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This blog features a round up of elder justice related news items released in July 2013.

NATIONAL NEWS

GAO Calls For Increased Public Awareness on Elder Abuse: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a new report on coordination between federal and state agencies, as well as public awareness. Their study found that increased public awareness is needed around elder abuse issues and elder justice.

Legislation Targeting Elder Abuse Introduced in the Senate: Senator Robert Casey Jr. (PA-D) introduced a bill designed to address financial scams targeted at older adults. The Senior Investor Protections Enhancement Act includes greater protections for older Internet users and increases the civil penalty for scammers. Click here for further information on this bill.

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS (NEW YORK CITY AND NEW YORK STATE)

Chinatown ‘Blessing Scam’ Busted: A scam targeting older Chinese women across the country has robbed victims of millions by procuring personal information and using this information to predict grave consequences for the victims’ families. To protect their families, victims are asked to bring their valuables to a spiritual doctor for a blessing. When successful, the scammers then steal the valuables. A group of scammers in New York City were recently apprehended, but the scam has also found victims in San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago.

ELDER ABUSE IN THE MEDIA

Helping Older Americans Avoid Swindles from The New York Times: This financial advice column from the Business section features tools and tips for older adults being targeted by fraudulent scams.

Life and Death in Assisted Living from FRONTLINE: With support from ProPublica, an investigative teams looks at assisted living facilities in America and identifies potential risks to older adults.

Is It Elder Financial Fraud? 5 Signs It May Be “Yes” from AARP Blog: After providing some background on elder financial exploitation, this piece highlights Money Smart, a financial education program for older adults.

NYCEAC AND OUR PARTNERS IN THE NEWS

Addressing Capacity Assessment from The Huffington Post: In his latest blog post, Dr. Mark Lachs, NYCEAC’s Medical Director, looks at the relationship between impairments and independence in the lives of older adults.

• This column was also featured in a recent blog post on the NYCEAC Elder Justice Round Up Blog.

RELATED STORIES

A Round-Up of Elder Justice News – June 2013

A Round-Up of Elder Justice News – May 2013

by Alexandra Pearson, Communications Specialist, NYCEAC