National Association of Adult Protective Services Administrators (NAAPSA),
National Center on Elder Abuse
December 2001

Reviewed by Loree Cook-Daniels

As part of an ongoing comprehensive APS “baseline study,” the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) has released a new report, “State Adult Protective Services Data Management Systems, 2001.”

Prepared by NCEA partner National Association of Adult Protective Services Administrators (NAAPSA), the document is based upon the 1997 Survey of States’ APS Information Systems and the 2000 Survey of States.

What the study found is that only Texas had an information management system that allowed it to answer all of 28 questions asking for numerical data on the previous year’s APS caseload. Only twelve states were able to answer 75% or more of the questions.

There were only four questions (on the categories and number of cases reported, total number of complaints investigated, total number of complaints confirmed/substantiated/ validated, and the reasons for case closures) that all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam could answer. Only 65% of states were able to report their total annual APS expenditures and the sources of that funding. Few programs could report any data on perpetrators.

The document (minus one large chart and one appendix) is available for free downloading at http://www.elderabusecenter.org/publication/compiled2.pdf. Printed copies of the entire document are available for $15.00 (which includes shipping and handling) from:
Joanne Otto
Executive Director
NAAPSA
960 Lincoln Place
Boulder, CO 80302-7234
720-565-0906 (phone)
303-443-3361 (fax)
Naapsaotto@aol.com