California Elder Justice Coalition (CEJC)
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​​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
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Who We Are

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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.
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Policy

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Ageism Violates Human
and Civil Rights

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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. 
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Learn

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Our educational materials focus on leading edge issues in elder justice with the aim of fostering new ideas and innovations. They include:

  • ​Elder Justice Toolkits
  • Elder Justice Viewpoints Blog
  • Advocates Academy Webinars
  • ​Publications
  • ​News & Updates 
  • Awareness Snapshots​

CEJC News & Updates
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(last updated March 17, 2023)

CEJC A*TEAM Update

Responding to the obstacles APS investigators face in accessing bank customer records in elder financial exploitation investigations, CEJC’s A*Team has released Collaborating with Financial Institutions to Prevent Elder Financial Exploitation and Abuse: A Guide for APS Investigators in California. This California-specific document guides APS financial abuse investigators on procedures to follow in working with banks, provides customizable forms to use in requesting victim account records, and includes authorizing statutes to clarify APS’ authority and financial institutions’ responsibilities under the law. The materials are downloadable and ready to be customized for agency use.

Created to study solutions to systemic obstacles identified by local elder abuse MDTs, the A*Team focused on banks’ refusal to comply with investigators’ requests as one of the most common problems cited by MDTs.

For more detail on the A*Team process and progress, see the latest update on the CEJC A*Team page:   "CEJC’s A*Team Tackles MDT/Bank Interactions During Investigations (January 2023)."

​The "A*TEAM" is supported by a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, US Department of Justice.

CEJC Releases Third
​Elder Justice Blueprint

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Reinforcing California’s Elder Justice Infrastructure: Committing to Equity and Inclusion, the third in a series of blueprints, addresses the impact of COVID-19 for older Californians, responds to calls for reimagining community safety prompted by the national racial reckoning, and describes disparities in access to protective and supportive services. It details CEJC’s progress in achieving goals set in the previous blueprints and highlights new opportunities.  
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CEJC Helps Plan National Restorative Justice Convening

CEJC is partnering with Futures Without Violence to plan Strategies to Advance Greater Elder Safety (STAGES): Community Centered Solutions, a convening of thought leaders, innovators, advocates, and front-line service providers to explore new responses to elder abuse. It will highlight approaches that confront ageism, build connections, strengthen relationships, prevent abuse, strengthen institutional supports, and reduce harm. The event will take place on June 7-9, 2023 in Washington, D.C. 
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on our
​Elder Justice Viewpoints Blog ​

A*TEAM SWITCHES INTO FAST-TRACK MODE TO STOP FRAUD, REVEALING SYSTEM SHORTFALLS AND OPPORTUNITIES​

In this post, CEJC A*Team Coordinator Carol Sewell describes how the A*Team was recently able to quickly take action to stop fraud. Read more here. 

REACTING TO THE SUPREME COURT'S DECISION ON REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS​

In this post​, CEJC Executive Director Lisa Nerenberg reacts to the Supreme Court decision on reproductive rights and the threats to privacy and autonomy it poses to all Americans. She offers 5 actions that elder justice advocates can take to counter those threats.
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Creating an elder justice coordinating council was a top priority for CEJC,and we're delighted to see it come to fruition. It's especially exciting to see it launched as partof the Master Plan ​for Aging and to be part of the process."
Lisa Nerenberg,
​CEJC Executive Director

Other News and Updates

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EDJCC Update

In case you missed the last meeting of the Elder and Disability Justice Coordinating Council (EDJCC) on February 14, 2023, you can get caught up with a recording, transcript and presenters' slides (see below). Highlights of the event included the introduction of new California Department of Aging staff members Regina Wright, who is the new state public guardian liaison for CDA, and Ranjana Maharaj who is CDAs' new elder abuse subject matter expert. CDA Director Susan DeMarois also reported on the launch of the Office of the Patient Representative, which was created to support unrepresented residents in skilled nursing facilities. The new program, which is headed up by Susan Rodrigues, has received 90 referrals during its first month of operation and performed six interdisciplinary team assessments. Representatives from the EDJCC's three workgroups on Conservatorship, Adult Protective Services, and Legal Assistance gave reports on their progress. Leigh Bills of the California Office of Emergency Services alerted Council members to the upcoming release of a grant solicitation for programs to serve older victims. The Elder Abuse (XE) Program is expected to be released in June 2023 for a January 1, 2024 program startup.
Video | Transcript | Presentation

