Briefs
Briefs contain a synopsis of information on specific topics and links for additional information. Some of our briefs are short interviews with subject matter experts in the field.
APS Admin 101: Resources and Information for New Adult Protective
Services Administrators
This brief contains information and resources on a variety of topics from the history of APS to federal resources that can support APS programs and will provide a foundation for understanding some of the complexities of APS program administration.
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Professional APS Training
This brief outlines what is available to APS programs to use for no or low cost traiing. It includes resources such as a list of core competencies and training videos, as well as information about advanced and supervisor core training.
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Intake is the means adult maltreatment reports are received into the APS program. Read about the steps involved in intake and resources for putting a system in place. This brief examines information gathering, assigning, staffing, training and more.
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APS Public Awareness: Strategies for Success
Public awareness campaigns can be an effective way to raise community awareness on a myriad of issues, from fire prevention (e.g. Smokey the Bear) to breast cancer awareness (e.g. pink ribbons) and beyond. This brief examines the benefits and risks of raising public awareness, what to consider in planning for your campaign, and what activities to potentially include.
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Forensic Accounting: What APS Needs to Know
The use of forensic accounting has increasingly become a promising practice and resource to support APS programs in recent years. This brief defines forensic accounting/accountants, the nature of financial exploitation cases and why these types of cases may lend themselves to professional review utilizing forensic accounting methods, models of how various APS programs have integrated forensic accounting into their APS casework, and the identification of resources and tools.
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Performance Management Cycle for APS Supervisors
APS supervisors have a complex position and are expected to fill many different roles. One of those roles is planning for, monitoring, reviewing, and rewarding staff performance. This brief addresses the performance management cycle and includes tips for making expectations clear, documenting performance, evaluating home visits, and more.
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Technology Additions: Tips on Implementing New Software
This brief provides an overview of the process for state agencies to purchase, procure, install and implement new/upgraded technical software solutions. Learn about building your team, defining success, devising a plan, and more while also reading about experience from two state APS programs.
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The Road to Consistent Case Findings
This brief showcases a protocol that was developed to help California APS programs increase the consistency of their findings and will discuss how other states have adapted that protocol. This information is provided to help states come into alignment with the guidance in the Voluntary Consensus Guidelines for State APS Systems that “APS workers are trained on and have a clear understanding of the definitions of case findings (e.g., ‘confirmed,’ ‘unfounded,’ or ‘inconclusive’)”.
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COVID-19 Fraud and Scams: What APS Needs to Know
On March 11, 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak with all its uncertainties, was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Practically overnight, U.S. citizens were advised to immediately shelter in place, as businesses, schools and places of worship closed their doors for the foreseeable future. Never in our modern age have we had such a swift need to change the course of living and working, with little guidance and many unanswered questions. This brief details why the pandemic gave rise to opportunities for fraud, how scammers operate, signs and types of fraud, and APS practice issues.
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Safely Responding to Mental Health Crises in
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Clients with mental health conditions can be challenging for adult protective services (APS) programs and staff. APS workers occasionally deal with individuals with mental health concerns in emotionally charged situations. Clients can become disoriented and confused, evoking a hostile response. This brief addresses de-escalation techniques, multidisciplinary approaches, promising practices, and other issues around working with clients in a mental health crisis.
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APS work is challenging! Workers must be intelligent, have emotional dexterity, and the skills to manage demanding workloads. Experienced workers have learned how to streamline their work to help them more efficiently complete their investigations and keep their caseload manageable. We asked your colleagues - APS workers currently working in the field - for tips that help them organize their casework and thinking to streamline the work they do. This brief provides advice from individual workers to you - the individual worker. In addition to the individual tips, we’ve also collected recommended trainings or tools that others have found especially helpful.
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Quality Assurance in Adult Protective Services
APS casework is inherently complex and imperfect. It generally requires a balance of following rules (policies and procedures) while doing the best thing for clients based on education, training, instincts, and ethics. There is always room for improvement in the decisions made by individual caseworkers, in the direction provided by supervisors, in the standards developed by management, and in training. APS programs need processes to define, measure, and monitor expectations. Absent such processes it is difficult to know what to do to improve the quality of the program. This brief addresses approaches and benefits to quality assurance (QA) as well as considerations in developing a QA program.
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Trauma-Informed Approach for Adult Protective Services
A trauma-informed approach to adult maltreatment is important to achieve a better life for victims. This brief explains some of the foundations of the approach, examines the intersection of trauma-informed care and the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides several resources for additional learning.
