Graham Announces Legislation to Create Elder Abuse Registry

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On a Workday assisting the elderly, yesterday, Representative Gwen Graham announced she’s introducing new legislation to help protect seniors from fraud and abuse.

“Florida has a reputation as the best place in America to retire. Unfortunately, that reputation is under threat by an increase in elder abuse and fraud targeting seniors,” Rep. Graham said. “We need all hands on deck working to protect vulnerable seniors – native Floridians and those moving here from across the country. These are our parents and grandparents – the greatest generation. My new legislation would create a registry to identify those who have been convicted of abusing or scamming seniors and prevent them from causing more harm.”

According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, there were more than 2,500 cases of elder abuse and neglect in Florida, last year, and the state has witnessed a 74 percent increase in the past five years.

Rep. Graham’s legislation would direct the Department of Justice to design a model registry that states could then use for their own registries. Registries would be public and searchable and would identify people found to have committed abuse, neglect, mistreatment, or financial exploitation of a person over the age of 65, with the intent of preventing them from being able to hurt or scam more seniors. . While some states have already implemented elder abuse registries, Florida has not yet created one.

The Department of Health and Human Services would then be able to compile all the information on state registries and make it available on a national database. States could then require accredited health care providers to first check the Abuse Registry before hiring a worker.

There are two ways individuals would be placed on the registry:

• Be convicted of abuse, neglect or fraud against a person over the age of 65.
• Be found, through an investigation conducted by the state, with an available appeals process, to have committed abuse, neglect, mistreatment, financial exploitation of a person over the age of 65.

Rep. Graham announced the legislation on a Workday preparing and delivering meals to seniors with Elder Care Services of Tallahassee. For photos of the Workday, click here.

Rep. Graham is following up the legislative announcement with a Seminar on Stopping Scams Against Seniors at the Tallahassee American Legion Hall, today, June 28 at 1:30 p.m. ET.

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