State and Federal Legislation Related to Older Adult Maltreatment

State and Federal Legislation Related to Older Adult

Maltreatment

As with child maltreatment, state laws provide for criminal charges related to the abuse of older

adults (the definition of which varies from state to state, but may be as young as 55 years of age).

Most (but not all) states define certain individuals as mandated reporters of abuse of older adults as

well. At the federal level, the Older American Act of 2006 developed and maintains the National

Center on Elder Abuse, which provides funding for prevention activities, research, data collection,

and long-term planning for elder justice. The Elder Justice Act (EJA) of 2010, which was part of the

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010), is the first comprehensive strategy to address

older adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation. It is important to note that the authorized funding has

not been appropriated at this time and that the EJA is set to expire in 2014. Funding for older adult

maltreatment is significantly less than for other types of violence and a national database has yet to

be established.

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