Act for Elder Justice

Bill: 108-s-2940
Sponsor: Sen. Gregg, Judd [R-NH]
Introduced: 2004-10-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Caregivers
Case management
Crime and Law Enforcement
Crime prevention
Crimes against the elderly
Criminal statistics
Department of Health and Human Services
Due process of law
Economics and Public Finance
Elder abuse
Employee training
Executive reorganization
Federal aid to Indians
Federal aid to law enforcement
Fraud
Geriatrics
Gerontology
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Health
Housing and Community Development
Labor and Employment
Law
Legal services
Long-term care
Mental health
Minorities
Mortality
Nursing
Old age assistance
Ombudsman
Performance measurement
Poverty
Quality of care
Trusts and trustees
Volunteer workers

Summary:
action_date: 2004-10-07
text: 
Act for Elder Justice - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA) to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish or designate within the Administration on Aging an Office of Elder Abuse Prevention and Services.
 
Authorizes the Assistant Secretary for Aging to award grants to States and Indian tribes for subgrants to eligible entities for elder justice programs to prevent elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation and to improve the quality of long-term care.

action_date: 2004-10-07
text: 

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

 
Act for Elder Justice - (Sec. 3) Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA) to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish or designate within the Administration on Aging an Office of Elder Abuse Prevention and Services. Makes it the duty of the Assistant Secretary for Aging, acting through the head of such Office, to develop and implement policy and a long-term plan to carry out elder justice programs and activities.
 
(Sec. 4) Establishes elder justice programs under OAA. Defines elder justice as: (1) efforts to prevent, detect, treat, intervene in, and respond to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation and to protect elders with diminished capacity while maximizing their autonomy; and (2) the recognition of an elder's rights, including the right to be free of abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
 
Authorizes the Assistant Secretary to award grants to States and Indian tribes for subgrants to eligible entities to strengthen long-term care and assist elder justice programs. Includes among authorized uses of such funds: (1) prevention, detection, assessment, and treatment of, intervention in, investigation of, and response to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; (2) testing of various safe haven models as elder shelters; (3) volunteer programs; (4) multidisciplinary activities; (5) training; (6) addressing underserved populations of elders; (7) incentives for individuals to train for, seek, and maintain employment providing direct care in a long-term care facility; (8) multidisciplinary community partnerships to develop innovative approaches for improving long-term care quality and preventing abuse, neglect, and exploitation in such care; and (9) multidisciplinary panels to develop best practices for improving long-term care quality and addressing abuse in such care, including resident-to-resident abuse. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 2005 through 2008.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-10-07
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 780.
action_date: 2004-10-07
text: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Gregg. With written report No. 108-391.
action_date: 2004-10-07
text: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Gregg. With written report No. 108-391.
action_date: 2004-10-07
text: Introduced in Senate