Protecting the rights, independence, and safety of older people by exploring barriers, sharing information and ideas, and providing a voice from the field to policy makers
Who We Are
CEJC is a multidisciplinary membership organization providing a voice from the field in elder justice policy and practice. We promote the rights of older adults, including protection against age-based discrimination and elder abuse, and equitable access to resources, health care, and the legal system by those in greatest need. Our programs include: Nat'l Elder Justice Advocates Academy The Academy provides advocates with information, updates, promising practices, webinars, toolkits, and opportunities to join in the national dialogue on elder justice. Senior Medicare Patrol CEJC partners with the California Senior Medicare Patrol to inform professionals, advocates, and the public about how Medicare fraud harms seniors, caregivers, and the public, and what they can do. |
Policy
CEJC advocates for policy reform, raises awareness about elder justice developments, creates opportunities for exchange among advocates and policy makers, and provides consultation, training, and technical assistance. Our work reflects our Principles of Elder Justice handout and video. Our current work focuses on:
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Learn
Our educational materials focus on leading edge issues in elder justice with the aim of fostering new ideas and innovations. They include: |
News & Updates |
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If you missed "An Agenda for Elder Justice"
Recordings of this July 22 Commonwealth Club Event featuring CEJC Executive Director Lisa Nerenberg with NAPSA National Policy Director Bill Benson is now available on YouTube , Facebook or the Commonwealth Club Podcast
Trends in APS/Advocating for Justice in the COVID-19 Era
CEJC Executive Director Lisa Nerenberg and NAPSA Executive Director Lori Delagrammatikas will be the panelists on the August 20th Elder Justice Lunch & Learn Webinar. The webinar is hosted by Ombudsman Services of Contra Costa, Alameda. For more information and to register, click here.
CEJC Partners with Senior Medicare Patrol
CEJC has embarked on a new partnership with the California Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) to spread the word about how Medicare fraud harms beneficiaries, their caregivers, and the public; and what can be done about it. For more, see CEJC Partners with SMP
Healthcare Fraud Kills: What You Need to Know
Aug 11, 2020 12:30 PM
During this webinar hosted by the Institute on Aging, Micki Nozaki, Director of theCalifornia Health Advocates Senior Medicare Patrol, will describe the medical consequences of Medicare fraud on older victims and explain how both beneficiaries and taxpayers alike bear the cost of fraud. To register, click here.
Recordings of this July 22 Commonwealth Club Event featuring CEJC Executive Director Lisa Nerenberg with NAPSA National Policy Director Bill Benson is now available on YouTube , Facebook or the Commonwealth Club Podcast
Trends in APS/Advocating for Justice in the COVID-19 Era
CEJC Executive Director Lisa Nerenberg and NAPSA Executive Director Lori Delagrammatikas will be the panelists on the August 20th Elder Justice Lunch & Learn Webinar. The webinar is hosted by Ombudsman Services of Contra Costa, Alameda. For more information and to register, click here.
CEJC Partners with Senior Medicare Patrol
CEJC has embarked on a new partnership with the California Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) to spread the word about how Medicare fraud harms beneficiaries, their caregivers, and the public; and what can be done about it. For more, see CEJC Partners with SMP
Healthcare Fraud Kills: What You Need to Know
Aug 11, 2020 12:30 PM
During this webinar hosted by the Institute on Aging, Micki Nozaki, Director of theCalifornia Health Advocates Senior Medicare Patrol, will describe the medical consequences of Medicare fraud on older victims and explain how both beneficiaries and taxpayers alike bear the cost of fraud. To register, click here.
