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   FAQ - Adult Protective Services

 


Adult Protective Services contact information:
 - Phone: (740) 687-6812
 - Fax: (740) 689-4843


FAQ 

  1. Are all referrals confidential? Will anyone else know who contacted APS?

    Response: All referrals to Adult Protective Services must remain confidential. If you call to report that an older adult is suffering from abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation, you may choose to give your name and contact number so that the investigating Caseworker can contact you for further information or clarification. However, your identity will not be given to the person you called about, nor will it be given to anyone else associated with the case.
     

  2. In order to receive services from Adult Protective Services, must an older adult have income below the poverty level?

    Response: All adults, age 60 and over, are eligible for APS services, regardless of income.
     

  3. Am I a "mandated" reporter?
    Response: If you work as a professional in any social service, teaching, law enforcement, ministerial, medical, or other helping profession, you are obligated by law to report elder abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation.
     

  4. What if I only suspect that an older adult is being abused, neglected, or exploited, and I have no real evidence to support my suspicions?

    Response: Regardless of the "evidence," it is important that you report your suspicions to APS. APS Caseworkers will investigate and, if there is no indication that abuse, neglect, or exploitation exists, APS will not open a case. In any suspected abusive situation, it is "better to be safe than sorry."
     

  5. Will the older adult I refer find out it was me who called?

    No. By law, all referrals to APS are CONFIDENTIAL, and remain as such throughout the investigation and for the duration of the case if it is opened and requires ongoing case management. At no time would the caller’s identity be divulged to anyone, including the person referred.
     

  6. Does APS work with individuals who are younger than 60?

    Occasionally, APS will investigate and provide case management or intervention for adult victims of abuse, neglect, or exploitation who are younger than 60. However, the adult referred must be considered “disabled” in some manner to warrant APS involvement.
     

  7. Can APS assume Legal Guardianship for older adult customers?

    No. In cases where the older adult customer is deemed “not competent” by a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist, APS staff will work with a family member or with an agency attorney in filing for Guardianship through the Probate Court.
     

  8. Does APS remove older adults from their home and place them in a nursing home?

    No. Only in circumstances that warrant intensive (24 hour/7 day a week) care for the safety and health of the older adult, APS will assist with nursing home placement if the customer is deemed “not competent” by a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist, and in need of a Guardian. APS cannot, by law, remove an adult from their home against their will without permission from the Probate Court.
     

  9. Can APS help older adults who are not victims of abuse, neglect, or exploitation?

    Yes. APS can provide resource information as well as direct assistance to any older adult, regardless of income, who needs services to help them maintain independence within their own homes.

 

 


 



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