DHH's Adult Protective Services Program In-Line with Most Best Practices; However, Changes Would Make It More Effective
An examination of the Department of Health and Hospitals' Adult Protective Services (APS) found that while the program has been designed according to most national best practices, DHH would make it more effective with some changes, the Legislative Auditor said in a report released today.
In July 2012, the Elderly Protective Services (EPS) function within the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs was merged into DHH's Adult Protective Services program. EPS was responsible for looking into cases of abuse and neglect for disabled or vulnerable clients age 60 or older, while APS handled cases involving disabled residents ages 18 to 59. The goal of the merger was to consolidate resources and provide more effective and efficient services. The work APS does is becoming increasingly important because Louisiana's population of adults age 60 and older is expected to exceed 1 million by 2030, an increase of 35% from 2010.
The state auditor made 17 recommendations to improve APS' oversight of adult and elderly abuse and neglect cases. Among the recommendations:
- supervisors should review cases as required;
- caseworkers should obtain and document sufficient information to support their decisions on whether to accept or reject an allegation;
- face-to-face contact with clients and case investigations should be completed in a timely fashion;
- additional data should be collected to measure the quality and effectiveness of the program;
- additional training on financial exploitation of the elderly or vulnerable should be provided to caseworkers.
For more information contact:
Legislative Auditor
225.339.3800