Elder Justice Act
Latest action · Sep 19, 2006 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 617.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedNov 15, 2005
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Elder Justice Act - (Sec. 5) Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to include an Elder Justice program under title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of that Act.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in pursuing activities under this program, to ensure the protection of individual health privacy consistent with regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPA) and applicable state and local privacy regulations.
Establishes within the Office of the Secretary an Elder Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC) to make recommendations for coordination of activities of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice, and other relevant federal, state, local, and private agencies and entities relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation and other crimes against elders.
Establishes the Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation to create short- and long-term multidisciplinary strategic plans for the development of the field of elder justice and to make recommendations to the EJCC. Requires the Advisory Board to: (1) develop collaborative and innovative approaches to improve the quality of long-term care, including prevention of abuse and neglect; and (2) establish multidisciplinary panels to address and develop consensus on subjects relating to improving the quality of long-term care.
Directs the Secretary to promulgate guidelines to assist researchers working in the area of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation with issues relating to human subject protections.
Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2010 to carry out the Elder Justice program.
Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to establish and operate stationary and mobile forensic centers, to develop forensic expertise regarding, and provide services relating to, elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
Directs the Secretary to make: (1) four grants for stationary centers to institutions of higher education with demonstrated expertise in forensics or commitment to preventing or treating elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation; and (2) six grants for mobile centers to appropriate entities.
Requires a grant recipient to use such funds to assist in determining whether abuse, neglect, or exploitation occurred and whether a crime was committed, and to conduct research to describe and disseminate information on: (1) forensic markers that indicate a case in which elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation may have occurred; and (2) methodologies for determining, in such a case, when and how health care emergency services, social and protective services, and legal services providers should intervene, and when the providers should report the case to law enforcement authorities.
Requires a grant recipient to use such funds to develop forensic expertise regarding elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation in order to provide medical and forensic evaluation, therapeutic intervention, victim support and advocacy, case review, and case tracking.
Directs the Secretary to use data made available by grant recipients to develop the capacity of geriatric health care professionals and law enforcement to collect forensic evidence, including any relating to a potential determination of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY2007-FY2010.
Directs the Secretary to carry out activities to provide incentives for individuals to train for, seek, and maintain employment providing direct care in a long-term care (LTC) facility. Includes among such activities those related to specific programs to enhance training, recruitment, and retention of long-term care staff and specific programs to improve management practices at LTC facilities.
Directs the Secretary to coordinate staff recruitment and training activities with the Secretary of Labor and the Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families in order to provide incentives to participants in programs under part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of SSA title IV to train and seek employment providing direct care in an LTC facility.
Directs the Secretary to make grants to LTC facilities to carry out programs through which they: (1) offer continuing training and varying levels of certification to employees who provide direct care to residents of an LTC facility; and (2) provide or arrange to provide bonuses or other increased compensation or benefits to employees who achieve certification under such a program.
Directs the Secretary to make grants to enable LTC facilities to provide training and technical assistance to eligible employees. Requires such a grant recipient to provide such training and technical assistance about management practices, using methods demonstrated to promote retention of individuals giving direct care to residents of such facilities.
Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to assist LTC facilities in offsetting the costs related to purchasing, leasing, developing, and implementing standardized clinical health care informatics systems designed to improve patient safety and reduce adverse events and health care complications resulting from medication errors.
Directs the Secretary to ensure that HHS includes a consumer rights page as part of the information provided for comparison of nursing facilities on the Nursing Home Compare Medicare website, as well as the number of adjudicated instances of criminal violations by a nursing facility, or crimes committed by a nursing facility employee, involving elder abuse (including criminal sexual abuse), neglect, or exploitation.
Directs the Secretary to develop and adopt uniform open electronic standards for transactions involving clinical data by LTC facilities.
Requires the Secretary within 10 years to have procedures in place to accept the optional electronic submission of clinical data by LTC facilities pursuant to such standards.
Authorizes appropriations for such training grants for FY2007-FY2010.
