An estimated one in 10 adults over the age of 60 suffers from some form of elder abuse. A key component of addressing ongoing elder abuse and the likelihood that its prevalence will increase as a result of a rapidly growing older adult population is the network of local and state agencies that form the country’s system of community Adult Protective Services (APS). At the earliest stage in the development of APS, several key issues were identified that continue to be relevant today. These include the need for well-trained APS personnel and the need to offer competitive salaries to attract and retain a high quality workforce; the importance of effective inter-agency coordination and cooperation among teams of interdisciplinary professionals; and federal financial and administrative support to ensure effective service delivery.

This report summarizes the current state of affairs with respect to these issues, highlights efforts being made to address them, and recommends actions that would further support these efforts to improve community APS in the US.