During the meeting, CDA Director DeMarois also announced the release of a Request for Applications (RFA) for its Local Aging & Disability Action Planning (LADAP) Grant Program. The program supports the development of cross-sector, age-and disability-friendly action plans that address the current, emerging, and future needs of California’s older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers, and families. Applicants can request between $75,000 and $200,000. Requests for applications, which are due on March 24, are available at LADAP Grant Program webpage. 

"No." Is a Complete Sentence: Elder Abuse Road Show

It may seem like Elder Abuse Awareness Month is coming early to California with this live theater event presented by the McGeorge School of Law, Elder & Health Clinic in collaboration with Capital Stage. The event features professional actors performing scenes of common financial exploitation to explore how financial elder abuse occurs and demonstrate how and why to say “NO” to family, friends and solicitors. The production, which is supported by grants from The Kelly Foundation & Sandy Foundation, takes place Tuesday March 28 at the ACC Senior Services, 7334 Park City Drive, Sacramento. For more, see NO! 
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House Passes Further Protections for Investors: CEJC Hopes for Similar Advances in Federal Banking Law

The Elder Justice Coalition applauded the House’s recent passage of HR 500, which would give investors additional protections if fraud or exploitation is suspected. If approved by the Senate, the change will allow investment firms to delay redemption of certain securities for as long as 25 days if the company has reason to believe that exploitation of an older or disabled adult is involved. CEJC’s A*Team is working with policy makers, bank representatives and regulators to explore whether this type of federal protection should also be available to older and disabled bank account-holders at large multi-state banks. California law already allows state-regulated banks to delay suspicious transactions, but multi-state banks fall under federal jurisdiction.

MoneyGram Fraud Victims to be Fully Compensated

Nearly 39,000 victims of fraud schemes handled through MoneyGram International will be fully compensated for their losses according to an announcement from the US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). $115.8 million will be disbursed to the predominantly older adult victims. The funds are the result of a “deferred prosecution agreement” between the Department of Justice and MoneyGram, through which the firm forfeited the amount equal to the fraud transactions processed over the period in which its anti-money laundering program was inoperative. To learn more about the USPIS process for restoring stolen funds, visit http://moneygramremission.com/.

Attention Elder Justice Researchers

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is seeking proposals for research and evaluation projects in four areas related to elder justice: 1) evaluation of programs that seek to prevent, intervene in, or respond to the abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of older adults (age 60 years or above); 2) research on individuals who abuse older adults; 3) research on polyvictimization in older adults; and 4) research on fraud and financial exploitation of older adults. Proposals that address the four topic areas are due April 27, 2023. For more, see Research on the Abuse, Neglect, and Financial Exploitation of Older Adults 

Disappointing Outcome for EJ funding in 2023

Advocates for elder justice funding were disappointed with the federal Omnibus FY 23 spending bill signed in December.  As outlined by Bob Blancato of the Elder Justice Coalition, the final bill’s appropriation of $15 million for APS formula grants falls far short of the President’s requested $58 million and the $80 million proposed by the House. Likewise, the $21.6 million for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman represents only $2 million over previous years’ funding levels at a time when the program needs to rebuild after pandemic losses of volunteers and LTC residents in crisis. Continuing that trend, the federal spending bill retained the 2014 cap on Social Service Block Grant funding at $1.7 billion and did not include reauthorization of the Elder Justice Act. Blancato noted the one positive outcome is that the $15 million is the APS program’s first ever Congressional appropriation.

Resources and Reports

​Everything is Fake: How Global Gangs are Using UK Shell Companies in Multi-Million Pound Crypto Scams

This article, which appeared in The Guardian, offers a chilling account of how crime syndicates groom victims for cryptocurrency crimes. Describing the practice as “pig butchering,” which comes from a Chinese word that refers to the process of slowly fattening a pig for slaughter, the article describes the process for how scam victims are groomed over long periods to gain their trust. The crime became widely reported in China around 2019 but has since spread around the world. In 2021, the FBI received complaints relating to crypto romance scams in the US that resulted in $429m in losses. For more, see Everything is Fake.

