Risk of Elder Maltreatment: Why The Role Of Adult Protective Services Needs To Be A Public Health Conversation

Each year, over 500,000 older adults are abused, neglected and exploited. Currently, most state Adult Protective Service (APS) agencies investigate and substantiate whether harm occurs, then either provide services or connect the individual to a community resources when allegations are substantiated or found to be true. Several longitudinal studies suggest, however, that risk of maltreatment is not strongly related to substantiated allegations. NCCD staff will summarize findings from longitudinal risk assessment studies for New Hampshire, Virginia, and Texas to illustrate that individuals with substantiated allegations are more likely to be high risk, and that a significant number of individuals with unfounded allegations are at high risk of future maltreatment, either self-neglect or maltreatment by someone. APS agencies are going to be most successful at preventing future maltreatment among individuals reported to them if they are able to provide effective services to individuals at the greatest risk of future maltreatment (e.g. match frequency and duration of services by risk of maltreatment). In many states, particularly those that legislate services to individuals with substantiated allegations, providing effective services to high risk individuals with unsubstantiated allegations will be a challenge. A community response to preventing elder maltreatment is needed, given that APS agencies are chronically underfunded and the demand for services is expected to increase as the population over 60 continues grows. APS agencies play a critical role in this public health discussion, and can help inform data-driven decision-making about effective targeting of resources based on actuarial risk of future maltreatment.