A resolution designating June 15, 2021, as "World Elder Abuse Awareness Day" and the month of June as "Elder Abuse Awareness Month".

III 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 295 Designating June 15, 2021, as ‘‘World Elder Abuse Awareness Day’’ and the month of June as ‘‘Elder Abuse Awareness Month’’. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 24, 2021 Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Designating June 15, 2021, as ‘‘World Elder Abuse Aware- ness Day’’ and the month of June as ‘‘Elder Abuse Awareness Month’’. Whereas, in 2021, approximately 55,000,000 residents of the United States, or about 1 in every 6 individuals, have at- tained the age of 65; Whereas elder abuse remains a challenging problem and can come in many different forms, often manifesting as phys- ical, sexual, or psychological abuse, financial exploitation, neglect, and social media abuse; Whereas elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation have no boundaries and cross all racial, social, class, gender, and geographic lines, according to the Elder Justice Coalition; VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR295.IS SR295 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 295 IS Whereas more than 1 in 10 individuals in the United States over the age of 60 have been subjected to abuse each year, with many such victims enduring abuse in multiple forms, according to the American Journal of Public Health; Whereas most reported cases of abuse, neglect, and exploi- tation of older adults take place within private homes, and approximately 90 percent of the perpetrators in elder financial exploitation cases are family members or other trusted individuals, according to the National Adult Pro- tective Services Association; Whereas research suggests that elderly individuals in the United States who experience cognitive impairment, phys- ical disabilities, or isolation are more likely to become the victims of abuse than those who do not experience cog- nitive impairment, physical disabilities, or isolation; Whereas other risk factors for elder abuse can include low so- cial support, poor physical health, and experience of pre- vious traumatic events, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse; Whereas close to half of elderly individuals who suffer from dementia will experience abuse during their lifetime, ac- cording to the Department of Justice; Whereas only a small fraction of elder abuse cases are re- ported to the authorities; Whereas, on June 15, 2021, which was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the United States mourned the loss of a disturbing number of older people in the United States, who perished in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities during the COVID–19 pandemic; VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR295.IS SR295 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 295 IS Whereas, the COVID–19 pandemic also has led to the emer- gence of new scams against older adults, including those related to vaccines; Whereas, there has been an increase in hate crimes com- mitted against older, Asian Americans during the COVID–19 pandemic; Whereas, Congress recently passed and the President signed 2 measures that make nearly $400,000,000 available for implementation of Elder Justice Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i– 3a et seq.) initiatives, the largest funding stream related to such initiatives in the history of the Act; and Whereas Congress, in passing the Elder Justice Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 1395i–3a et seq.), the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.), the Elder Abuse Pre- vention and Prosecution Act (34 U.S.C. 21701 et seq.), the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117– 2), and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub- lic Law 116–260), recognized the importance of pro- tecting older people of the United States against abuse and exploitation: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) designates June 15, 2021, as ‘‘World Elder 2 Abuse Awareness Day’’ and the month of June as 3 ‘‘Elder Abuse Awareness Month’’; 4 (2) recognizes— 5 (A) judges, lawyers, adult protective serv- 6 ices professionals, law enforcement officers, so- 7 cial workers, health care providers, advocates 8 for victims, and other professionals and agen- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR295.IS SR295 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 295 IS cies for their efforts to advance awareness of 1 elder abuse; 2 (B) the important work of the Elder Jus- 3 tice Coordinating Council, which has continued 4 through the previous 2 Administrations and in- 5 volves 14 different Federal agencies; 6 (C) the essential work done by adult pro- 7 tective services personnel, who regularly came 8 to the assistance of victims, investigated reports 9 of abuse, and actively prevented future victim- 10 ization of older people in the United States, es- 11 pecially during the ongoing COVID–19 pan- 12 demic as the social isolation of elderly individ- 13 uals due to stay-at-home orders only increased 14 the risk of abuse and neglect; and 15 (D) the importance of supporting State 16 long-term care ombudsman programs, which 17 help prevent elder abuse and neglect in nursing 18 homes and other long-term care facilities, where 19 infection prevention and control deficiencies 20 pose persistent challenges; 21 (3) applauds the work of the Elder Justice Coa- 22 lition, and its members, whose efforts to increase 23 public awareness of elder abuse have the potential to 24 increase the identification and reporting of this 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR295.IS SR295 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 295 IS crime by the public, professionals, and victims, and 1 can act as a catalyst to promote issue-based edu- 2 cation and long-term prevention; and 3 (4) encourages— 4 (A) members of the public and profes- 5 sionals who work with older adults to act as 6 catalysts to promote awareness and long-term 7 prevention of elder abuse— 8 (i) by reaching out to local adult pro- 9 tective services agencies, State long-term 10 care ombudsman programs, and the Na- 11 tional Center on Elder Abuse; and 12 (ii) by learning to recognize, detect, 13 report, and respond to elder abuse; 14 (B) private individuals and public agencies 15 in the United States to continue work together 16 at the Federal, State, and local levels to combat 17 abuse, neglect, exploitation, crime, and violence 18 against vulnerable adults, including vulnerable 19 older adults, particularly in light of limited re- 20 sources for vital protective services; and 21 (C) those Federal agencies with responsi- 22 bility for preventing elder abuse to fully exercise 23 such responsibilities to protect older adults, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR295.IS SR295 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •SRES 295 IS whether living in the community or in long-term 1 care facilities. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR295.IS SR295 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS