Indiana lawmakers are being asked to provide more funding for Adult Protective Services, and there’s an effort to get all the agencies involved to collaborate on how that money would be spent. A report by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration and the state’s Prosecuting Attorneys Council calls for changes, including emergency short-term placement for endangered adults, a 24/7 hotline, technology upgrades, and more staff and training. David Powell, who heads the Prosecuting Attorneys Council, says they have to stretch manpower to investigate every case of abuse, neglect and exploitation that is reported.
Indiana is the only state in the nation with its criminal justice system in charge of Adult Protective Services. There are about 40 investigators in 18 offices or “hubs,” to look into abuse cases reported in all 92 counties in the state.
At the Indiana Association of Area Agencies on Aging, C-E-O Kristen LaEace says most of these types of cases aren’t criminal, but the result of an older person no longer able to fully care for themselves. She believes funding should be directed to social-service agencies that can help them.
Ambre Marr with A-A-R-P Indiana, thinks it’s a good time to talk about how the recommendations made in the most recent report would be put into place if additional funding is allocated.