children or spouses. 

20 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ELDER SERVE COORDINATING 

21 COUNCILS PILOT PROGRAMS. 

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

23 through the Director of the Office of Victims of Crime 

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

25 as the ‘‘Director’’), shall carry out a three-year grant proVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:25 Feb 17, 2009 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H973.IH H973

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1 gram to be known as the Elder Serve Coordinating Coun2 cils grant program (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Pro3 gram’’) to provide grants to eligible entities to establish 

4 pilot programs to facilitate and coordinate programs de5 scribed in subsection (e) for victims of elder abuse. 

6 (b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTEES.— 

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

8 entity must meet the following criteria: 

9 (1) ELIGIBLE CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE PRO10 GRAM.—The entity is a crime victim assistance pro11 gram receiving a grant under the Victims of Crime 

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

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

14 grant sought under this section. 

15 (2) COORDINATION WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY

16 BASED AGENCIES AND SERVICES.—The entity shall 

17 demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director that 

18 such entity has a record of community coordination 

19 or established contacts with other county and local 

20 services that serve elderly individuals. 

21 (3) ABILITY TO CREATE ECRT ON TIMELY

22 BASIS.—The entity shall demonstrate to the satisfac23 tion of the Director the ability of the entity to cre24 ate, not later than 6 months after receiving such 

25 grant, an Emergency Crisis Response Team proVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:25 Feb 17, 2009 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H973.IH H973

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1 gram described in subsection (e)(1) and the pro2 grams described in subsection (e)(2). 

3 For purposes of meeting the criteria described in para4 graph (2), for each year an entity receives a grant under 

5 this section the entity shall provide a record of community 

6 coordination or established contacts described in such 

7 paragraph through memorandums of understanding, con8 tracts, subcontracts, and other such documentation. 

9 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

10 (1) CONSULTATION.—Each pilot program es11 tablished pursuant to this section shall be developed 

12 and carried out in consultation with the following 

13 entities: 

14 (A) Elder Serve Incorporated of Louisville, 

15 Kentucky. 

16 (B) Relevant Federal, State, and local pub17 lic and private agencies and entities, relating to 

18 elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation and other 

19 crimes against elderly individuals. 

20 (C) Local law enforcement including police, 

21 sheriffs, detectives, public safety officers, cor22 rections personnel, prosecutors, medical exam23 iners, investigators, and coroners. 

24 (D) Long-term care and nursing facilities. 


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1 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—Grants under the Pro2 gram shall be issued for a three-year period. 

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

4 out in six geographically and demographically di5 verse locations, taking into account— 

6 (A) the number of elderly individuals resid7 ing in or near an area; and 

8 (B) the difficulty of access to immediate 

9 short-term housing and health services for vic10 tims of elder abuse. 

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

12 each pilot program established pursuant to this section 

13 may employ a staff to assist in creating an Emergency 

14 Crisis Response Teams under subsection (e)(1). Such staff 

15 shall be comprised of— 

16 (1) an Executive Director; 

17 (2) subcontracted home care specialists; 

18 (3) social workers; 

19 (4) volunteers; and 

20 (5) such other personnel the Attorney General 

21 deems appropriate. 

22 (e) USE OF GRANTS.— 

23 (1) EMERGENCY CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM.— 

24 Each entity that receives a grant under this section 

25 shall use such grant to establish an Emergency CriVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:25 Feb 17, 2009 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H973.IH H973

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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, home care services, food, clothing, transpor8 tation to medical or legal appointment as ap9 propriate, prescription refills, and any other 

10 life-services deemed necessary by the applicable 

11 Executive Director described in subsection 

12 (d)(1) for victims of elder abuse. 

13 (B) Such program shall provide services 

14 only to victims of elder abuse who have been re15 ferred to the program through the adult protec16 tive services agency of the local law enforcement 

17 or any other relevant law enforcement or refer18 ral agency. 

19 (C) A victim of elder abuse may not re20 ceive services under the program for more than 

21 five consecutive days. 

22 (D) The entity that established the pro23 gram shall enter into arrangements with the 

24 relevant local law enforcement agencies so that 


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1 the program receives weekly reports from such 

2 agencies on elder abuse. 

3 (2) ADDITIONAL SERVICES REQUIRED TO BE

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

5 an entity receives a grant under this section, such 

6 entity shall have established the following programs 

7 (and community collaborations to support such pro8 grams): 

9 (A) COUNSELING.—A program that pro10 vides counseling and assistance for victims of 

11 elder abuse accessing health care, educational, 

12 pension, or other benefits for which seniors may 

13 be eligible under Federal or applicable State 

14 law. 

15 (B) MENTAL HEALTH SCREENING.—A 

16 program that provides mental health screenings 

17 for victims of elder abuse to identify and seek 

18 assistance for potential mental health disorders 

19 such as depression or substance abuse. 

20 (C) EMERGENCY LEGAL ADVOCACY.—A 

21 program that provides legal advocacy for vic22 tims of elder abuse. 

23 (D) JOB PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE.—A pro24 gram that provides job placement assistance 

25 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 victims of elder abuse. 

6 (F) OTHER SERVICES.—A program that 

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

9 purposes of the pilot program. 

10 (f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Director shall 

11 enter into contracts with private entities with experience 

12 in elder abuse coordination to provide such technical as13 sistance to grantees under this section as the Director de14 termines appropriate. 

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

16 months after the commencement of the Program, and 

17 every 6 months thereafter (before months beginning after 

18 the last day of the Program), the Director shall submit 

19 to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee 

20 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, the 

21 Chairman and Ranking Member of the Special Committee 

22 on Aging of the Senate, and the Chairman and Ranking 

23 Member of other relevant committees with jurisdiction a 

24 report on the progress of the Program. Each report for 

25 a period shall include the following: 


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1 (1) A description and assessment of the imple2 mentation of the Program. 

3 (2) An assessment of the effectiveness of the 

4 pilot program in providing care and services to sen5 iors, including a comparative assessment of effective6 ness for each of the locations designated under sub7 section (c)(3) for the Program. 

8 (3) An assessment of the effectiveness of the 

9 coordination for programs described in subsection 

10 (e) in contributing toward the effectiveness of the 

11 Program. 

12 (4) Such recommendations as the Director con13 siders appropriate for modifications of the Program 

14 in order to better provide care and services to sen15 iors. 

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

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

18 means any type of violence or abuse, whether mental 

19 or physical, inflicted upon an elderly individual. 

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

21 individual’’ means an individual who is age 65 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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