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President's Budget Released; $25 Million in New Money for Elder Justice
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The bi-partisan 3000 member Elder Justice Coalition today called the $25 million Elder Justice Initiative contained in President Obama's FY 2015 budget proposal "a very encouraging development, which provides the issue of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation some of the elevated attention it has long deserved."
The $25 million in the Elder Justice Initiative, as explained in the President's budget documents, would provide $5 million to states to interface with the Adult Protective Services National Data System, $11.2 million to advance a coordinated Federal research strategy on elder abuse, including researching characteristics of abusers and victims, and the balance to enhancing data collection at the national level.
Elder Justice Coalition National Coordinator Bob Blancato noted that Congress still must consider and approve the request in order for the critical work to begin. "Our Coalition will be communicating with many Members of Congress on this issue in the coming weeks. There are many Members on both sides of the aisle who supported the Elder Justice Act; now it is time to fund the very programs that they supported. We will be most supportive of the $25 million in new funds being invested in elder justice. We recognize that Congress might have its own perspective on how these funds could be used, but our main goal is to ensure that new elder justice funding is recognized as both a bipartisan and urgent priority for FY 2015. Victims of abuse, their families, and our communities should not have to wait any longer for action on this issue."
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