Directs the Secretary to ensure that HHS: (1) provides funding to state and local adult protective services services offices that investigate reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of elders; (2) collects and disseminates related data in coordination with the Department of Justice; (3) develops and disseminates information on best practices regarding, and provides training on, adult protective services; (4) conducts related research; and (5) provides technical assistance to states and other entities providing or funding adult protective services. Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2010.
Establishes a program of annual adult protective services grants to states to enhance state and local adult protective services. Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2010.
Directs the Secretary to award grants to states for demonstration programs that test modules and methods for detection or prevention of elder abuse. Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2010.
Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to: (1) improve the capacity of state long-term care ombudsman programs to respond to and resolve complaints about abuse and neglect; (2) conduct pilot programs with state or local long-term care ombudsman offices; and (3) support all such programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2010.
Directs the Secretary to establish programs to provide and improve ombudsman training for national organizations and state long-term care ombudsman programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2010.
Directs the Secretary to develop: (1) a method for collecting national data regarding elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and (2) uniform national data reporting forms adapted to each relevant entity or discipline.
Requires the Secretary to ensure that the reporting forms and data collection methods developed are pilot tested in six states.
Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states to improve data collection activities relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2010.
Directs the Secretary to establish a long-term care consumer clearinghouse to provide comprehensive detailed information, in a consumer-friendly form, to consumers about choices relating to long-term care providers. Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2010.
Directs the Secretary, directly or through a grant, to study consumer concerns relating to residential LTC facilities other than nursing facilities. Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2010.
Provides for evaluation of elder justice programs.
Amends part A of SSA title XI to require each individual LTC facility owner, operator, employee, manager, agent, or contractor to report to the Secretary and local law enforcement entities any reasonable suspicion of crimes occurring in LTC facilities that received at least $10,000 in federal funds during the preceding calendar year. Establishes penalties for violations and for retaliation against reporting individuals.
Requires the owner or operator of an LTC facility that received at least $10,000 in federal funds under this Act during the preceding year to: (1) notify the Secretary and the appropriate state regulatory agency of an impending closure of the facility not later than 60 days before such closure; (2) include in the notice a plan for the transfer and adequate relocation of facility residents before closure, including assurances that they will be transferred to the most appropriate facility in terms of quality, services, and location; and (3) not later than 10 days after the facility closes identify to the Secretary and the appropriate state agency information where and when they were transferred. Establishes penalties for violation of these requirements.
Directs the Secretary to study and report to the EJCC and appropriate congressional committees on establishing a national nurse aide registry. Authorizes appropriations.
Cosponsors 30
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Nov 15, 2005 to Nov 13, 2006; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-AR | Blanche L. Lincoln | Original | Nov 15, 2005 |
| R-OR | Gordon H. Smith | Original | Nov 15, 2005 |
| D-WI | Herb Kohl | Original | Nov 15, 2005 |
| D-LA | Mary L. Landrieu | Dec 12, 2005 | |
| R-GA | Saxby Chambliss | Dec 19, 2005 | |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Feb 8, 2006 | |
| D-NY | Hillary Rodham Clinton | Feb 8, 2006 | |
| R-KY | Jim Bunning | Feb 8, 2006 | |
| R-PA | Rick Santorum | Feb 8, 2006 | |
| D-NJ | Frank R. Lautenberg | Mar 27, 2006 | |
| D-AR | Mark L. Pryor | Mar 27, 2006 | |
| I-CT | Joseph I. Lieberman | Apr 25, 2006 | |
| R-WY | Michael B. Enzi | Apr 27, 2006 | |
| R-ME | Susan M. Collins | May 4, 2006 | |
| R-ME | Olympia J. Snowe | May 16, 2006 | |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | May 17, 2006 | |
| D-NM | Jeff Bingaman | Jun 12, 2006 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Boxer | Jun 21, 2006 | |
| D-IN | Evan Bayh | Aug 2, 2006 | |
| D-WV | John D. Rockefeller IV | Aug 2, 2006 | |
| R-AK | Lisa Murkowski | Aug 3, 2006 | |
| D-CO | Ken Salazar | Sep 6, 2006 | |
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Sep 8, 2006 | |
| D-SD | Tim Johnson | Sep 11, 2006 | |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Sep 13, 2006 | |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Sep 13, 2006 | |
| D-PA | Arlen Specter | Sep 14, 2006 | |
| R-OH | Mike DeWine | Sep 21, 2006 | |
| D-MA | John F. Kerry | Sep 28, 2006 | |
| D-HI | Daniel K. Inouye | Nov 13, 2006 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Finance Committee | Referred Nov 16, 2005Markup Aug 3, 2006Reported Sep 19, 2006 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 19, 2006Committee on Finance. Reported by Senator Grassley with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 109-337.
