Adult Protective Services

Adult Protective Services provides protection to vulnerable adults who are at risk of harm due to the presence or threat of any of the following: abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation.  Each of these harm types have subcategories of harm which are also investigated; for example, “neglect” includes “self-neglect.” They have authority to act in certain circumstances even if a crime has not occurred or cannot be proven. Adult Protective Services’ main priority is to protect the overall health, safety, and well-being of a vulnerable adult.

Please note APS will accept reports of harm committed against a vulnerable adult even if the reporter is not a mandatory reporter. In the instance of a broker-dealer or investment adviser making a report, APS will accept reports of any kind of harm committed against a vulnerable adult even if the broker-dealer or investment adviser is only a mandatory reporter for financial exploitation.

Adult Protective Services:

• Conducts protective services investigations.
• Makes referrals to reduce risk of harm which may include counseling, education and training, health related medical examination and evaluations, homemaking, and housing assistance.
• Refers criminal matters to law enforcement.
• Intervenes to provide social protection in the form of conservatorship, guardianship, and civil commitment in the least restrictive or intrusive manner as a last resort when warranted.

When making a report to APS, you should:

• State the nature of the harm or risk of harm to the vulnerable adult.
• Describe why you believe an adult is vulnerable.
• State why you believe the vulnerable adult cannot protect themselves.
• Provide name & contact info for individuals who may have more information.

Example:

Jane Doe’s son, John Doe, was added to Jane’s investment account on Oct. 1 of this year. Jane never used online services before John was added to her account. John appears to be financially exploiting Jane, as he made $50,000 of online withdrawals from her account within two weeks. Jane is vulnerable because she is 85 years old and appears to lack the understanding that her son is taking money from her account. Jane cannot protect herself because when she was called about the withdrawals, she insisted that there was no way the withdrawals could not have been made as described. Jane’s daughter, Jill Doe, phone number 220-1234 can provide more information, and so can Bob Smith from the investment firm, phone number 330-5678.

Additional Tips to Improve Reports to APS:

• Assume APS has no experience with the securities industry unless you are told otherwise; try to avoid using industry terminology or abbreviations.
• Always explain explicitly why an adult cannot protect themselves, e.g. “Margie cannot protect herself from exploitation because [describe reason].” Do not assume it is self-explanatory that a person cannot protect themselves simply because of advanced age or because of a mental or physical disability.
• Remember that age alone, without more information, is usually not sufficient evidence to show a person is vulnerable. If you believe that a person is vulnerable in part because of their age, consider describing the person’s actions or behavior to show why you think they are vulnerable, e.g. “Fred is 80 years old. When I spoke with him, he didn’t know what day of the week or what year it was, and he couldn’t tell me his address.”