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December 2006
 UNPROTECTED: Adult Protective Services Struggles to Serve Vulnerable
Clients
The New York City Office of the Public Advocate investigated
procedures at
Adult Protective Services (APS), a division of the New York City
Human Resources
Administration (HRA), after recieving numerous complaints about APS.
APS is a state-mandated program that assists
individuals over the age of 18, who, because of mental or physical
impairment, cannot care for themselves. As of September
2006, APS had 6,154 total active cases in all five boroughs.
During September and October of 2006, the Public Advocates Office
interviewed 30
staff members from community-based organizations (CBO) in all five boroughs about their experiences
interacting with
APS on behalf of individuals served by their organizations. The
Office also interviewed
29 APS staff about agency operations.
After reviewing 57 cases that indicated problems at APS and the information provided by CBO and
APS staff, the
Public Advocate extrapolated the key findings below.
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APS does not respond to clients in a timely manner, leaving them
without vital services
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APS caseworkers are hampered by increasingly high caseloadsas
high as
81 cases for a single caseworkerwell above the recommended 25 cases
per
worker, and overloaded with paperwork, leaving little time to care
for each of their clients
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APS caseworkers do not consider themselves adequately trained
before entering the field. Caseworkers without training in mental
illnesses have a mixed group of clients in which some are mentally
ill and some are elderly
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