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Elder Abuse and Neglect
The NDAA Board of Directors adopted the following policy on elder abuse at their May 1986 meeting:
Vast numbers of our country’s elderly citizens have silently endured physical trauma, financial devastation, and emotional distress because they have been victimized by anonymous criminals—or perhaps worse—by once trusted caretakers, or family members. Just as the criminal justice system has rightly recognized that child abuse can be curbed by the enactment of new laws and the use of special procedures, so too should the system be amenable to changes on behalf of our growing elderly population.
The resolution then went on to list the steps believed to be necessary to deal with the growing problem of elder abuse. Among these were creating specialized units in police and prosecutors’ offices to handle these crimes; enacting new laws enhancing punishment; and establishing special hotlines to report incidents of crimes against the elderly. The resolution also called for a “high-visibility” campaign against elder abuse to deter offenders.
The policy concluded by saying:
All segments of the community must unite to protect the victims, prosecute the offenders and prevent the recurrence of the outrageous acts against these citizens who deserve our respect and reverence.
Since then, NDAA has worked to make this policy a viable concept by meeting with the Department of Justice, with the congressional committees with oversight on issues involving the elderly and with other organizations that specialize in the area of elder law. This year, NDAA President Alsobrooks has charged the chairs of the Juvenile Justice and Family Law Committee with developing a comprehensive association policy on elder abuse issues comparable to the policy that the Board adopted on juvenile justice (see “Resource Manual and Policy Positions on Juvenile Crime Issues” on the NDAA Web site). Legislation introduced this fall makes a reality of much of the NDAA policy.
The Elder Justice Act of 2002
Senator Breaux (D-LA), the chair of the Senate Committee on Aging, and Senator Hatch (R-UT), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the Elder Justice Act of 2002 in mid-September. While too late for action at the end of an already overwhelmed congressional session, the legislation serves as a placeholder for the start of the 108th Congress in January 2003. The Elder Justice Act would provide federal resources to support state and community efforts dedicated to fighting elder abuse with scarce resources and fragmented systems. From a social perspective, elder justice means ensuring an adequate public-private infrastructure and sufficient resources to prevent, detect, treat, understand, intervene in and, where appropriate, prosecute elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. From an individual perspective, elder justice is the right of every older person to be free of abuse, neglect and exploitation.
The Elder Justice Act would promote both the social and the individual aspects of elder justice by:
- Creating Offices of Elder Justice at the Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice and a public-private Coordinating Council to coordinate activities of all relevant federal agencies, states, communities and private and not-for-profit entities in regard to elder abuse issues. This is modeled on a similar Council on Juvenile Issues chaired by DOJ.
- Improving the quality, quantity and accessibility of information on abuse of the elderly by establishing an Elder Justice Resource Center and Library. A national data repository will also be developed to increase the knowledge base and collect data about elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.
- Providing the first national effort to capture research, clinical practice, best practices and training and dissemination of information relating to elder justice. Priorities would include a national incidence and prevalence study, jump-starting intervention research, developing community strategies to make elders safer, and enhancing multi-disciplinary efforts.
- Emphasizing the need for new forensic expertise (similar to that in child abuse) and promoting detection and increasing expertise. New programs will train health professionals in both forensic pathology and geriatrics.
- Addressing the often neglected elder victims’ needs by supporting the creation of “safe havens” for seniors who are not safe where they live and development of programs focusing on the special needs of at-risk elders and older victims.
- Increasing prosecution and providing technical, investigative, coordination, and victim assistance resources to law enforcement to support elder justice cases. Preventive efforts will be enhanced by supporting community policing efforts to protect at-risk elders.
- Establishing the National Center for the Prosecution of Elder Abuse and Neglect within the American Prosecutors Research Institute, the “think tank” for NDAA.
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