- Sep 19, 2006Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 617.
- Aug 3, 2006Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Nov 15, 2005Introduced in Senate
- Nov 15, 2005Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S12847-12848)
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S5946 | Herb Kohl D-WI | Jun 15, 2006 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S12847–S12849 | Blanche L. Lincoln D-AR, Gordon H. Smith R-OR, Herb Kohl D-WI, Orrin G. Hatch R-UT | Nov 15, 2005 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2
- Sep 8, 2006S. 2010, Elder Justice Act<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Finance on August 3, 2006</p>
- Sep 8, 2006S. 2010, Elder Justice ActCost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Finance on August 3, 2006
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 109-437 | ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: THE OLDER AMERICANS ACT89 pages | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Feb 14, 2006 |
CRS reports 4
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
About this bill 1
Products that name it in their title: its number, its law number or one of its short titles.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R43707 | The Elder Justice Act: Background and Issues for Congress | Report | Jun 15, 2020 |
Also cite it 3
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R41278 | Public Health, Workforce, Quality, and Related Provisions in ACA: Summary and Timeline Archived | Report | May 17, 2013 |
| R40886 | Public Health, Workforce, Quality, and Other Provisions in the America’s Healthy Future Act (S. 1796) Archived | Report | Oct 30, 2009 |
| RL31336 | The Older Americans Act: Programs, Funding, and 2006 Reauthorization (P.L. 109-365) Archived | Report | Dec 18, 2006 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 4993 | Elder Justice Act | Related bill | May 1, 2006 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Social Security Act to enhance the Social Security of the Nation by ensuring adequate public-private infrastructure and to resolve to prevent, detect, treat, intervene in, and prosecute elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Elder Justice Act
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Elder Justice Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Social Welfare.
- Advice and consent of the Senate
- Arts, Culture, Religion
- Caregivers
- Church and social problems
- Commerce
- Congress
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Consumer education
- Continuum of care
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Crimes against the elderly
- Criminal justice information
- Criminal statistics
- Data banks
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Justice
- Economics and Public Finance
- Education
- Elder abuse
- Employee selection
- Employee training
- Executive reorganization
- Families
- Federal advisory bodies
- Federal aid to education
- Federal aid to health facilities
- Federal aid to law enforcement
- Federal aid to the aged
- Federal libraries
- Fines (Penalties)
- Forensic medicine
- Geriatrics
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Government publications
- Government publicity
- Governmental investigations
- Health
- Higher education
- Housing and Community Development
- Human experimentation in medicine
- Identification of criminals
- Income tax
- Indian medical care
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Long-term care
- Medicaid
- Medical education
- Medical ethics
- Medical personnel
- Medicare
- Minority business enterprises
- Minority health
- Nonprofit organizations
- Nursing homes
- Ombudsman
- Paramedical personnel
- Patients' rights
- Personnel records
- Presidential appointments
- Prosecution
- Public health personnel
- Public prosecutors
- Quality of care
- Recruiting of employees
- Religion
- Research centers
- Rural health
- Scholarships
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Social Welfare
- Social work
- State laws
- Tax credits
- Taxation
- Victims of crimes
- Volunteer workers
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 19, 2006Reported to Senate
- Nov 15, 2005Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.