Legislation, Elder Abuse

History

States' provision of protective services for adults emerged from government's concern for adults who could not manage their own affairs. Protective services were funded in 1975 under Title XX of the Social Security Act, which required funding protective services for all adults 18 years of age and older without regard to income. The legislation placed an emphasis on persons found in situations that included abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Under the Title XX federal mandate, states created APS units in their local social service agencies, either through statute or regulation. Programs included mandatory reporting laws, modeled after child abuse reporting legislation, as well as involuntary interventions, such as emergency orders, and civil commitments.

Congressional involvement in elder abuse prevention spans more than 25 years. From 1978 through 1990, the House Select Committee on Aging held hearings on the problem of elder abuse. The hearings prompted a number of reports documenting the scope of the problem, including Elder Abuse: An Examination of a Hidden Problem (House Select Committee on Aging) and Elder Abuse: A National Disgrace (Rep. Claude Pepper). In 1990, the Subcommittee on Health and Long-Term Care of the House Select Committee on Aging issued Elder Abuse: A Decade of Shame and Inaction.

In an effort to combat elder abuse in nursing homes, the ombudsman program was created in 1972 as a Public Health Service demonstration project. Demonstration projects were carried out in seven states, which were transferred to the Administration on Aging in 1974. In 1978, the U.S. Congress amended the Older Americans Act (OAA; 42 U.S.C. §3001 et seq., as amended), requiring that each state develop a long-term care ombudsman program. Additional statutory requirements for the program were added, with existing requirements strengthened in subsequent OAA amendments.

In 1987, the federal government described elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation in amendments to the OAA under Title VII. Included were definitions of elder abuse in addition to funding for a National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) and for elder abuse and awareness activities for states. Subsequent re-authorizations of the Older Americans Act have increased dollars for the NCEA and for states' elder abuse and awareness efforts, which are carried out by a variety of state-level entities.

...