Accelerating the pace of elder justice policy to meet the needs of a growing aging population

Abstract

Policy measures designed to address elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation date back to decades, including the Older Americans Act of 1965. Over the years, various legislative actions have aimed to address elder mistreatment, culminating in the Elder Justice Act of 2010. Despite these efforts, policy changes lag behind need, and government funding appropriation is woefully inadequate. On November 29, 2023, the National Collaboratory to Address Elder Mistreatment convened 76 experts from research, clinical practice, policymaking, federal and state agencies, and national organizations to develop strategies for accelerating policy action to address elder mistreatment. Key themes from the convening included the need for a unified and stronger infrastructure and messaging, the importance of data-driven policy and evidence-informed prevention and intervention practices, and expanding strategic engagements. Participants emphasized the need for a holistic and long-term approach, leveraging data to demonstrate outcomes, and building coalitions across related fields to address elder mistreatment. Action steps were identified for both national and state/local levels, focused on enhancing data-informed elder mistreatment prevention, intervention, and response programs. The broad cross-sector participation in the convening and the findings underscored the urgency of and potential for advancing elder justice policy. By leveraging existing initiatives, utilizing data emerging particularly in the past 5 years, building on decades of advocacy, and fostering new collaborations, there is a significant opportunity to improve prevention, intervention, and response to elder mistreatment.