Pittston, PA – Pennsylvania Department of Aging Secretary Jason Kavulich today championed the call for long-overdue updates to Pennsylvania’s Older Adults Protective Services Act (OAPSA) to expand and improve protections of older Pennsylvanians. The law has not been revised in decades and does not address financial exploitation, which is the fastest growing form of abuse impacting older adults.
In his budget address earlier this month, Governor Josh Shapiro called for updates to OAPSA to include adding financial exploitation as a crime and expanding background check requirements for caregivers, as well as for the creation of older adult fatality review teams to identify gaps in the system when there is a connection between an open investigation and an older adult’s death. The proposal would better align OAPSA with the Adult Protective Services Act. Together, these reforms will improve OAPSA and further protect Pennsylvania’s older adults.
During an interview (12:05-12:21 PM) on WILK Radio in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Secretary Kavulich spoke about Governor’s Shapiro proposal on the overdue changes and highlighted the Governor’s proposed 2026-27 budget which calls for more than $6 million in additional investments in Department of Aging services. These investments include continuing to provide more transparency and accountability of the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) network with the Comprehensive Agency Performance Evaluation, or CAPE.
Since taking office in 2023, Governor Shapiro has invested more than $20 million to make life better for older Pennsylvanians by helping them stay safe, healthy and engaged in their communities and to continue building community supports so all Pennsylvanians can keep thriving as they age.