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| August 3rd, 2006 |
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Media Contact(s): Peter Carr (202) 224-9854,
Jared Whitley (202) 224-0134 |
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Printable Version |
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HATCH
Bill Would Increase State, Local Ability to Combat Crimes Against Seniors |
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Washington – Sen. Orrin G. Hatch’s bill for protecting seniors from abuse, the Elder Justice Act of 2006, unanimously cleared the Finance Committee today. Hatch introduced the bill to combat the reported mistreatment of as many as 2 million Americans over the age 65 by someone on whom they depend for care.
According to the Utah Division of Aging and Adult Services, about 20,000 seniors reported they have experienced some kind of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation.
“Our right to live free from abuse and neglect does not -- and should not -- diminish with age,” Hatch said. “The reports of elder abuse are troubling enough, but the official numbers are likely much greater because a great deal of abuse goes unreported. The problem of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation has long been invisible and is among the most serious issues facing seniors and their families.”
If enacted into law, Hatch’s Elder Justice Act would provide federal resources to state and community officials who currently must grapple with elder abuse using scarce resources and fragmented systems. Some of the bill’s provisions include measures to:
• Create an office of Elder Justice at the Department of Health and Human Services to provide elder programs with grants, policy, and technical assistance relating to elder justice.
• Improve the quality of information and research related to elder abuse, developing a national data repository on elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
• Create new forensic expertise in elder abuse (similar to that in child abuse) that will promote detection and increase the capacity to prosecute offenders. New programs will train health professionals in both forensic pathology and geriatrics.
• Increase prosecution and penalties for failure to promptly report crimes in long-term care facilities. The act will require reporting of crimes in nursing homes on an official federal website.
“Congress has passed laws to address child abuse and crimes against women, yet not one full-time federal employee is designated to fight elder abuse,” Hatch said. “Without more attention and more resources, far too many of these injustices will go unaddressed and far too many older Americans will suffer.”
Mechanisms for identifying and tracking elder abuse indicate that many instances of injustice are not reported for appropriate prosecution. The Utah Division of Aging and Adult Services case load for reported instances of elder abuse is 2,400 per year, according to Director Alan Ormsby. But in a survey, more than 20,000 Utah seniors said they had experienced some kind of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation, and nearly 50,000 reported the signs and symptoms of abuse.
“There is a huge need for seniors out there to realize that if their son or daughter takes money out of their pocketbook, that’s not right,” Ormsby said. “If caregivers write themselves a check at the grocery store when they’re shopping for a senior, that’s financial exploitation and it needs to be stopped.”
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