Responding to Suspected Abuse,
Neglect and Exploitation
As of December 1, 2006, under revised Wisconsin Statutes Chapter
55, counties
are required to designate an “adults-at-risk agency.” This agency may or may
not be the same as the county “elder abuse agency.”
The new responsibilities of the county elder adults/adults-at-risk agencies are
summarized in DMHSAS Memo Series
2007-12. A revised Chapter 55 Manual provides
more information on all the new statutory changes.
One of the new responsibilities outlined in Chapter 55 requires the
adults-at-risk agency to complete a report form on its response to each reported
case of suspected abuse, financial exploitation, neglect, or self-neglect. The
information is collected by the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS)
using a web-based application called the Wisconsin Incident Tracking System
(WITS).
If you would like to discuss a topic or situation with other elder
adults/ adults-at-risk staff,
join the APS/EA/AAR ListServ. Over 300 colleagues from across
Wisconsin participate in this forum used to raise questions, share best
practices, and exchange resource information. Join the ListServ by contacting 1-800-488-2596 ext 301 or e-mail Wisconsin's
Guardianship Support Center.
The Elder Adults/Adults-at-Risk and Adult Protective Services Systems memos
are distributed electronically via a ListServ. Subscribe to the ListServ to
receive notification when a new memo is released.
Or, go to SafetyNetWorks and Numbered Memos to view all current publications.
If you have questions about policy or county elder
adults/adults-at-risk agency operations,
contact your adults-at-risk
regional staff.
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Last Revised: July 23, 2008
