Elder Abuse Protection Act of 2021

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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:25 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2922.RFS H2922 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 2922 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Elder Abuse Protection 2 Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. ELDER JUSTICE INITIATIVE. 4 Section 101(b) of the Elder Abuse Prevention and 5 Prosecution Act (34 U.S.C. 21711(b)) is amended to read 6 as follows: 7 ‘‘(b) ELDER JUSTICE INITIATIVE.— 8 ‘‘(1) PERMANENT INITIATIVE.—The Attorney 9 General shall establish an Elder Justice Initiative to 10 coordinate criminal enforcement and public engage- 11 ment efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect, and fi- 12 nancial fraud and scams that target elders, and to 13 support and coordinate the efforts of the Elder Jus- 14 tice Coordinator designated under subsection (a). 15 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ELDER JUSTICE 16 COORDINATOR.—The Attorney General shall des- 17 ignate an Elder Justice Coordinator within the De- 18 partment of Justice who, in addition to any other re- 19 sponsibilities, shall be responsible for— 20 ‘‘(A) coordinating and supporting the law 21 enforcement efforts and policy activities as the 22 head of the Elder Justice Initiative for the De- 23 partment of Justice on elder justice issues; 24 ‘‘(B) evaluating training models to deter- 25 mine best practices and creating or compiling 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:25 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2922.RFS H2922 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 2922 RFS and making publicly available replication guides 1 and training materials for law enforcement offi- 2 cers, prosecutors, judges, emergency respond- 3 ers, individuals working in victim services, adult 4 protective services, social services, and public 5 safety, medical personnel, mental health per- 6 sonnel, financial services personnel, and any 7 other individuals whose work may bring them in 8 contact with elder abuse regarding how to— 9 ‘‘(i) conduct investigations in elder 10 abuse cases; 11 ‘‘(ii) address evidentiary issues and 12 other legal issues; and 13 ‘‘(iii) appropriately assess, respond to, 14 and interact with victims and witnesses in 15 elder abuse cases, including in administra- 16 tive, civil, and criminal judicial pro- 17 ceedings; and 18 ‘‘(C) carrying out such other duties as the 19 Attorney General determines necessary in con- 20 nection with enhancing the understanding, pre- 21 vention, and detection of, and response to, elder 22 abuse. 23 ‘‘(3) ONLINE PUBLIC RESOURCES.—The Elder 24 Justice Initiative shall maintain and publish on the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:25 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2922.RFS H2922 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 2922 RFS internet, information aimed at protecting elders 1 from fraudulent schemes and contain resources 2 aimed at preventing elder abuse. 3 ‘‘(4) TELEPHONE HOTLINE.—The Attorney 4 General, in consultation with the Elder Justice Coor- 5 dinator and the Office of Victims of Crime, shall es- 6 tablish a national elder fraud telephone hotline to 7 provide support to victims and resources to help vic- 8 tims, including referrals to federal, local and state 9 law enforcement where appropriate. 10 ‘‘(5) TRIBAL CONSULTATION.—The Elder Jus- 11 tice Coordinator shall provide recommendations to 12 the Office of Tribal Justice on a yearly basis on how 13 to address elder abuse and elder fraud that takes 14 place on federally recognized tribal reservations. 15 ‘‘(6) LEGAL AID.—The Elder Justice Coordi- 16 nator shall consult with components of the Depart- 17 ment of Justice to promote the provision of civil 18 legal aid to victims of elder abuse and elder fraud. 19 ‘‘(7) SPANISH LANGUAGE RESOURCES.—The 20 Attorney General shall ensure that Elder Justice 21 Initiative online resources are available in Spanish 22 and link linguistically appropriate resources to in- 23 form Spanish-speaking elders of Federal and State 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:25 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2922.RFS H2922 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 HR 2922 RFS resources to combat fraud and abuse that targets 1 the elderly, to include— 2 ‘‘(A) Spanish-language resources and links 3 that help report instances of elder fraud and 4 abuse to State and local law enforcement; and 5 ‘‘(B) resources that help prevent financial 6 exploitation of elders.’’. 7 Passed the House of Representatives June 23, 2021. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:25 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2922.RFS H2922 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS