Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Taxpayers left holding the bag on Adult Protective Service program
Congress passed the Elderly Justice Act but didn’t fund it. The state, in turn, underfunded the service providers required by the law, leaving counties to pick up the tab.
In the case of Tippecanoe County taxpayers, they’re going to have to pay nearly $27,000 by the end of 2013 to pay for two Adult Protective Service investigators, which are required by the federal Elderly Justice Act.
“I lost approximately $10,000 a year,” Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Pat Harrington said. “We get a grant from the state. It’s a two-year budget cycle.”
Adult Protective Services operate out of the prosecutor’s office and fall under Harrington’s budget.
“Basically, I need $15,000 a year to stay even,” Harrington said of the two-year cuts that unexpectedly pulled money from the local APS office. “They pulled $10,000, which puts me upside down in 2012. I’m now going to be deeper in the hole in 2013.”
“The truth is APS statewide is inadequately funded,” Harrington said. “I’m not saying they cut my budget on purpose. They’re addressing immediate needs and doing triage.
“The real issue is since the United States Congress is not funding the Elder Justice Act, the state is going to have to step up and increase funding to all APS across the state.”
But that’s not happening either.
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Taxpayers left holding the bag on Adult Protective Service program
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3 comments:
We knew it wouldn't/couldn't be funded! What a waste of taxpayer money on a reform act without funding!
That's true, Anonymous. I think sometimes bills are created to smooth the public's outrage but they know those bills won't pass.
If the States are going to have to increase their funding, they should look into the growing abuse of Medicaid applications by court-appointed fiduciaries in cases where their wards had more than adequate finances to provide care.
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