Reporting to alleged perpetrator…

In response to the proposed change in APS guidance, I contest the change regarding section H, reporting to the alleged perpetrator.  It causes many serious concerns on many different levels concerning the safety and well-being of the clients/alleged victims whom we serve.  First of all, I ditto several of the other comments from local agencies on this specific topic.  Secondly, I don’t understand what the purpose of this change is and what is the desired outcome of this change… to make APS more like CPS?  The two programs are too different to try to make one like the other and they NEED to be different considering the populations served. 

The proposed policy completely undermines an APS worker’s ability to do their job and the purpose of Adult Protective Services altogether.  Anyone who has worked in Adult Protective Services knows that 95% of the time, the alleged victim does not want the APS worker to talk to the alleged perpetrator.  An APS worker must and should respect the alleged victim’s wishes.  An alleged victim is NOT going to talk to or work with an APS worker if the APS worker must provide notification to the alleged perpetrator.  Notification to the alleged perpetrator of the finding of the investigation could place the alleged victim’s safety in jeopardy.  We LDSS’s do not have the authority to step in and take action to protect an alleged APS victim against their will as we do with CPS so don’t make APS guidance like CPS guidance.