James Vacca Sponsors Elder Abuse Policy (USA)

James Vacca sponsors abuse policy
BY TANYANIKA SAMUELS
Tuesday, April 8th 2008, 4:00 AM



With a Bronx lawmaker pushing it, the City Council is considering a bill that would shed light on the growing problem of elder abuse and provide some much-needed help for victims."It's an issue that many people don't discuss and haven't addressed," said Councilman James Vacca (D-East Bronx), who sponsored the bill. "Unless we have a degree of sensitivity to it, we may not always be able to identify elder abuse. So we have to maximize tools to identify it.



"The bill would create a toll-free Elder Abuse Hotline, much like those already in place for domestic violence victims, to report physical harm, sexual assault, neglect or financial exploitation.The hotline, run by the city Department for the Aging, would operate daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and would allow abuse victims, friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to report incidents and get referrals for help, including counseling services.The proposed legislation would also require that:City-funded providers of services for seniors and all senior centers train employees to detect and report elder abuse.



Abridged

SOURCE: nydailynews

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