As elder abuse investigations surge, protective services office seeks to fill vacancies

by Scott McCaffrey 

The county government’s Adult Protective Services office is attempting to keep up with a surge in reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation.

“We’re in uncharted territory here in terms of volume,” said Rachel Coates, an official with the Department of Human Services, at the Dec. 15 meeting of the Commission on Aging.

Adult Protective Services handles reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation of those over age 60, as well as those over 18 who are incapacitated. The increases come as there have been two vacancies for human-services clinicians who investigate such cases.

“For the first five months of the fiscal year, we’ve seen a 30% increase in reports and 50% increase in investigations compared to the previous five months in 2024,” Coates told ARLnow. “The largest number of reports that we are receiving is for financial exploitation, which accounted for 38% of the reports in November.”

A weakening regional economy may be driving some of the financial-exploitation cases, said Coates, director of the Community Supports and Coordination Bureau for the county’s Aging and Disabilities Services Division.

William Way, who chairs the Commission on Aging, said he was hopeful new and existing staff would be sufficient to keep pace with the need.

“A lot of people are counting on you,” he said.

The application period for the two vacancies closed last week. In the meantime, “we do have temporary support,” Coates said at the commission meeting. “We are using interns as well, but the teams are seeing extremely high volume.”

Adult Protective Services works closely with the Arlington County Police Department on investigations. In addition, outreach events sponsored by the Commission on Aging are being planned for 2026 to further educate the community about fraud and exploitation.

The county government has an online reporting tool for suspected abuse or exploitation. From the website:

“What if you have a ‘feeling’ about a situation but cannot verify details? Adult Protective Services workers are professional social workers trained to handle complex situations. Based on your report, the social worker will assess the situation and determine how best to respond.”

Anonymous reports also can be made by phone to the county duty worker at 703-228-1700 during business hours, or to the state hotline at 888-832-3858 after hours.

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As elder abuse investigations surge, protective services office seeks to fill vacancies