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Vulnerable Adult Justice Project.

Announcements and Updates

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

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• The 2011 VAJP Legislative Initiative, HF447/SF195, was signed by the Governor May 18, 2011 and will now be known as Chapter 28, Laws of Minnesota 2011.  The bill passed the Minnesota House on May 5 by a vote of 127-0 and passed the Minnesota Senate on May 14 by a vote of 61-0.  All of its provisions will take effect August 1 of this year.  The final version of the bill is found at https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?id=28&year=2011&type=0.  Official session laws will be published this summer.

• Best Practices:  Fiduciary Abuse Specialist Team (FAST) to Combat Financial Exploitation of the Elderly: The Center for Elder Justice & Policy received a SideBar grant of $20,000 from the Stevens Square Foundation, Minneapolis, 2011 Legislation Reports and Statistics MN, for the development of a model project for addressing financial exploitation.  This nine-month effort that began in January 2011 will lay the groundwork for establishing and coordinating a  FAST (Team) in Hennepin 2011 Related Legislation County to improve detection, investigation, and prosecution of elder financial exploitation cases.  The Center's Associate Director and Adjunct Professor, Iris Freeman, is Project Director for the grant.  She is working with Hennepin County and State officials as well as experts from the private sector to complete this effort.  For further information, contact  iris.freeman@wmitchell.edu.

• The US Senate Special Committee on Aging held a March 2, 2011 hearing to hear the results of a just-released GAO analysis and recommendations on Adult Protective Services across the nation.  Information and links are available on the "Reports and Statistics" page of this wiki. 
  

• World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: Critical Relationships for a Multidisciplinary Toolbox, a free annual event of talks and workshops on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 from 8:00am – 5:00pm (Registration begins at 7:30am), at William Mitchell College of Law (875 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105).
  

• Federal Elder Justice Act: There is good news from the Elder Justice Coalition in Washington, DC for the first funding of the Elder Justice Act (EJA) that was signed by the President in 2010.  The Obama Administration's FY2012 budget includes $21.5 million in new appropriations for elder rights and justice.  Components are $16.5 million for State Adult Protective Services (APS) demonstrations and $5 million for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.  Advocates' attention turns now to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to advocate for elder justice and the resources needed to support the mission.

• Other Federal Elder Justice legislation is likely to include renewed efforts to draft and reintroduce initiatives that were not enacted in the last Congress.  These include the Elder Abuse Victims Act with grants and support for law enforcement, the Silver Alert Act to create a national network for locating missing vulnerable persons, the Senior Financial Empowerment Act to enhance the Federal Trade Commission's work to combat fraud by mail, telemarketing and the Internet, and the Preventing Affinity Scams on Seniors Act that would give people an opt-in for services that monitor and protect their financial accounts.

• Federal Reauthorizations: The reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Older Americans Act (OAA) are also on the agenda for the 112th Congress. 

New information or newly uploaded documents can be found at the top of each page.  If you have any questions about using this site, additional documents to recommend for posting, or suggestions about format, please contact Iris Freeman at iris.freeman@wmitchell.edu or at the Center for Elder Justice and Policy, William Mitchell College of Law, 875 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105-3076.

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