New Report Examines Housing Outcomes for Older Adults

Connecting Older Adults to Housing: Examining Disparities new report by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, looks at how factors like race, ethnicity, gender, age, and shelter status impact older adults’ exits from homelessness into housing. 

​New Resources on Guardianship

With an estimated half of people over the age of 85 experiencing some level of cognitive decline, the heightened attention to guardianship (called “conservatorship” in California) isn't surprising. Newly released guardianship resources include:
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  • "Introducing the New Bill of Rights for Adults with a Guardian" Sally Balch Hurme, a leading figure in guardianship reform, describes the development of a model Bill of Rights for people under guardianships. It is one of several resources produced by the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA). Other NCEA resources on guardianship/ conservatorship can be found here. 
  • Reviewing Guardianship and Conservatorship Reports - A Guide for Courts This new webinar produced by the National center for State Courts (NCSC) describes protocols that have been designed to help judicial officers and staff members in courts or clerks' offices conduct meaningful reviews of guardianship.  Their goal is to protect individuals with guardianships and identify guardians who are struggling.  

​New Guidance on Restitution (available on the CEJC Victim Services Toolkit)

New resources created by the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI) in partnership with the Council of State Governments and others, provide guidance for attorneys and advocates on accessing restitution for clients. The resources cover the process and laws governing restitution, what's required for a restitution order to be issued, the relationship between restitution and civil damages, and more. Available in the NCVLI's Victim Law Library, the resources include Restitution Law & Practice Guide for Legal Practitioners, Restitution Law & Practice:  An Overview, and a Restitution Law Assessment Tool, to help practitioners identify ways to improve their own state restitution laws. 


See CEJC's Financial Crime Toolkit and Victim Services Toolkit pages for more.

​Why We Need Victim Comp

A new report from AARP spells out the health toll financial crimes take on older victims and points to the need for victim supports, such as access to mental health counseling, emotional support groups, and Victim Compensation. The report, Many Victims Struggle With Mental Health in Scams’ Aftermath, details the mounting number of older victims scammed each year and the resulting shame and self-blame that lead victims into crisis, including suicide, and the value of supports for victim recovery. CEJC has long advocated for California's Victim Compensation Board (CVCB) to cover mental health costs and other supports for victims of elder financial crimes in hopes of improving outcomes. The CVCB continues to cover victims and family members of victims of violent crimes only, despite CEJC's ongoing advocacy for older financial crime victims. 

National Network of State Elder Justice
​Coalitions (NNSEJC)

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Upcoming Meetings
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The next NNSEJC Membership meeting date will be announced soon.


NNSEJC at ASA
On March 28th, 2023 NNSEJC representatives will facilitate an ASA collaborative session on State Elder Justice Coalitions. Anna Thomas (Georgia), Iris Freeman (Minnesota), Paul Caccamise (New York), and Carol Sewell (CEJC) will discuss the different structures and missions of state elder justice coalitions, as well as the important work coalitions do. 

Visit National Network of State Elder Justice Coalitions (NNSEJC) for more information. 
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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Our Core Values
    • Our Supporters
    • Contact Us
  • Policy
    • 2022 Elder Justice Legislative Update
    • Advocacy
    • Policy Development
    • A*TEAM
  • Learn
    • Toolkits >
      • Adult Protective Services
      • Long Term Care Facilities
      • Undue Influence
      • Elder Homelessness
      • Financial Crime
      • Victims' Rights and Services
      • International
      • Opioid Crisis
      • Restorative Approaches to Elder Abuse
    • Webinars and Events
    • CEJC Publications >
      • 2023 Blueprint
    • Awareness Snapshots
    • Blog: Elder Justice Viewpoints
  • Join Us
    • Renew
    • Donate
  • NNSEJC
    • Who We Are
    • Joining NNSEJC
    • More On State/Tribal Coalitions