On March 23, 2010, the Elder Justice Act and the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act as part of health care reform legislation was signed into law by the President.

The main provisions of the Elder Justice Act include:

*Adult Protective Services (APS) funding.  Provides $400 million ($100 million per year) in first-time dedicated funding for adult protective services.  Provides $100 million ($25 million annually) for state demonstration grants to test a variety of methods to improve APS.

*Provides $32.5 million (over 4 years) in grants to support the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and an additional $40 million ($10 million annually) in training programs for national organizations and State long-term care ombudsman programs.

*Establishes an Elder Justice Coordinating Council to make recommendations to the Secretary of HHS on the coordination of activities of federal, state, local and private agencies and entities relating to elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. Recommendations contained in report are due in 2 years.

*The Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act creates a national program of criminal background checks for persons seeking employment in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.