Older and vulnerable adults in Michigan would have more options to prevent and fight abuse under bills that advanced out of a state Senate committee this week.
The package would allow for personal protection orders that could stop someone from harming or making decisions for a vulnerable adult or someone at least 60 years old.
State Senator Veronica Klinefelt (D-Eastpointe) said vulnerable adults often face targeting.
“We really don’t have a lot of protections in place for individuals who have people already in their homes that may be exploiting them and they’re not sure what to do about it, how to address it,” she said Thursday.
Under the legislation, the PPOs would come into play if a court determines someone was a threat to assault, financially exploit, or withhold goods and services from an older or vulnerable adult. People under guardianships or conservatorships would also have access.
“A court’s going to take a look at it in a way they did not before. If somebody has legal guardianship, they have an awful lot of power. And the vulnerable adults haven’t really had an avenue to fight that,” Klinefelt said.
The bills would also make it easier for prosecutors to go after someone who scams an older adult out of money or property. The legislation would do that by clarifying that someone could still face prosecution for fraudulently taking from a vulnerable adult, even after that person has passed.
Beyond that, counties or regions could create new teams to work on preventing the abuse or neglect of vulnerable adults.
Klinefelt said laws need to do a better job at letting people know what options are available to fight abuse.
“People have just kept to themselves and tried to deal with it if they didn’t have anybody to reach out to and this package really just puts it at the forefront for everybody at the state and local government to start coordinating on how we get ahead of this,” she said.
The legislation passed out of the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee with unanimous support.
Klinefelt said she expects the package to see a vote before the full state Senate “relatively quickly.”
