What Are The Rights of the Elderly

Like all people, the elderly have certain rights and privileges that are outlined by United States legislation. For example, elderly rights prohibit an individual from subjecting an elder to Hundreds of thousands of elders are subjected to elderly abuse every year. Elder abuse law violations include offensive behavior such as beating, taunting, threatening, molesting, or exploiting an elder.

Elder abuse law has designated elderly rights transgressions to be criminal and illicit activity, punishable by hefty fines or imprisonment. The Older Americans Act is an elder abuse law that seeks to provide federal funding to research and projects related to aging, and is specifically focused on developing and improving social services and community planning for elders.

The Vulnerable Elder Rights Protection Program is another elderly abuse law effected to increase awareness about the prevalence of elder abuse and advocate for elderly rights. The Program also conducts federal funding to states, in order to encourage them to develop services dedicated to assisting elders. This legislation that seeks to maintain elderly rights is similar to the child abuse laws that prohibit individuals from subjecting children to physical harm or emotional damage.

In order to help ensure elderly rights are maintained, judicial officials often punish elderly abuse harshly. The punishment assessed for elder abuse varies a great deal from one state to another. Because each state maintains the ability to establish its own laws, one state government may exact a relatively benign punishment upon an individual convicted of elder abuse, while other states may impose a much more severe sentence upon the offender.

In some states, elder abuse law perceives the maltreatment of an elderly individual as a misdemeanor, while other states punish this behavior as a felony. Depending upon the severity of the charge that is imposed, an offender may be required to spend numerous years in prison as punishment for his/her behavior.

Individuals maintain fundamental rights regardless of their age. Violating these rights is a breach of the United States Constitution and federal legislation, and if caught, a perpetrator will face certain legal consequences.

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