State plans to boost staffing for adult protection agency

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – State officials are planning to boost spending by $1.1 million for Indiana Adult Protective Services after complaints that the agency is understaffed to handle reports of possible abuse or neglect involving vulnerable adults.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley tells The Indianapolis Star that the additional money will allow the agency to add 18 full-time investigators. The entire state is currently covered by the equivalent of 30 full-time investigators for some 40,000 calls a year.

Legislators this week approved a bill requiring a study of what staffing levels should be for the agency that’s overseen by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. A 2014 report by the administration described the program as “woefully” underfunded.

The agency investigates cases involving adults with dementia, mental illnesses, physical disabilities or other impairments.