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Elder Justice Act Case Study

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Abuse of the elderly is a common issue, but the aging adults are protected by a federal law known as the “Elder Justice Act”. According to Hillier and Barrow (2011), between 3 percent and 6 percent of people over the age of 65 report being abused. However, elderly abuse is usually not reported, because the abuser is typically a family member. So, the abuse adult will not report the abuse because they are afraid of making the abuser angrier or being isolated (Hillier & Barrow, 2011, p. 328). According to the department of health and human services “The “Elder Justice Act” is the first comprehensive federal legislation to address elder abuse, was signed into law by President Obama in March, 2010 as part of the health care reform act.”
According to National Center on Elderly Abuse, the law works by:
• Establishes …show more content…

• Authorizes grants for the training for APS, Ombudsman, federal and state surveyors of nursing facilities.
• Authorizes grants for forensic centers to develop expertise on elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.
• Enhances long-term care staffing, data exchange in facilities, mandatory reporting of crimes against residents in federally-funded facilities, promulgation of guidelines to assist researchers, and authorizes a study on a national nurse aide registry.
There are pros and cons of government involvement with the elderly abuse issue that can have effect in small and larger scales. The pros are that this issue is being acknowledged, more assistance available, and more funding is being contributed to help the elderly and families in need. The cons are that government assistance information is not always easy to find, more education needs to be done for caregivers, and asking for assistance to help with the elderly is sometimes viewed

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