Adult Protective Intervention/Investigation

The program provides adult protective services for people in Los Angeles County who are disabled or elderly, regardless of citizenship status. It serves people who are 18 and older and suffer from severe mental or physical disabilities or are in extremely poor health and are in danger, and any adult age 60 or older who is suffering from emotional abuse, physical abuse, abandonment or neglect. Services include adult protective intervention and investigation including crisis intervention and general assessment. There are no geographic restrictions.

The program accepts reports of elder abuse through its elder abuse hotline. The hotline provides a centralized intake and assessment and calls that relate to imminent danger are referred to, or linked with law enforcement, fire, or paramedic agencies immediately and a report is made to APS for investigation.

Calls during working hours which do not involve life-threatening situations are referred to or linked with the APS centralized intake office. Hotline staff may advocate for emergency services and contact an on-call APS worker to assist with calls received weeknights, 5:00pm to 12:00 midnight.

Calls regarding the abuse of dependent or elderly people who are in a skilled nursing facility are linked with the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.

Mandated Reporters who prefer reporting by phone must also send a written report by email or file a report online within two working days.

Anyone may call anonymously, however, caller identification is preferred and confidentiality of the reporters name is promised. If the person appears to need APS services, the worker attempts to make a home visit or other form of in-person intervention to assess the situation. The worker cannot force an unwilling person to accept services or leave a possible dangerous situation, however, the worker can involve or refer the person to community agencies who will assist them.