Office of the Governor

TOPEKA–Governor Sam Brownback has signed a proclamation declaring the month of April as Financial Literacy Month in Kansas. The proclamation highlights the need to ensure that Kansans are well prepared to manage money, credit, investments, and debt. Attending the signing were members of the Money Smart Month Kansas committee, an annual community outreach initiative that promotes financial awareness for people of all ages.

In connection with Financial Literacy Month, several state agencies, including the Kansas Securities Commissioner’s office, have collaborated to launch a new consumer financial education website, KansasMoney.gov. The multi-agency website provides Kansans easy access to essential financial resources from the State of Kansas.

An interactive learning course is a key feature of the site. The Kansas Financial Learning Center provides a flexible financial learning platform for busy adults, and it is free for all Kansans.

The course consists of “bite-sized” educational content on topics from auto loans to identity protection to social security. Most modules within the course can be completed in 3-7 minutes. Throughout the month of April, the State Treasurer’s Office, a partner of KansasMoney.gov, is providing an incentive for those who sign up to participate in the program. At the end of the month, Kansans who have completed at least 5 modules will be eligible to win an iPad. To learn more about this opportunity, visit the Treasurer’s website at www.kansasstatetreasurer.com.

Other KansasMoney.gov agency partners are: the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the State Bank Commissioner of Kansas, Kansas Department of Credit Unions, Kansas Department of Revenue, and the Kansas Insurance Department.

Kansas’ celebration of Financial Literacy Month joins a national effort of businesses, agencies and non-profit organizations to promote personal finance education through a wide variety of programming. To learn more about these and other opportunities, visit kansasmoney.gov or www.moneysmartkansas.org.

KANSAS CITY–U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom has announced today he is launching an Elder Justice Task Force in Kansas. The task force in Kansas – one of 10 across the country — will bring federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies together with state and local agencies to target nursing homes that provide grossly substandard care to residents.

“We already have one investigation open,” Grissom said. “We’re not wasting time.”

Grissom said the members of the task force at this time include the Department of Justice Civil Fraud Section, Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the Kansas Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Later, he said, he expects to invite state agencies that work with long term care, public health and aging to join.

Steve Hanson, Special Agent in Charge of the Kansas City Regional Office of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, stated, “Our office is excited to join forces with our federal, state, and local partners to identify nursing homes that are providing substandard quality of care to our elderly beneficiaries.”

In Washington, D.C., Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery said, “Millions of seniors count on nursing homes to provide them with quality care and to treat them with dignity and respect when they are most vulnerable. Yet, all too often we have found nursing home owners or operators who put their own economic gain before the needs of their residents. These task forces will help ensure that we are working closely with all relevant parties to protect the elderly.”

Elder Justice Task Forces also are being launched by U.S. Attorneys in the following districts: Northern District of California, Northern District of Georgia, Western District of Kentucky, Northern District of Iowa, District of Maryland, Southern District of Ohio, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Tennessee and the Western District of Washington.

Kansas was chosen, Grissom said, because we have expertise in investigations and prosecutions of nursing homes and we made a commitment to working together with stand and local agencies.

The Elder Justice Task Forces reflect the Justice Department’s larger strategy and commitment to protecting our nation’s seniors, spearheaded by the Department’s Elder Justice Initiative. The Elder Justice Initiative coordinates and supports the Department’s law enforcement efforts and policy activities on elder justice issues. It plays an integral role in the Department’s investigative and enforcement efforts against nursing homes and other long-term care entities that deliver grossly substandard care to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. The Elder Justice Initiative will be providing litigation support and training to the Elder Justice Task Forces.

Learn more about the Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative at https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/.