HB 238: 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

Georgia currently has no statewide required training course specifically focused on how first responders should interact with older adults who have Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, or with other at-risk adults facing abuse or exploitation. This bill adds a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 35-5-8) directing the Georgia Public Safety Training Center to create and maintain such a course for peace officers, emergency medical personnel, and behavioral health co-responders. The course must cover investigating benefits trafficking, abuse or neglect of disabled adults and elders, handling missing persons reports, victim-centered and trauma-informed interviewing, and specific skills for recognizing dementia symptoms, communicating effectively, avoiding physical restraints, and contacting caregivers when someone wanders off. The Training Center must build the course together with the Forensic Special Initiatives Unit of the Division of Aging Services, and the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council must approve the number of hours and the curriculum.

• Adds a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 35-5-8) requiring the Georgia Public Safety Training Center to create and maintain an at-risk adult training course.
• Makes the course available to peace officers, emergency medical personnel, and behavioral health co-responders statewide.
• Requires the course to cover investigating benefits trafficking and abuse, neglect, or exploitation of disabled adults and elders.
• Requires specific dementia-focused training, including recognizing symptoms, communicating effectively, avoiding physical restraints, and contacting caregivers during wandering or emergencies.
• Requires the Training Center to develop the course jointly with the Forensic Special Initiatives Unit of the Division of Aging Services.
• Requires the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council to approve the course's required hours and curriculum.

Georgia peace officers, emergency medical personnel, and behavioral health co-responders who would take the new training; the Georgia Public Safety Training Center and the Division of Aging Services, which must jointly build the course; the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, which approves it; and older adults with Alzheimer's disease or dementia and other at-risk adults who interact with first responders.

Responders who encounter people with Alzheimer's or dementia during wellness checks, wandering incidents, or abuse investigations would receive specific guidance on communication techniques and alternatives to physical restraint, potentially changing how these encounters unfold for vulnerable Georgians and their families.

• New Code section 35-5-8(a) requires the Training Center to create an at-risk adult training course for peace officers, EMS personnel, and behavioral health co-responders.
• Subsection (b) lists minimum topics: benefits trafficking, abuse/neglect/exploitation investigations, missing persons response, trauma-informed victim interaction, and dementia-specific skills.
• Subsection (b)(5) details dementia training components: recognizing symptoms, communication techniques, restraint alternatives, and caregiver contact protocols during wandering or emergencies.
• Subsection (c) requires collaborative development with the Forensic Special Initiatives Unit of the Division of Aging Services of the Department of Human Services.
• Subsection (d) requires the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council to approve the course's hours and curriculum.
• 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 (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2025-04-09House Sent to Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2025-04-04Senate Passed/Adopted (Senado)
6. 2025-04-04Senate Third Read (Senado)
7. 2025-04-04Senate Taken from Table (Senado)
8. 2025-04-02Senate Tabled (Senado)

• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)Patrocinador principal
• 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. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes4 de marzo de 2025

   171 a favor, 0 en contra (3 sin votar, 6 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #177

2. AprobadaVotación: Senado4 de abril de 2025

   52 a favor, 0 en contra (3 sin votar, 1 ausentes)

   Passage: Senate Vote #463

• police training
• Alzheimer's disease
• elder abuse
• dementia care
• public safety