Elder Justice in 2024

• Date: 01 March 2024
• Author: David Godfrey, JD

Elder Justice in 2024 By David Godfrey, JD E lder Justice is a complicated multidisciplinary issue. The majority of abuse of adults is committed by family, friends, and caregivers. The relationship between the survivor of abuse, and the perpetrator of abuse shapes what is needed to create elder justice. Erica Costello, Director of the Commission on Law and Aging, and I attended Innovative Elder Justice: New Ways of Using Law, Medicine and Technology to Address Abuse and Financial Exploitation in an Aging Society, at Yale Law School on February 16, 2024. The program examined the state of the art on Elder Justice and reviewed promising practices for the future. United States Senator Richard Blumenthal opened the program with remarks about elder abuse and federal action. Bipartisan support is essential to success in Congress, and elder abuse is a deeply bipartisan issue. He recently participated in a hearing by the United States Senate Special Committee on Agin g on artifi- cial intelligence, voice cloning and scams to financially exploit older adults. He talked about the need not just for reporting, but for oversight and investigation. Senator Blumenthal spoke of the important leadership role that the federal government can take in supporting states in updating...