National News
HEALS Act Eliminates Elder Protections
The Senate Republicans’ legislative proposal to address COVID-19, known as the HEALS Act, eliminates critical provisions that were contained in legislation recently authored by Sen. Charles Grassley with help from the Elder Justice Coalition (JC) and other national advocacy groups. EJC has provided the following list of provisions that were struck from the bill:
APS Designated as Essential Service
In a June 19, 2020 letter to governors, US Department of Health & Human Services Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan recommended that they consider adult protective services workers and other aging and disability service providers as “essential workers,” and classify them as Level 1 emergency responders for personal protective equipment (PPE). The move was intended to make PPE more readily available to them. To view the letter and other APS news related to the epidemic go to APS TARC
House Hearing on COVID-19 Nursing Home Crisis
The House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on Thursday, June 25. Among the witnesses offering testimony was Nicole Howell, Executive Director, Ombudsman Services of Contra Costa Inc and chair of CEJC’s policy committee. The hearing recording and written testimony can be found here
Alzheimer's Awareness to Prevent Elder Abuse Act
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Promoting Alzheimer’s Awareness to Prevent Elder Abuse Act to amend the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act (EAPPA) to require the National Elder Justice Coordinator at the Department of Justice (DOJ) to take into account individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias when creating or compiling the elder abuse training materials required under EAPPA and direct the DOJ to review and update existing training materials to include individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
The Senate Republicans’ legislative proposal to address COVID-19, known as the HEALS Act, eliminates critical provisions that were contained in legislation recently authored by Sen. Charles Grassley with help from the Elder Justice Coalition (JC) and other national advocacy groups. EJC has provided the following list of provisions that were struck from the bill:
- Tele-visitation
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing for nursing home residents and staff
- Upgrading Nursing Home Compare and the Five-Star rating system
- Emergency supplemental funding for Adult Protective Services
- Reauthorizing the Elder Justice Act
- Training for law enforcement personnel and the court system on best practices to use when assisting victims with dementia
APS Designated as Essential Service
In a June 19, 2020 letter to governors, US Department of Health & Human Services Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan recommended that they consider adult protective services workers and other aging and disability service providers as “essential workers,” and classify them as Level 1 emergency responders for personal protective equipment (PPE). The move was intended to make PPE more readily available to them. To view the letter and other APS news related to the epidemic go to APS TARC
House Hearing on COVID-19 Nursing Home Crisis
The House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on Thursday, June 25. Among the witnesses offering testimony was Nicole Howell, Executive Director, Ombudsman Services of Contra Costa Inc and chair of CEJC’s policy committee. The hearing recording and written testimony can be found here
Alzheimer's Awareness to Prevent Elder Abuse Act
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Promoting Alzheimer’s Awareness to Prevent Elder Abuse Act to amend the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act (EAPPA) to require the National Elder Justice Coordinator at the Department of Justice (DOJ) to take into account individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias when creating or compiling the elder abuse training materials required under EAPPA and direct the DOJ to review and update existing training materials to include individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
California News
California Staves off Drastic Cuts to Aging Programs In late June, Governor Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers agreed on a budget plan that avoids the devastating cuts to critical safety net programs that the governor had originally proposed. For a summary of the adjustments to California Department of Aging’s (CDA) budget, as authorized in the Budget Act of 2020, click here. Home Safe in the COVID Era The Housing and Homelessness Branch of the California Department of Social Services, which administers the state’s three-year homelessness prevention pilot project, reports that counties have seen declines in enrollment during the pandemic that they attribute to the eviction moratorium and the fact that adult protective services (APS) case workers are making fewer in-person visits and have less direct interaction with clients. Prior to the pandemic, participating counties were building working relationships between APS departments and traditional homelessness response systems. Some report that clients require more housing case management than initially expected. The projects are developing data collection procedures, and CDSS anticipates that they will have a report on the projects by the end of summer. Investment Advisors/Brokers Mandated to Report Abuse As of July 1, 2020, investment advisors and brokers are required to report suspected financial abuse as the result of SB-496, which expands the category of mandated reporters covered under the state’s elder and dependent adult reporting law. The new provisions authorize broker-dealers or investment advisers who make reports to also notify trusted contact persons who had previously been designated by elder or dependent adult clients of any known or suspected financial abuse. They can further temporarily delay requested disbursements or transactions from the accounts of alleged victims in some circumstances. Under the law, mandated reporters are granted civil immunity for these actions that are made in good faith and with reasonable care. |
