Elder Abuse Protection Act of 2020

IB Union Calendar No. 588 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8169 [Report No. 116–704] 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 Ms. GARCIA of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary DECEMBER 31, 2020 Additional sponsors: Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. STANTON, Mr. CICILLINE, and Mr. COHEN DECEMBER 31, 2020 Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H8169.RH H8169 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8169 RH 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. VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H8169.RH H8169 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8169 RH 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 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. ELDER JUSTICE INITIATIVE. 6 Section 101(b) of the Elder Abuse Prevention and 7 Prosecution Act (34 U.S.C. 21711(b)) is amended to read 8 as follows: 9 ‘‘(b) ELDER JUSTICE INITIATIVE.— 10 ‘‘(1) PERMANENT INITIATIVE.—The Attorney 11 General shall establish within the Criminal Division 12 an Elder Justice Initiative to coordinate criminal en- 13 forcement and public engagement efforts to combat 14 elder abuse, neglect, and financial fraud and scams 15 that target elders, and to support and coordinate the 16 efforts of the Elder Justice Coordinators designated 17 under subsection (a). 18 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ELDER JUSTICE 19 COORDINATOR.—The Attorney General shall des- 20 ignate an Elder Justice Coordinator within the De- 21 partment of Justice who, in addition to any other re- 22 sponsibilities, shall be responsible for— 23 ‘‘(A) coordinating and supporting the law 24 enforcement efforts and policy activities as the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8169.RH H8169 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8169 RH head of the Elder Justice Initiative for the De- 1 partment of Justice on elder justice issues; 2 ‘‘(B) evaluating training models to deter- 3 mine best practices and creating or compiling 4 and making publicly available replication guides 5 and training materials for law enforcement offi- 6 cers, prosecutors, judges, emergency respond- 7 ers, individuals working in victim services, adult 8 protective services, social services, and public 9 safety, medical personnel, mental health per- 10 sonnel, financial services personnel, and any 11 other individuals whose work may bring them in 12 contact with elder abuse regarding how to— 13 ‘‘(i) conduct investigations in elder 14 abuse cases; 15 ‘‘(ii) address evidentiary issues and 16 other legal issues; and 17 ‘‘(iii) appropriately assess, respond to, 18 and interact with victims and witnesses in 19 elder abuse cases, including in administra- 20 tive, civil, and criminal judicial pro- 21 ceedings; and 22 ‘‘(C) carrying out such other duties as the 23 Attorney General determines necessary in con- 24 nection with enhancing the understanding, pre- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8169.RH H8169 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8169 RH vention, and detection of, and response to, elder 1 abuse. 2 ‘‘(3) ONLINE PUBLIC RESOURCES.—The Elder 3 Justice Initiative shall maintain and publish on the 4 internet, information aimed at protecting elders 5 from fraudulent schemes and contain resources 6 aimed at preventing elder abuse. 7 ‘‘(4) SPANISH LANGUAGE RESOURCES.—The 8 Attorney General shall ensure that Elder Justice 9 Initiative online resources are available in Spanish 10 and link linguistically appropriate resources to in- 11 form Spanish-speaking elders of Federal and State 12 resources to combat fraud and abuse that targets 13 the elderly, to include— 14 ‘‘(A) Spanish-language resources and links 15 that help report instances of elder fraud and 16 abuse to State and local law enforcement; and 17 ‘‘(B) resources that help prevent financial 18 exploitation of elders.’’. 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8169.RH H8169 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS Union Calendar No. 588 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8169 [Report No. 116–704] A BILL To amend the Elder Abuse Prevention and Pros- ecution Act to authorize the Elder Justice Initia- tive, to require that online resources of such ini- tiative are made available in Spanish, and for other purposes. DECEMBER 31, 2020 Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H8169.RH H8169 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS