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History of the Elder Justice Movement

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Abstract

This chapter first addresses the historical context of elder justice by providing a chronology of public policy and legislation in America, including the passage of the Elder Justice Act (EJA) and congressional appropriation for EJA. Following this, is an outline of elder justice advocacy both nationally and internationally with a specific focus on the work of the non-partisan Elder Justice Coalition (EJC). The Coalition has nearly 3,000 members that are united by the EJC’s mission of listening to the voices of the victims of elder abuse who need to have their issues addressed by creating adequate public–private infrastructure with resources that will prevent, detect, treat, understand, intervene in and, where appropriate, prosecute elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. Finally, the National Coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition, Robert Blancato, provides insights on the future of elder justice as it relates to both the triumphs and setbacks of the movement thus far.

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Correspondence to Robert B. Blancato .

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Blancato, R.B., McMahon, M. (2017). History of the Elder Justice Movement. In: Dong, X. (eds) Elder Abuse. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47504-2_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47504-2_27

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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