On Wednesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland delivered remarks celebrating 10 years of the Elder Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC).
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good morning, everyone.
00:04Let's try that again.
00:05Good morning, everyone.
00:08Thank you, everyone who's here in person
00:11and everyone who's joined us online.
00:13And welcome to the first 2024 convening of the Elder Justice
00:18Coordinating Council.
00:20I'm Alison Barkoff, and I lead the Administration
00:24for Community Living.
00:25And I'm so proud to serve as the Delegated
00:28Chair of the Council, standing in for my boss, Department
00:34of Health and Human Services Secretary, Javier Becerra,
00:38who's our chair.
00:39And Secretary Becerra sends his regrets
00:42as his schedule required travel today.
00:45But I am so excited to stand in for him
00:48today for this really important convening.
00:51Really excited that this is our first in-person meeting
00:56since 2019.
00:59And being here a few minutes early,
01:01seeing the connections between people, this is so amazing.
01:05And secondly, we are really marking
01:08an incredible moment in time.
01:10We have a great schedule put together,
01:13looking at how we started EJCC a little more than a decade ago,
01:18what we've achieved in our 10 years,
01:20and importantly, the work we have looking forward.
01:25As my first duty, it is a tremendous and distinct
01:29pleasure and privilege to welcome
01:32the Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland.
01:37We're delighted to have him join us this morning
01:40to open our Elder Justice Coordinating
01:43Council as our meeting host.
01:45Attorney General Garland, the floor is yours.
01:48Thank you, Allison.
02:01It's my pleasure to welcome all of you
02:03to this convening of the Elder Justice Coordinating Council.
02:07I'm particularly happy to welcome
02:08the council for the first time to the Department of Justice.
02:12Since some of you are new to the building,
02:14I want to talk a little bit about this space.
02:16The building was dedicated 90 years ago in 1934
02:21with President Roosevelt in attendance.
02:23During the Clinton and Bush administration,
02:26it underwent a massive renovation,
02:28but the architects went to great lengths
02:31to ensure that the building, including this great hall,
02:34retained its historic integrity.
02:37In 2001, it was rededicated and renamed the Robert F. Kennedy
02:41Building.
02:42There's a bust of the former Attorney General on the stage.
02:45In this hall, we are surrounded by, of all things,
02:50teller windows, or I should say former teller windows.
02:56Decades ago, this is where Justice Department attorneys
02:59went to get their pay in cash.
03:04Before you ask, that was long before my time.
03:08But times have changed, and the department
03:10has changed along with them.
03:12As this group well knows, elder justice
03:14is another area that has required us to adapt.
03:18When the Elder Justice Coordinating Council
03:20had its inaugural meeting more than 10 years ago,
03:23we could not have known of the environment
03:25we would be operating in 10 years later.
03:28Back then, artificial intelligence,
03:31that was just sci-fi.
03:33Now, it's shaping some of the greatest opportunities,
03:36but also the greatest risks for elder Americans.
03:41Fortunately, our agencies have the wisdom
03:43to anticipate that no matter what the future held,
03:46our best tactic for combating elder abuse
03:49would be working together.
03:51And that is just what the Elder Justice Coordinating Council
03:54has ensured.
03:56Every year, millions of older adults
03:59experience some form of elder abuse,
04:02neglect, financial exploitation, or fraud.
04:07We know that the vast majority of elder abuse cases
04:10go unreported, and that too many victims remain unseen.
04:17That is why the department has aggressively
04:20targeted perpetrators of elder fraud and abuse,
04:23while providing victims with the support they need.
04:27In the last five years, the Justice Department
04:29has pursued more than 1,500 criminal and civil cases
04:34involving conduct that targeted or disproportionately affected
04:39older adults.
04:41We have provided services to more than 1.5 million
04:45older victims, and we have returned
04:47hundreds of millions of dollars to elder fraud victims.
04:52The Elder Justice Coordinating Council
04:54has played a key role in that work.
04:58Today, the council is a critical vehicle
05:00for information sharing and coordination
05:03among the federal agencies in their efforts
05:05to address elder abuse and fraud.
05:08This has not only enabled us to stay
05:11informed of important developments in the field,
05:14it has also enabled our agencies to support and amplify
05:18each other's work.
05:20In recent years, the council has enhanced
05:23the reach of the Justice Department's mass mailing
05:26fraud prevention initiative, as well as
05:29the Social Security Administration's Slam
05:32the Scam Day awareness campaign.
05:36This February, the Justice Department,
05:38with the support of the council, held the inaugural National
05:41Elder Justice Law Enforcement Summit.
05:44This event brought together local, state,
05:47and federal law enforcement to help foster collaboration,
05:51both among departments with elder justice professionals
05:54and with elder justice professionals.
05:58We know these partnerships make a huge difference
06:00in combating despicable crimes against older Americans.
06:05The coordinating council has also become an important tool
06:08for coordinating with the people we serve.
06:11The council has raised public awareness
06:13of a wide variety of issues, including
06:15novel elder fraud schemes and promising research
06:19on elder abuse.
06:22Threats to elder justice are constantly evolving.
06:25Our partnerships have never been more important.
06:29As we confront the expansion of transnational fraud schemes
06:34and the rapid advancement of AI, we must work together
06:38to make sure that older Americans can live their lives safely
06:44and with dignity.
06:45I am confident that this council will continue
06:48to meet the challenges and advance the cause of elder justice,
06:53just as it has done for more than 10 years.
06:57Thank you.
06:59Thank you.
07:08Thank you.
07:10Thank you.