Building on a full year of discussions at
the local, regional, and national levels, the National Association
of Adult Protective Services Administrators (NAAPSA) has
released a consensus document entitled, “Adult Protective
Services Ethical Principles and Best Practice Guidelines.”
The document says two values should guide adult protective
services (APS):
Every action taken by APS must balance the duty to protect
the safety of the vulnerable adult with the adult’s
right to self-determination.
Older people and people with disabilities who are victims
of abuse, exploitation or neglect should be treated with
honesty, caring and respect.
NAAPSA then articulates the following principles and practice
guidelines:
Principles:
Adults have the right to be safe.
Adults retain all their civil and constitutional rights
unless some of these rights have been restricted by court
action.
Adults have the right to make decisions that do not
conform with societal norms as long as these decisions
do not harm others.
Adults are presumed to have decision-making capacity
unless a court adjudicates otherwise.
Adults have the right to accept or refuse services.
Practice Guidelines:
Recognize that the interests of the adult are the first
concern of any intervention.
Avoid imposing personal values on others.
Seek informed consent from the adult before providing
services.
Respect the adult’s right to keep personal information
confidential.
Recognize individual differences such as cultural, historical
and personal values.
Honor the right of adults to receive information about
their choices and options in a form or manner that they
can understand.
To the best of your ability, involve the adult as much
as possible in developing the service plan.
Focus on case planning that maximizes the vulnerable
adult’s independence and choice to the extent possible
based on the adult’s capacity.
Use the least restrictive services first – community
based services rather than institutionally based services
whenever possible.
Use family and informal support systems first as long
as this is in the best interest of the adult.
Maintain clear and appropriate professional boundaries.
In the absence of an adult’s expressed wishes,
support casework actions that are in the adult’s
best interest. Use substituted judgment in case planning
when historical knowledge of the adult’s values
is available.
Do no harm. Inadequate or inappropriate intervention
may be worse than no intervention.
A version of this
article first appeared in the National Center on Elder Abuse
Newsletter, funded by the U.S. Administration on Aging, Vol.
3, No. 8, July 2001.
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