Some elder-related law is regulated by the Social Security Administration, as many elders are eligible to receive social security. Health laws and other social services pertaining to elders are regulated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Elder abuse laws are mostly regulated by the U.S. Department of Justice, and they have a specific Elder Justice Initiative dedicated to elder protection. There are even more elder laws regulated by other departments, but these are the main agencies that would handle elder law issues.
A couple of the big elder protection laws at the federal level are outlined below:
The Elder Justice Act, enacted in 2010, authorized federal funds to address the issues of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, as well as establishing leadership in the Department of Health & Human Services to address elder justice. Public access to the Act is linked above, and it is also available on Lexis and Westlaw.
The Older Americans Act, first enacted in 1965, aimed to provide comprehensive home and community-based services for elder citizens, and it created agencies at both the federal and state level to promote this goal. Public access to the Act is linked above, and it is also available on Lexis and Westlaw.
To find other relevant laws, most federal elder-related laws can be found in either Title 34 (Crime Control & Law Enforcement) or Section 42 (Public Health & Welfare) of the U.S. Code. Public access to the U.S. Code can be found here. It is also available on Lexis and Westlaw.
Most federal elder law regulations (aside from criminal law regulations) can be found in either Title 38 (Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief), Title 42 (Public Health), or Title 45 (Public Welfare) of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Public access to the Titles are linked above, and the CFR is also available on Lexis and Westlaw.
