I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 861 
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 account-
able, 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 
FEBRUARY 27, 2013 
Mr. KING of New York (for himself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. HASTINGS of 
Florida, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. OWENS, and Mr. ELLISON) 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 re-
sources 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. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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 2013’’. 
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 Secu-
rity 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 Colum-
bia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any 
other territory of possession of the United States; 
and 
(6) the term ‘‘task force’’ means a multidisci-
plinary task force on elder justice established or des-
ignated under section 5(c)(1). 
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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 Di-
rector 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 nec-
essary 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 fi-
nancial abuse and scams targeting elders; 
and 
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(iii) neglect of elders; and 
(B) assessing, addressing, and mitigating 
the physical and psychological trauma to vic-
tims 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 Com-
mittee 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 serv-
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ices, 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 en-
forced; and 
(ii) if enforced— 
(I) how the State laws are en-
forced; and 
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(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 protec-
tive services laws, laws that require the report-
ing 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 en-
forced; 
(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, proce-
dural, sentencing, choice of remedies, and data 
retention issues relating to elder abuse; 
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(F) a review of State fiduciary laws, in-
cluding laws relating to guardianship, con-
servatorship, 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 pro-
grams, offices, or entities that address or re-
spond to elder abuse; and 
(K) an analysis of any other State laws re-
lating to elder abuse; and 
(6) carry out such other duties as the Attorney 
General determines necessary in connection with en-
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hancing the understanding, prevention, and detec-
tion of, and response to, elder abuse. 
SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION. 
The Attorney General, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services, shall, on an annual 
basis— 
(1) collect from Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement agencies and prosecutor offices statis-
tical data relating to the incidence of elder abuse, in-
cluding data relating to— 
(A) the number of elder abuse cases re-
ferred to law enforcement agencies, adult pro-
tective 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 Fed-
eral, 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); 
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(4) identify— 
(A) the types of data relevant to elder 
abuse that should be collected; and 
(B) what entity is most capable of col-
lecting the data described in subparagraph (A); 
and 
(5) develop recommendations for collecting ad-
ditional 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). 
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(c) ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible to re-
ceive a grant under this section, a State shall estab-
lish or, subject to paragraph (5), designate a multi-
disciplinary task force on elder justice that is com-
posed of professionals with knowledge and experi-
ence 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 offi-
cers, corrections officers, investigators and vic-
tims’ service personnel; 
(B) a representative from the crime victim 
compensation program of the State; 
(C) judicial and legal officers, including in-
dividuals who work on cases of elder abuse; 
(D) elder justice and elder law advocates, 
including local agencies on aging and local pub-
lic and private agencies and entities relating to 
elder abuse and other crimes against elders; 
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(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 
rec-
ommendations relating to— 
(i) modifying the investigative, admin-
istrative, 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 dem-
onstration programs for testing innovative 
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approaches and techniques that may im-
prove 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 para-
graph (1) by designating a commission or task force 
established by a State before January 1, 2013, with 
membership and functions comparable to those de-
scribed 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 member-
ship 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— 
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(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-re-
lated cases, training, technical assistance, and 
policy development for State and local prosecu-
tors and courts; 
(2) State and local law enforcement agencies in-
vestigating 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 re-
quire. 
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(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 Di-
rector 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 2014 through 
2016. Such sums shall be derived from amounts appro-
priated in each such fiscal year for General Administra-
tion, Salaries and Expenses, for the Department of Jus-
tice. 
Æ 
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