Federal Bill to Prevent Senior Abuse Advances in Senate

Over the past two years there has been increased focus on the scourge of elder abuse of all kinds.  Yet, the awareness effort has not led to any federal legal changes to help protect seniors from things like physical neglect at home or senior financial exploitation.  That may soon change.

Minnesota Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn have sponsored a bill in the U.S. Senate to help prevent these harms recently advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.  The bill passed out of committee on a 15-3 vote this month and will now be sent to the full Senate for approval.

Known as the Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act, the measure strengthens the tools available to states to provide proper oversight of guardians and senior conservators.  This focus on oversight is critical, as a lack of third-party monitoring often allows the problem to go unnoticed.  Considering the obvious need for improvement, the measure is supported by those on both sides of the aisle.

Advancement of the bill and increased focus on senior caregiving could not come at a better time, because the senior population continues to rise each and every day.  Failure to account for the issue now means that millions might be affected in coming years.  To address the problem, the measure allows states to use existing money to improve monitoring systems and creates an electronic filing system to monitor guardians and conservatorship audits.

As Sen. Klobuchar noted during committee hearings, "I know every state has incidences of people getting ripped off millions of dollars when their loved one is supposed to be under the care of a guardian. Most guardians do amazing work, good work, but again you have a situation where you have a few that are causing a lot of harm."