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Adult Protective Services Library
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Sections

  • Welcome to the Adult Protective Services Library
  • Miscellaneous
    • Investigating Suspected Elder Maltreatment
  • Introduction to Law & Policy
    • Meriweather Scott Referral
    • John Brown Referral
    • Jane Philbright Referral
    • Interviewing Tips
    • Referrals on Special Populations
  • APS Forms & System
    • APS Computer System Reference Guide
    • Proper Documentation: A Key Topic in Training Programs for Elder Abuse Workers
  • Normal Aging
    • Ageism and the Elderly
    • Exercise for Healthy Aging
  • Investigative Process
    • Technical Assistance Brief Investigation Protocols
  • Substantiation Decision
    • Determining Findings
    • Adult Protective Services Clients Confirmed for Self-Neglect: Characteristics and Service Use
    • A Good Man is Hard to Find
  • Service Planning
    • Service Planning with APS Clients
    • Older Adults Affected by Polyvictimization: A Review of Early Research
  • Urgent Response
    • APS Urgent Response Guidelines
    • Responding to Emergencies
    • Planning and Preparing for Investigations
  • Worker Safety
    • Safety Grid
    • Planning for Safety
  • Pre-Academy Field Tasks
    • Customer Service in Adult Protective Services

Service Planning with APS Clients

A service plan is developed with the vulnerable adult and involved family and caretakers in all cases where service needs are indicated. There are several factors that are considered when developing a service plan. These include:

  • Client wishes
  • Client risk factors
  • Client resources and support systems
  • Perpetrator issues
  • Urgency of the situation
  • Professional ethics
  • Cultural considerations

Protective service plans are developed with the knowledge and approval of the client, when possible. When involuntary services are necessary to protect the life or estate of a client, guardianship is pursued with careful consideration of the effect on the client’s psychological and emotional needs. Service planning focuses on services that meet the vulnerable adult’s needs in the least intrusive and least restrictive manner possible. When a client is determined to have capacity to consent, the APS specialist must consider if available resources offer a positive alternative to the current situation from the client’s perspective.

Our goals in service planning are to:

  • assess the need for services
  • make a service offer
  • provide the accepted services
  • ensure that the service plan is in place and stable prior to case closure

Each service that is offered to the client and the client’s response to the offer should be documented in the APS Computer System Service Plan Section. Some situations warrant monitoring of the service plan. When the APS specialist IV or designee and APS specialist determine follow-up is necessary, the APS specialist documents why follow-up is necessary and the plan for completing follow-up in the APS Computer System Service Plan Monitoring Notes Section.

Interventions with Abusers by Abuser Category

When developing a service plan with clients, it is important to identify the abuser category when there is an Alleged Perpetrator involved. Dr. Holly Ramsey-Klawsnik identified five types of offenders: (1) the overwhelmed, (2) the impaired, (3) the narcissistic, (4) the domineering, or bullying, and (5) the sadistic. The type of abuser determines the services that we will recommend to the client.

Abusers with Caregiving StressAbusers with Intent to Abuse
Individual, couple, or family counselingIndividual counseling or substance abuse treatment programs
Support groups for caregiverEducational groups to teach alternatives to violence
Education on caregivingVocational counseling and placement
Programs offering respite, such as help in the home or home-delivered mealsPolice, court orders, mandated programs, or incarceration
Emotional support from informal support networkCessation or limited contact (other living arrangements) away from the client
Abuser Categories

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Older Adults Affected by Polyvictimization: A Review of Early Research
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APS Urgent Response Guidelines

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