HB238: HB238 Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council; create and maintain an at-risk adult training course focusing on officer response to individuals with Alzheimer's disease or dementia

Currently there is no state-mandated training course specifically preparing Georgia peace officers and other first responders to interact with adults who have Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or are otherwise at risk of abuse or exploitation. This bill adds a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 35-5-8) requiring the Georgia Public Safety Training Center to create and maintain such a course. The course must cover investigating benefits trafficking, abuse and neglect of disabled or elderly adults, responding to missing persons reports, victim-centered communication, and specific techniques for recognizing and responding to Alzheimer's and dementia symptoms, including alternatives to physical restraints and protocols for contacting caregivers. The training center must develop the course together with the Division of Aging Services' Forensic Special Initiatives Unit, and the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council must approve the required hours and curriculum. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not state a separate delayed effective date.

• Requires the Georgia Public Safety Training Center to create and maintain an at-risk adult training course for peace officers, EMS personnel, and behavioral health co-responders.
• Mandates the course cover investigating benefits trafficking, elder and disabled adult abuse or exploitation, and missing persons cases.
• Requires specific instruction on recognizing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, communicating effectively with affected individuals, and using alternatives to physical restraints.
• Requires the course to include protocols for contacting caregivers when someone with dementia is found wandering or in an emergency.
• Requires the training center to develop the course jointly with the Division of Aging Services' Forensic Special Initiatives Unit within the Department of Human Services.
• Gives the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council authority to approve the number of training hours and the specific curriculum.

Peace officers, emergency medical personnel, and behavioral health co-responders across Georgia who would take the new training; the Georgia Public Safety Training Center and the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, which must build and approve it; and the Division of Aging Services, which helps design it. Older adults and people with dementia who interact with first responders are also directly affected.

Families of people with Alzheimer's or dementia often depend on first responders to know how to de-escalate confusion or agitation, recognize wandering behavior, and avoid unnecessary use of restraints. This bill would give Georgia officers and EMS workers standardized training aimed at handling these encounters more safely and effectively.

• New Code section 35-5-8(a) requires the training center to make the course available to peace officers, EMS personnel, and behavioral health co-responders statewide.
• Subsection (b) lists five required training areas, including benefits trafficking investigations, elder/disabled abuse investigations, missing persons response, and trauma-informed victim interaction.
• Subsection (b)(5) requires detailed dementia-specific training: recognizing symptoms, communication techniques, restraint alternatives, and caregiver contact protocols.
• Subsection (c) requires the course to be developed jointly with the Division of Aging Services' Forensic Special Initiatives Unit.
• Subsection (d) requires the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council to approve the curriculum's hours and content.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-14Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-14Act 309
3. 2025-05-14House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-09House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-04Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-04-04Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2025-04-04Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
8. 2025-04-02Senate Tabled (Senate)

• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)Primary sponsor
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)
• Stan Gunter (R, HD-008)
• Lauren McDonald (R, HD-026)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2025

   171 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #177

2. PassedSenate voteApril 4, 2025

   52 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #463

• police training
• Alzheimer's and dementia
• elder abuse
• public safety
• emergency response