Adult Protective Services

What is the Adult Protective Services Program?

The Illinois Department on Aging’s Adult Protective Services Program is responsible for investigating suspected cases of abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, and self-neglect experienced by adults 60 years of age or older and adults 18-59 with a disability who resides in a domestic setting. Within Suburban Cook County, there are 10 Adult Protective Service Provider Agencies (APSPA) which are designated by the Regional Area Agency on Aging and IDoA.

Definitions of Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation and Self-Neglect

Physical Abuse

Causing the infliction of physical pain or injury to an eligible adult (18-59 or 60+ years old).

Sexual Abuse

Touching, fondling, sexual threats, sexually inappropriate remarks, or any other sexual activity with an eligible adult when he or she is unable to understand, unwilling to consent, threatened, or physically forced to engage in sexual behavior.

Emotional Abuse

Verbal assaults, threats of maltreatment, harassment, or intimidation intended to compel the eligible adult to engage in conduct from which he or she wishes and has a right to abstain, or to refrain from conduct in which the eligible adult wishes and has a right to engage.

Financial Exploitation

The use of an eligible adult’s resources by another to the disadvantage of that adult or the profit or advantage of a person other than that adult.

Confinement

Restraining or isolating, without legal authority, an eligible adult for other than medical reasons, as ordered by a physician.

Passive Neglect

Another individual’s failure to provide an eligible adult with the necessities of life including, but not limited to, food, clothing, shelter, or medical care because of failure to understand the eligible adult’s needs, lack of awareness of services to help meet needs or a lack of capacity to care for the eligible adult.

Willful Deprivation

Deliberate denial of medications, medical care, shelter, food therapeutic devices, or other physical assistance to a person who, because of age, health, or disability, requires such assistance and thereby exposes that person to the risk of physical, mental, or emotional harm because of such denial.

Self-Neglect

A condition that is the result of an eligible adult’s inability, due to physical or mental impairments, or both, or a diminished capacity, to perform essential self-care tasks that substantially threaten his or her own health, including: providing essential food, clothing, shelter, and health care; and obtaining goods and services necessary to maintain physical health, mental health, emotional well-being and general safety.

How Do I Make an Abuse Report?  

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911 or the local law enforcement agency for immediate assistance. If the danger is not immediate, but you suspect abuse has occurred or is occurring, please make an Adult Protective Services report. Per the Illinois Adult Protective Services Act, anyone making an Adult Protective Services report in good faith has civil and criminal immunity from liability and professional disciplinary action. The reporter’s identity is kept confidential and anonymous reports are accepted.

To locate the appropriate Adult Protective Services Provider Agency in Suburban Cook County that serves the area in which the alleged victim resides, please visit the AgeOptions Referral Page, select “Adult Protective Services,” and enter the alleged victim’s address.

If you are trying to make a report outside of regular business hours and/or the alleged victim resides outside of Suburban Cook County, please call the Illinois Department on Aging’s 24-hour hotline by dialing 1(866)800-1409, 1(888)206-1327 (TTY).  

At intake, the reporter should be prepared to provide the following information to the best of their ability:

• The alleged victim’s name, address, telephone number, sex, age, and general condition;
• The alleged abuser’s name, sex, age, relationship to victim and condition;
• The circumstances which lead the reporter to believe that the adult (age 60 or older) or person with a disability (age 18-59) is being abused, neglected, or financially exploited
• Whether the alleged victim is in immediate danger, the best time to contact the alleged victim, whether the alleged victim knows of the report, and if there is any danger to the investigating case worker;
• Whether the reporter believes the alleged victim could make a report themselves;
• The name, telephone number, and profession (if applicable) of the reporter;
• The names of others with information who may be aware of the situation;
• If the reporter is willing to be contacted again; and,
• Any other relevant information.

Other Resources

• Illinois Department on Aging – Adult Protective Services
• Illinois Department of Human Services – Domestic Violence Victim Services
• National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA)
• National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)
• Department of Justice – Elder Justice Initiative
• Administration for Community Living (ACL)