BU What the Elder Justice Act Would Do

By: Elizabeth N. Brown | Source: AARP Bulletin Today

Elder Justice Act: S 1070 / HR 1783

Federal coordination

• Establish an Elder Justice Coordinating Council of officials from across federal departments to study elder abuse issues and solutions and develop a report with recommendations. A panel of elder abuse experts-the Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation-would oversee the council.
• Provide $26 million over four years for the creation of stationary and mobile "forensic centers" where abused elders could receive medical testing and attention. Forensic centers would also provide therapy and support to victims and review, track and report elder abuse cases.

Programs

• Provide funding for long-term care facilities to recruit, train and provide incentives to employees and to establish management programs that promote employee training and retention.
• Provide funding for long-term care facilities to purchase and set up standardized electronic medical records programs; require uniform standards be set for the reporting of records data.
• Create a Consumer Rights Information Web page with a guide to choosing a nursing facility and information on residents' rights.
• Require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to report elder abuse (and other criminal acts) committed by a nursing facility or its employees on its Nursing Home Compare Medicare website.
• Provide funding and technical assistance for state and local adult protective services working with elder abuse cases; require HHS to collect and disseminate elder abuse data from these departments.
• Require HHS to research state and local adult protective services agencies and develop a best practices guide.
• Provide grants to state long-term care ombudsman programs that respond to and resolve elder abuse complaints.
• Create a National Training Institute for Federal and State Surveyors to provide training to nursing facility evaluators on how to detect and report elder abuse.
• Provide grants to state nursing-facility review agencies for designing and implementing systems that investigate elder abuse complaints quickly and effectively.
• Shorten the time period in which long-term care facilities must report elder abuse crimes to law enforcement agencies; toughen penalties for long-term care facilities that suspend, discharge, threaten or harass an employee who reports elder abuse.

House bill only

• Require the U.S. Attorney General's Office and HHS to study state laws and practices dealing with elder abuse and report the findings to the Elder Justice Coordinating Council.
• Fund research on the needs of elder abuse victims.
• Provide support for local and state prosecutors who handle cases related to elder justice either by funding individual elder justice units or by creating a Center for the Prosecution of Elder Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation by the National Association of Attorneys General.
• Allow the Attorney General's Office to establish a resource group to assist prosecutors across the country who investigate and prosecute elder abuse cases.
• Provide grants for state and local law enforcement agencies that handle elder justice cases.
• Provide a tax credit for long-term care facility employees.