Adult Protective Services

The National Adult Protective Services Technical Assistance Resource Center Project (APS TARC), established by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in 2016, recently released a report analyzing the current landscape of APS program structure and operations across the United States. The analysis in this report is based on the following objectives: Understand APS Program Context Understand APS Reporting and Intake Understand APS Investigations Understand APS Post-Investigation Services Understand APS Quality Assurance

The APS TARC has released a new toolkit for APS administrators managing a state of local APS program. The toolkit is intended to help orient new administrators with a brief which contains information and resources on topics ranging from the history of APS to federal resources that can support APS programs. The toolkit also includes an frequently used acronym guiode and the Updated National Voluntary Consensus Guidelines for State APS Systems from the Administration for Community Living.

This report is based on 2021 data from the National Adult Maltreatment Reporting System (NAMRS), which is a voluntary data reporting system that collects information from state adult protective services systems throughout all states, territories, and the District of Columbia. The 2021 report features a unique chapter on the potential impacts of COVID-19.

This research brief synthesizes the latest available information and research relating to the mistreatment of adults with disabilities (AWD). This brief addresses the intersection of AWD and elder mistreatment and provides information about risk factors, national survey findings, intimate partner violence (IPV), adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), barriers to reporting and help-seeking, and recommendations for intervention.

ACL released a report on the 5th year of data collected by the National Adult Maltreatment Reporting System (NAMRS). NAMRS is the only comprehensive national initiative compiling data on the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults and adults with disabilities as reported to state adult protective services (APS). In this report, the APS TARC (Adult Protective Services Technical Assistance Resource Center) began to look at the potential impact of the COVID-19 on adult maltreatment.

ACL released the first Research Agenda for Adult Protective Services (APS). The goals of the Research Agenda include: • Providing guidance to researchers, APS programs, and funders to help advance the field • Highlighting gaps in research in order to inform the APS field • Helping build a cohesive body of evidence for the APRS field. ACL, in collaboration with a panel of adult maltreatment experts, identified and ranked 61 high-priority APS research questions for the Research Agenda.

This three-part brief provides information on how collaborating with APS can help older adults and adults with disabilities who are subjected to abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Part one gives a general overview of APS, including program functions, policies, and practices. The second part covers APS abuse reporting, intake, screening, triaging, and investigation processes. The third and final section of this brief focuses on the importance of collaborating with APS during interventions.