State News (Other States)
Ohio Implements New Law Adding Penalties for Fraud to Fund APS Ohio’s SB 158, which went into effect on March 20, 2019, raises money from successful elder financial abuse prosecutions to fund local adult protectives service investigations and services. For more, see May/June 2020 News & Updates. National Network of State Elder Justice Coalitions (NNSEJC)
The National Network of State Elder Justice Coalitions (NNSEJC) was formed in 2018 to build capacity at the state and national levels by sharing information, resources, and expertise. For more information and updates, see NNSEJC. NNSEJC's Welcomes Indiana's IN-CASE NNSEJC's newest member, the Indiana Council Against Senior Exploitation (IN-CASE), comprises dozens of organizations and individuals across the state. Its mission is to empower Indiana communities to prevent and end exploitation and abuse through education, encouragement, and empowerment. |
New Resources
National Eder Abuse MDT Peer Support Community The California District Attorneys Association (CDAA) and the Elder Justice Initiative (EJI) of the Department of Justice have created a peer support community to help multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) communicate. It includes a discussion board and documents library for sharing resources. To join, see MDT Peer Support. New Training on Decision-Making The National Center for State Courts and the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging have released Finding the Right Fit: Decision-Making Supports and Guardianship, a training to help advocates and service providers assist individuals with diminished mental capacity. It focuses topics ranging from supporting people in making their own choices about health, money, and lifestyle; to deciding whether to become a guardian or conservator; to supporting self-determination. ACL Updates Voluntary APS Guidelines The Administration for Community Living (ACL) has released updated voluntary guidelines for state APS systems, which reflect findings from 24 recent studies, comments from stakeholders, and a review by a technical expert panel of researchers and APS leaders. They also reflect data from ACL's National Adult Maltreatment Reporting System. It contains expanded content in quality assurance, program evaluation, and supervisor training. Toolkit: Serving Older African American Survivors Produced by the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL), in partnership with the National Resource Center on Reaching Victims, the toolkit includes video clips of experts describing challenges faced by older African American and reflective questions designed to help readers synthesize key points and explore how the strategies offered can be applied in their work. See toolkit. Framework for an Equitable COVID-19 Homelessness Response Produced by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the Framework provides guidance for how homelessness systems can leverage the CARES Act and other funding sources (such as FEMA Public Assistance) to equitably conduct emergency protective measures while planning for recovery-oriented uses of these funds. The Framework is based on the following principles:
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Research & Reports
Updated Report on Elder Justice Act The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has updated an earlier report on the Elder Justice Act. It covers the history of the Act, its provisions, its funding over time, and future issues for Congress to consider, including its reauthorization. This report can be found here. Helping Those Who Help Others: Key Findings This report from the National Resource Center for Reaching Victims (NRC) describes the findings of a comprehensive needs assessment of the crime victims field that was conducted to better understand why some victims are not receiving services and what resources and tools the field needs to reach more people. The research was conducted between July 2017 through March 2018. The top five crime types that respondents identified as underserved by their programs were human trafficking, domestic violence, adult sexual assault, elder abuse, and children who witness violence. See the report here. Solving the Economic Security Gap for California’s Older Adults This policy report produced by the California Commission on Aging and based on testimony presented at the Commission’s 2019 Elder Economic Forum examines trends in population growth, diversity and the economic inequity experienced by many older adults. It recognizes the cumulative, long-term impact of systemic racism and discrimination impacting the vulnerability of older adults, particularly those who are women, LGBT, and people of color. It further describes innovative programs featured at the forum and offers policy and program recommendations to address many inequities. See Security Gap for California’s Older Adults. |