(Note: The pdf for the issue in which this article appears is available for download: BIFOCAL Vol. 35, Issue 2.)
In 2013, the Commission’s elder abuse accomplishments were focused in five areas.
Policy and Practice
The Commission...
- Provided background information and ideas to employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding initiatives of that agency’s Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans.
- Continued or established collaborations with financial industry representatives and regulators to enhance awareness of elder financial exploitation and to improve industry practices related to that problem.
- Consulted for the DOJ Office for Victims of Crime project to develop an online elder abuse curriculum for legal services attorneys, providing input on content and design of training.
- Provided technical assistance on financial exploitation and guardianship to a Department of Justice fellow involved in efforts to develop the agency’s elder justice webpage.
- Provided technical assistance on an array of elder abuse issues to staff of state and federal agencies and Congressional offices and committees.
- Consulted for AARP’s State Advocacy and Strategic Initiatives division to provide technical assistance and training on financial exploitation and power of attorney abuse.
Research
The Commission...
- Updated and expanded the Commission’s old charts on power of attorney statutory provisions and prepared a short and a long paper comparing those provisions.
Professional Education
The Commission...
- Participated in 12 continuing legal education and other presentations on a variety of issues at national, regional, and state conferences and through webinars.
- Published four articles in two publications: Victimization of the Elderly and Disabled; and Bifocal, the Commission’s e-journal.
- Continued to serve on the editorial boards of the field’s pre-eminent publications, the Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect and Victimization of the Elderly and Disabled.
- Continued work on two federally funded projects to inform professionals serving elder abuse victims about legal issues and state statutes.
Consumer Education
- The Commission continued working on a contract from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans to develop four national and 24 state-specific guides for lay fiduciaries.
Media Awareness
- Staff provided extensive background on financial exploitation and power of attorney abuse to the Wall Street Journal. ■