Elder Abuse Protection Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2181 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. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 22, 2021 Mr. BLUMENTHAL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL 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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Elder Abuse Protection 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2181.IS S2181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2181 IS SEC. 2. ELDER JUSTICE INITIATIVE. 1 Section 101(b) of the Elder Abuse Prevention and 2 Prosecution Act (34 U.S.C. 21711(b)) is amended to read 3 as follows: 4 ‘‘(b) ELDER JUSTICE INITIATIVE.— 5 ‘‘(1) PERMANENT INITIATIVE.—The Attorney 6 General shall establish an Elder Justice Initiative to 7 coordinate criminal enforcement and public engage- 8 ment efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect, and fi- 9 nancial fraud and scams that target elders, and to 10 support and coordinate the efforts of the Elder Jus- 11 tice Coordinator designated under subsection (a). 12 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ELDER JUSTICE 13 COORDINATOR.—The Attorney General shall des- 14 ignate an Elder Justice Coordinator within the De- 15 partment of Justice who, in addition to any other re- 16 sponsibilities, shall be responsible for— 17 ‘‘(A) coordinating and supporting the law 18 enforcement efforts and policy activities as the 19 head of the Elder Justice Initiative for the De- 20 partment of Justice on elder justice issues; 21 ‘‘(B) evaluating training models to deter- 22 mine best practices and creating or compiling 23 and making publicly available replication guides 24 and training materials for law enforcement offi- 25 cers, prosecutors, judges, emergency respond- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2181.IS S2181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2181 IS ers, individuals working in victim services, adult 1 protective services, social services, and public 2 safety, medical personnel, mental health per- 3 sonnel, financial services personnel, and any 4 other individuals whose work may bring them in 5 contact with elder abuse regarding how to— 6 ‘‘(i) conduct investigations in elder 7 abuse cases; 8 ‘‘(ii) address evidentiary issues and 9 other legal issues; and 10 ‘‘(iii) appropriately assess, respond to, 11 and interact with victims and witnesses in 12 elder abuse cases, including in administra- 13 tive, civil, and criminal judicial pro- 14 ceedings; and 15 ‘‘(C) carrying out such other duties as the 16 Attorney General determines necessary in con- 17 nection with enhancing the understanding, pre- 18 vention, and detection of, and response to, elder 19 abuse. 20 ‘‘(3) ONLINE PUBLIC RESOURCES.—The Elder 21 Justice Initiative shall maintain and publish on the 22 internet, information aimed at protecting elders 23 from fraudulent schemes and contain resources 24 aimed at preventing elder abuse. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2181.IS S2181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2181 IS ‘‘(4) TELEPHONE HOTLINE.—The Attorney 1 General, in consultation with the Elder Justice Coor- 2 dinator and the Office of Victims of Crime, shall es- 3 tablish a national elder fraud telephone hotline to 4 provide support to victims and resources to help vic- 5 tims, including referrals to federal, local and state 6 law enforcement where appropriate. 7 ‘‘(5) TRIBAL CONSULTATION.—The Elder Jus- 8 tice Coordinator shall provide recommendations to 9 the Office of Tribal Justice on a yearly basis on how 10 to address elder abuse and elder fraud that takes 11 place on federally recognized tribal reservations. 12 ‘‘(6) LEGAL AID.—The Elder Justice Coordi- 13 nator shall consult with components of the Depart- 14 ment of Justice to promote the provision of civil 15 legal aid to victims of elder abuse and elder fraud. 16 ‘‘(7) SPANISH LANGUAGE RESOURCES.—The 17 Attorney General shall ensure that Elder Justice 18 Initiative online resources are available in Spanish 19 and link linguistically appropriate resources to in- 20 form Spanish-speaking elders of Federal and State 21 resources to combat fraud and abuse that targets 22 the elderly, to include— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2181.IS S2181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2181 IS ‘‘(A) Spanish-language resources and links 1 that help report instances of elder fraud and 2 abuse to State and local law enforcement; and 3 ‘‘(B) resources that help prevent financial 4 exploitation of elders.’’. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2181.IS S2181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS