BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1754


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          Date of Hearing:  April 19, 2016


                   ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGING AND LONG-TERM CARE


                                 Cheryl Brown, Chair


          AB 1754  
          (Waldron) - As Amended March 16, 2016


          SUBJECT:  Crime victim compensation:  elder or dependent adult  
          financial abuse.


          SUMMARY:  Creates a pilot program in San Diego County permitting  
          the Victims of Crime Program (CalVCP) to reimburse victims of  
          elder and dependent adult financial abuse for costs of financial  
          and mental-health counseling, and requires the California Victim  
          Compensation and Government Claims Board to report to the  
          Legislature and the Governor.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Makes various findings and declarations regarding the steep  
            increase in California's population of those aged 65 and  
            greater than that of any other state, reaching 4.2 million in  
            2010;  
          2)States that the Department of Social Services reports 1,600  
            reports of elder and dependent adult financial abuse are under  
            investigation per month by county Adult Protective Services  
            offices statewide;


          3)Makes various findings and declarations regarding elder or  
            dependent adult financial abuse, that elderly and other  
            dependent adults are seen as prey for financial scam artists  
            who capitalize upon their loneliness, isolation, and  








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            vulnerability and that this victimization can decrease life  
            spans, generate severe anxiety and hopelessness; 


          4)Concludes that a pilot is necessary to inform legislative  
            members of the demand for, costs of, and outcomes of  victim  
            services leading to best practices protocols;


          5)Establishes the San Diego County Elder or Dependent Adult  
            Financial Abuse Crime Victim Compensation Pilot Program within  
            San Diego County;





          6)Authorizes the pilot project to provide direct victims of  
            elder or dependent adult financial abuse pecuniary  
            compensation for expenses associated with financial  
            counseling, mental health counseling or supportive services;



          7)Permits the compensation if funds are appropriated by the  
            Legislature before 


          January 1, 2019; 



          8)Makes compensation limited to $3,000 per client for the total  
            costs of not more than 10 financial counseling sessions, as  
            defined, 10 mental health counseling sessions and supportive  
            services such as emergency shelter, cognitive assessments, and  
            transportation; 










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          9)Places a limit on total compensation authorized by the pilot  
            project for all persons compensated at $1,000,000;


          10)The provisions of the project become inoperative on January  
            1, 2020, and are repealed on January 1, 2021; and,


          11)Requires the California Victim Compensation and Government  
            Claims Board to report on or before July 1, 2020, both  
            electronically and in writing to the Legislature and the  
            Governor, data related to the number of victims who received  
            payments, the number of victims who received mental health  
            counseling, the average payment for mental health counseling  
            per recipient, the number of victims who received financial  
            counseling and the average payment for financial counseling  
            per recipient; and any other data that the Board wishes to  
            provide.


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Protects seniors and dependent adults with the Elder Abuse and  
            Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (EADACPA) which provides  
            civil protections and remedies for victims of elder and  
            dependent adult abuse and neglect.  


          2)Defines elder as any person who is 65 years of age or older  
            and defines "dependent adult" as any person who is between the  
            ages of 18 and 64, who has physical or mental limitations  
            which restrict his or her ability to carry out normal  
            activities or to protect his or her rights, including, but not  
            limited to, persons who have physical or developmental  
            disabilities or whose physical or mental disabilities have  








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            been diminished because of age, or any person between the ages  
            of 18 and 64 who is admitted as an inpatient to a 24-hour  
            health facility.  


          3)Provides for referrals of abuse to Adult Protective Services  
            agencies, Long-Term Care Ombudsman (LTCO) programs, and local  
            law enforcement agencies from public or private agencies,  
            mandated reporters, or any other source having reasonable  
            cause to know that the welfare of an elder or dependent adult  
            is endangered.

          4)Contains uniform state guidelines, which specify when county  
            adult protective service agencies are to investigate  
            allegations of abuse of elders and dependent adults and the  
            appropriate role of local law enforcement is necessary in  
            order to ensure that a minimum level of protection is provided  
            to elders and dependent adults in each county.

          5)Authorizes law enforcement, the LTCO and/or Adult Protective  
            Services (APS) to take any actions considered necessary to  
            protect the elder or dependent adult and correct the situation  
            and ensure the individual's safety.

          6)Defines "financial abuse" of an elder or dependent adult  
            occurs when a person or entity takes, secrets, appropriates,  
            or retains real or personal property of an elder or dependent  
            adult to a wrongful use or with intent to defraud. 

          7)Authorizes the California Victims and Government Claims Board  
            to assist victims of crime.  

          8)Establishes the California Victim Compensation Program  
            (CalVCP) which can help pay bills and expenses that result  
            from certain violent crimes.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown









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          COMMENTS:  


          Author's Statement:  This bill "would establish a pilot program  
          for victims of elder and dependent adult financial abuse in San  
          Diego County to be eligible for financial assistance through the  
          California Victims' Compensation program.  Elder and dependent  
          adult financial abuse can lead to large costs to victims,  
          families, and society.  The Penal Code specifically cites the  
          increased vulnerability of the elderly and dependent adult  
          victims as a justification for higher criminal penalties for  
          perpetrators of financial crimes.  In the Welfare and  
          Institutions Code, the Elder and Dependent Adult Civil  
          Protection Act cites the Legislature's responsibility to protect  
          this vulnerable population from criminal acts." 

          Elder Abuse:  There has been a growing amount of research into  
          the nature and extent of elder and dependent adult abuse.  One  
          study suggests that approximately 6% of the 65+ population will  
          report physical, financial, mental and other forms of abuse in  
          any given year.  The Department of Social Services (DSS)  
          oversees the Adult Protective Services (APS) program and reports  
          approximately 9,500 cases per month of elder and dependent adult  
          abuse are reported and investigated.  About 1,600 of the reports  
          reflect financial abuse or exploitation.  In 2014-2015, San  
          Diego County's Adult Protective Services confirmed a total of  
          1,148 unique reports of elder and dependent adult financial  
          abuse.  The San Diego District Attorney estimates approximately  
          600 elderly and dependent adult victims are served annually,  
          averaging about 50 clients per month.  It is estimated that  
          elder victims of financial abuse suffer upwards of $2.9 billion  
          annual financial loss.  Data from the National Center on Elder  
          Abuse shows that women are about twice as likely as men to be  
          abused, and that the older one is, the greater the risk is for  
          suffering abuse. 


          Victim Relief:  The Victims of Crime and Government Claims Board  








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          administers the State's Government Claims Program, Victim  
          Compensation Program, and Revenue Recovery Program.  The  
          California Victim Compensation Program (CalVCP) is designed to  
          help pay bills and expenses that result from being a victim of  
          certain crimes.  Currently, the program is not authorized by  
          state law to address elder and dependent adult financial crimes.  
          Federal law already permits this funding purpose.  


          Arguments in Support:  The California Commission on Aging, a  
          co-sponsor with the California Elder Justice Coalition, states  
          that "studies show that elderly and dependent adult victims of  
          financial abuse have a decreased lifespan, suffer emotional  
          trauma, and often face impoverishment," and note that other  
          states have already moved ahead to extend assistance to elderly  
          and dependent adult victims of financial abuse, including  
          Colorado, Florida, Idaho, New York, Oklahoma, and Wyoming, among  
          others.  The Commission notes that despite having the largest  
          population of residents over 65, California does not allow  
          Cal-VCP funds to be used to reimburse for services that older  
          and dependent adult victims of financial crimes need to recover.  



          The District Attorney of San Diego County, Bonnie Dumanis,  
          states that "one of the highest priorities of the office of the  
          District Attorney is protecting and assisting victims of crime"  
          and notes that this bill would provide an important solution to  
          address elder abuse.


          Question:  Why is San Diego the only county authorized to  
          participate in this pilot?


          Related Legislation: 
          
          SB 60 (Wright), Chapter 147, Statutes of 2013 as introduced,  
          would have made elder and dependent adult victims of financial  








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          crimes (P.C. 368 (d) and (e)) eligible for up to $10,000 in  
          compensation from the Victim Compensation Fund for mental health  
          counseling and financial counseling.  The elder abuse provision  
          was amended out in Senate Appropriations and the bill went  
          forward with provisions making victims of human trafficking  
          eligible for benefits.  

          AB 1140 (Bonta), Chapter 569, Statutes of 2015 implemented  
          recommendations made by the "CalVCP Statute Modernization  
          Project."  The measure also made a number of other improvements  
          to address emerging issues in law. 



          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support
          California Commission on Aging - Co-Sponsor
          California Elder Justice Coalition - Co-Sponsor
          AARP
          The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
          California Association of Area Agencies on Aging
          California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association (CLTCOA)
          Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
          Professional Fiduciary Association of California
          San Diego County District Attorney


          Opposition


          None on file.












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          Analysis Prepared by:Gail Gronert / AGING & L.T.C. / (916)  
          319-3990