Sadly, seniors are among the most likely groups of people to be taken advantage of through many varying scams and methods of abuse.

Abuse, neglect and scams against elders has been steadily increasing throughout the past decade, which has gained national attention and sparked the need for legal action and protection in Congress.

Below, we’re discussing the concept of elder justice and what exactly Congress is working on to make it happen.

What is Elder Justice?

Elder justice? It is the holistic method of both preventing and handling instances of elder abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, and maltreatment of seniors. It is a growing issue as more and more seniors are targeted each year, and as such, the demand for justice for these seniors is also increasing.

In response, the Elder Justice Coalition was established to create more public awareness, build support for the Elder Justice Act, and influence legislation regarding elder justice.

What’s Happening in Congress?

Promoting Alzheimer’s Awareness to Prevent Elder Abuse Act – Through training programs, educational material, and data collection, this act coupled along with the Protecting Seniors from Emergency Scams Act would take important steps to decrease scams against seniors. These acts were recently introduced to the Senate.

Stop Senior Scams Act – In a similar fashion, this act is more specifically aimed to preventing senior scams by establishing an advisory board tasked with providing education about elder financial exploitation to retail and financial employees. This is a bipartisan bill that has been passed in the Senate is now up for consideration by the House.

Senior Abuse Training and Offense Protection (STOP) Act – This bill would seek to establish a grant program, awarded by the Department of Justice, to boost efforts and activities to prevent, identify, and eliminate elder abuse. The STOP Act is currently pending in the House.

Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act – Now being considered by the House, this act would authorize $500 million dollars to help states create “strike teams” to assist nursing homes. Additionally, the act would establish incentives for nursing homes to develop specialized COVID-19 units.


For more information on elder abuse and how you can best protect your senior, please feel free to reach out to our experts here at Home Care Assistance.

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