Reporting by Bethany Rodgers, USA Today Network/Erie Times-News
Pennsylvania’s auditor general has released a scathing assessment of state officials who oversee elder abuse investigations, saying their shortcomings are putting older adults at risk of neglect and mistreatment.
The audit released Sept. 23, pinpoints 10 concerns about the Pennsylvania Department of Aging’s process for supervising these protective services, including failing to enforce deadlines and hold agencies accountable when potential abuse cases fall through the cracks.
“If this doesn’t move the needle, then I don’t know what else will,” Auditor General Timothy DeFoor, a Republican, said in a news conference. “It should.”
Pennsylvania has a dispersed system for looking into possible cases of elder abuse, exploitation and neglect, relying on 52 Area Agencies on Aging to review and investigate these reports. However, commonwealth officials are supposed to monitor the performance of local agencies and ensure adherence to certain standards.
DeFoor’s audit criticized the state aging department for:
- not making sure protective services staff — particularly intake workers who screen reports — have enough training to handle cases;
- allowing local agencies to exceed the regulatory time limit of 20 days for investigating cases of abuse and neglect. State officials have treated this deadline as more of a goal than a requirement, according to DeFoor’s office; and
- not holding local agencies to account when they incorrectly find an older adult doesn’t need protective services. Auditors found dozens of examples of state officials disagreeing with the findings of a local investigation but said the commonwealth’s oversight system didn’t sufficiently document or respond to these discrepancies.
Aside from that, the auditors also complained that the state aging agency threw obstacles in the way of their investigation and delayed the report’s release by an estimated six months. The agency “chose to be defensive” and questioned the integrity of auditors rather than being receptive to their findings, DeFoor added.
Department of Aging challenges claims on elder abuse vulnerability
In a response to the audit, department officials said the investigation coincided with the rollout of a new monitoring system and wasn’t a fair evaluation of this fledgling oversight tool. They also accused the investigators of mischaracterizing their processes and taking a “backward-looking, punitive approach.”
“Basing an entire report and its recommendations on flawed, incomplete findings and misunderstandings does not help the department improve its processes nor keep older adults safe,” the agency wrote in its response to the audit.
However, DeFoor noted that whistleblowers and media reports have also raised concerns about the department.
“At what point does the Department of Aging look in the mirror and say, ‘We may have a problem?’” he said.
Bethany Rodgers is a USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania investigative journalist focusing on health and education.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News.
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