IIB 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2922 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2021 

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

AN ACT 

To amend the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act 

to authorize the Elder Justice Initiative, to require that 

online resources of such initiative are made available 

in Spanish, 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 Protection 

3 Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ELDER JUSTICE INITIATIVE. 

5 Section 101(b) of the Elder Abuse Prevention and 

6 Prosecution Act (34 U.S.C. 21711(b)) is amended to read 

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘(b) ELDER JUSTICE INITIATIVE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PERMANENT INITIATIVE.—The Attorney 

10 General shall establish an Elder Justice Initiative to 

11 coordinate criminal enforcement and public engage12 ment efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect, and fi13 nancial fraud and scams that target elders, and to 

14 support and coordinate the efforts of the Elder Jus15 tice Coordinator designated under subsection (a). 

16 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ELDER JUSTICE

17 COORDINATOR.—The Attorney General shall des18 ignate an Elder Justice Coordinator within the De19 partment of Justice who, in addition to any other re20 sponsibilities, shall be responsible for— 

21 ‘‘(A) coordinating and supporting the law 

22 enforcement efforts and policy activities as the 

23 head of the Elder Justice Initiative for the De24 partment of Justice on elder justice issues; 

25 ‘‘(B) evaluating training models to deter26 mine best practices and creating or compiling 


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1 and making publicly available replication guides 

2 and training materials for law enforcement offi3 cers, prosecutors, judges, emergency respond4 ers, individuals working in victim services, adult 

5 protective services, social services, and public 

6 safety, medical personnel, mental health per7 sonnel, financial services personnel, and any 

8 other individuals whose work may bring them in 

9 contact with elder abuse regarding how to— 

10 ‘‘(i) conduct investigations in elder 

11 abuse cases; 

12 ‘‘(ii) address evidentiary issues and 

13 other legal issues; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) appropriately assess, respond to, 

15 and interact with victims and witnesses in 

16 elder abuse cases, including in administra17 tive, civil, and criminal judicial pro18 ceedings; and 

19 ‘‘(C) carrying out such other duties as the 

20 Attorney General determines necessary in con21 nection with enhancing the understanding, pre22 vention, and detection of, and response to, elder 

23 abuse. 

24 ‘‘(3) ONLINE PUBLIC RESOURCES.—The Elder 

25 Justice Initiative shall maintain and publish on the 


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1 internet, information aimed at protecting elders 

2 from fraudulent schemes and contain resources 

3 aimed at preventing elder abuse. 

4 ‘‘(4) TELEPHONE HOTLINE.—The Attorney 

5 General, in consultation with the Elder Justice Coor6 dinator and the Office of Victims of Crime, shall es7 tablish a national elder fraud telephone hotline to 

8 provide support to victims and resources to help vic9 tims, including referrals to federal, local and state 

10 law enforcement where appropriate. 

11 ‘‘(5) TRIBAL CONSULTATION.—The Elder Jus12 tice Coordinator shall provide recommendations to 

13 the Office of Tribal Justice on a yearly basis on how 

14 to address elder abuse and elder fraud that takes 

15 place on federally recognized tribal reservations. 

16 ‘‘(6) LEGAL AID.—The Elder Justice Coordi17 nator shall consult with components of the Depart18 ment of Justice to promote the provision of civil 

19 legal aid to victims of elder abuse and elder fraud. 

20 ‘‘(7) SPANISH LANGUAGE RESOURCES.—The 

21 Attorney General shall ensure that Elder Justice 

22 Initiative online resources are available in Spanish 

23 and link linguistically appropriate resources to in24 form Spanish-speaking elders of Federal and State 


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1 resources to combat fraud and abuse that targets 

2 the elderly, to include— 

3 ‘‘(A) Spanish-language resources and links 

4 that help report instances of elder fraud and 

5 abuse to State and local law enforcement; and 

6 ‘‘(B) resources that help prevent financial 

7 exploitation of elders.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 23, 2021. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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