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What APS Needs to Know About Victims of
Crime Act (VOCA) Funding
State Adult Protective Services (APS) programs are generally funded by either Social Services Block Grant funding and/or state general funds. However, APS programs are struggling to meet the demands of their programs and are looking at ways to supplement their funding. Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding can be a way to increase services to APS clients who are victims of criminal abuse.
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Capacity Screening in Adult Protective Services:
Guidance and Resources
Adult protective services (APS) case workers are often the first to encounter situations where an older person or person with disabilities who is a victim of abuse, neglect or exploitation may also have impaired decision-making. Issues involving decision-making capacity are complex, cross-disciplinary and include knowledge of medical syndromes, clinical assessment, ethics, and the law. This brief addresses: understanding capacity terminology, the relationships between capacity and abuse, screening tools, and research on capacity screening.
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Preparing for and responding to emergencies to support vulnerable adults requires the work of many within and beyond the APS community. While APS staff are not medical first responders, clearly, they must play an important role. In this difficult time, APS workers place the highest value on the needs and safety of APS clients and those for whom a complaint has been made, and at the same time, to mitigate risk of COVID-19 spread. APS, like all of us, must attend to the health and safety of their clients, communities and themselves. The Administration for Community Living (ACL) values the ongoing work APS is doing under challenging circumstances to ensure that vulnerable adults across the U.S. can be safe.
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Training Supervisors in Adult Protective Services:
Guidance and Resources
Adult Protective Services (APS) supervisors are vital to the success of APS programs and their role is fundamental in assuring the safety and well-being of APS clients. They perform both clinical and administrative functions, approve casework decisions at key junctures, and guide and support staff in case planning and management, among other duties and responsibilities. APS supervisors often come to their position with little or no training on effective supervision and frequently assume the role without an understanding of the wide array of responsibilities the position entails. This brief details guidance and resources for for training APS supervisors.
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Interviews with Experts
Interview with Experts – Interviewing Persons with Disabilities
An interview with Scott Modell, PhD, on interviewing persons with disabilities. Dr. Modell is an expert in abuse, crime victims with disabilities, disability etiology, and interview techniques. He has authored nine books and has over 300 published articles and abstracts. Dr. Modell is frequently invited to lecture at national and international conferences regarding child abuse and crime victims with disabilities.
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Interview with Experts - How the Opioid Epidemic is Impacting APS
An interview with Kathryn Sapp, who manages Missouri’s APS Policy and Staff Development bureau and has provided information for submission to the National Opioid Czar on the issue of how opioids are affecting APS.
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Interview with Experts - APS in Rural Areas
An interview with Michael Hagenlock, Bureau Chief for APS in Montana, on APS in his rural state. It is estimated that by 2030, Montana will be one of ten states in the country to have more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 18, and it is predicted Montana is on pace to rank #3 in elder population by 2030. Montana can be classified as rural, but in many areas is considered frontier. Montana APS runs a successful and innovative program. Michael spends much of his time crisscrossing the state to manage the program.
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Interview with Experts - Interviewing Alleged Perpetrators
An interview with Candace Heisler on interviewing alleged perpetrators. Candace Heisler is a retired San Francisco prosecutor. She spent 25 years with the San Francisco District Attorney, more than 10 as head of the Domestic Violence Unit. For more than 20 years she has served as a national expert consultant and trainer in domestic violence, abuse in later life, and elder abuse. She has designed curricula for APS and other professionals and has published widely in these fields.
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Interview with Experts - Working with the Criminal Justice System
An interview with Paul Greenwood on improving outcomes of shared adult protective services and criminal justice cases. Paul Greenwood recently retired from his 22-year role as San Diego County Deputy District Attorney in charge of the elder abuse division. He is now a consultant and educator on the topic of elder abuse.
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Interview with Experts - Working with Financial Institutions
An interview with Joe Snyder about how adult protective services (APS) can work with financial Institutions. Joe Snyder is the chair of the National Adult Protective Services Association’s Policy Committee and works for NAPSA as an expert consultant on projects to improve the response of APS and financial institutions to cases of financial abuse.
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Interviews with Experts: Nurses and Adult Protective Services
Some adult protective services (APS) programs employ nurses as part of their workforce. This brief contains an interview with Lori Delagrammatikas, Executive Director of the National Adult Protective Services Association, about how and why APS nurses are an essential part of the team.
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Interview with Experts: Funding Sources for Adult Protective Services
Adult Protective Services (APS) programs are funded in a variety of ways. This brief contains an overview with Bill Benson, National Adult Protective Services Association’s Policy Advisor, on various ways programs are funded across the US.Adult Protective Services (APS) programs are funded in a variety of ways.This brief demysifies the funding of APS programs at the state and local level and addresses funding streams such as the Social Services Block Grant, Medicaid, and local property taxes.
Click here to read the brief.