Sec. 202. Grant program
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The Attorney General shall establish a grant program to— award grants and provide technical assistance to not more than 10 States to assist the States in developing, establishing, and operating programs designed to improve— the response to cases of elder abuse in a manner that limits additional trauma to the elder victims; and the investigation and prosecution of cases of elder abuse; and in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Legal Services Corporation, award grants to not more than 6 civil legal services entities that could prevent or provide remedies for abuse, neglect, and exploitation and collaborate with other organizations seeking to prevent, detect, and respond to elder abuse.
A State is eligible to receive a grant or technical assistance under paragraph (1)(A) if the State— has a crime victims compensation program that meets the criteria described in section 1403(b) of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 ( 42 U.S.C. 10602(b) ); and is in compliance with clause (ii). In order to be eligible to receive a grant under paragraph (1)(A), a State shall establish or, subject to subclause (V), designate a multidisciplinary task force on elder justice that is composed of professionals with knowledge and experience relating to the criminal justice system and issues of elder abuse.
Except as provided in subclause (VI), a task force shall include not less than 1 representative from— law enforcement agencies, such as police officers, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, detectives, public safety officers, corrections officers, investigators, and victims’ service personnel; the crime victim compensation program of the State; judicial and legal officers, including individuals who work on cases of elder abuse and guardianship experts; elder justice and elder law advocates, including local agencies on aging and local public and private agencies and entities relating to elder abuse and other crimes against elders; the financial services industry; health and mental health professionals; social services agencies in the State;
State and local adult protective services offices; and family members of victims of elder abuse. A task force shall— review and evaluate the investigative, administrative, and judicial (including civil and criminal) responses to cases of elder abuse in the State; make recommendations to the State based on the review and evaluation conducted under item (aa), including recommendations relating to— modifying the investigative, administrative, and judicial response to cases of elder abuse, in a manner that— reduces the additional trauma to the elder victim; ensures procedural fairness to the individual accused of elder abuse; and experimental, model, and demonstration programs for testing innovative approaches and techniques that may improve the rate of successful prosecution or enhance the effectiveness of judicial and administrative action in elder abuse cases, and which ensure procedural fairness to the accused, including a determination of which programs are most effective; and submit the recommendations described in item
(bb)to the Attorney General. Not later than 1 year after the end of the grant period under this section, each State that receives a grant under this section shall submit to the Attorney General a report that includes— an evaluation of the effectiveness of the grant program; a list of all laws of the State relating to elder abuse; and any other information the Attorney General may require. If determined appropriate by the Attorney General, a State may designate a commission or task force established by a State before January 1, 2012, with membership and functions comparable to those described in subclauses
(II)and (III), as a task force for the purposes of this clause. The Attorney General may waive, in part, the task force membership requirements under subclause
(II)for a State that demonstrates a need for the waiver. A legal service entity is eligible to receive a grant under paragraph (1)(B) if the entity can demonstrate a commitment to representation of elder abuse victims or potential victims and participating in multidisciplinary and interagency efforts to combat elder abuse. To receive a grant under paragraph (1)(B) an entity shall— be an experienced nonprofit legal services provider; and propose or demonstrate— collaboration with State or local aging, social, and human services and law enforcement agencies; partnership with professionals with knowledge and experience relating to the criminal justice system; and methodology for timely evidenced-based evaluation. The Attorney General shall make every effort to ensure equitable geographic distribution of grants under this section and take into consideration the needs of underserved populations, including rural and tribal communities. Grant funds awarded under this section may be used to support— State, county, and local prosecutor offices and courts in elder abuse matters, including— hiring or paying salary and benefits for employees and establishing or implementing units designated to work on elder justice issues in State prosecutors’ offices and State courts; and hiring or paying salary and benefits for an employee to coordinate elder justice-related cases, training, technical assistance, and policy development for State, county, and local prosecutors and courts; State and local law enforcement agencies investigating cases of elder abuse; and adult protective services. A State or legal services entity that receives a grant under this section may not use more than 8 percent of the amount of the grant for administrative or personnel costs. Any grant funds awarded under this section that are used as described in paragraph (1)(C) shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other Federal, State, or local government funding. A grant awarded under this section shall be for a period of not more than 3 years. Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Attorney General awards grants under subsection (a)(1)(B), the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on the grant program that includes the results of the grant program and recommendations for such legislation and administrative action as the Attorney General determines to be appropriate. There are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General such sums as are necessary for fiscal years 2016 through 2018 to carry out this section.
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U.S. Code