Adult Protective Services is and has been "a horse of a different color" in that most often the person I focus on is the elderly/disabled person and protecting them from themselves.  For example: 1.  An elderly woman has dementia, lives alone, refuses her meds and her home is filthy. 2.  Elderly woman lives alone, dementia, family is in California and come up a couple of times a year, gets in the middle of the highway and is almost struck by an 18 wheeler; 3. couple lives together, he is blind, she hallucinates so they are frightened but refuse to leave their home; 4.  Elderly person has no heat; 5. elderly person lives in a trailer with big holes in the floor and she is 89 with dementia, her son is deceased; 5. Lady has a large tumor, she won't leave her home for medical care, her family is trying to help her but she refuses their help;  6.  a million etcs.  These situations are typical and who is at fault, do we name dementia or alzheimer's and call them the perpetrator?  Often the family doesn't know how to help or where to turn, that's why I go out.  I guide them through the maze and hopefully come out better on the other side.  Can I always get them to accept help even with agency guidance, no I can't but I put the situation on the road, for instance, I have the sheriff's department call me each time the person calls them so that when the window opens, I know where to proceed or to have the family proceed.  Does it take a while, sometimes it does. 

Now if a person is being exploited, that is so hard to prove.  The person has given permission for the person to take the money, they trust that person.  If the land was transferred 2 years ago and the person now realizes what happened, how do you change that?   Will the elderly person take out charges against that person or is it chargeable, often it is not.  Anyway, adult have the right to choices, they have the right to make stupid decisions and live with them.  Children are a different matter, they are not able to consent to care that is dangerous or accept situations which leave them in neglectful situations and be content with them.  Children are expected to be taken care until they become adults.  These are such different circumstances.  An adult can live in a pig sty and can stay there if they want, way different.