The Comprehensive Aging Performance Evaluation (CAPE) allows the Department to move away from a simple pass/fail scoring system, and comprehensively ask “what does this local agency specifically need to improve?"
In Northumberland County, CAPE monitoring led the local aging agency to improve documentation standards and ensure timelines are consistently met.
Sunbury, PA – Pennsylvania Department of Aging (PDA) Secretary Jason Kavulich today highlighted the vital changes and drastic improvements made possible under the Shapiro Administration’s new way of evaluating the performance of older adult protective services in every county, and how that new approach is delivering better results in keeping older adults safe.
That tool, the Comprehensive Aging Performance Evaluation (CAPE), replaces a prior ineffective pass/fail system that did not provide adequate oversight of the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) network, nor did it tell a AAA what specific steps they needed to take to become compliant. CAPE not only provides those granular details to ensure a AAA is able to improve, but it also delivers historic levels of transparency and accountability of the AAA network, which provides an array of services to support older adults, including protective services. In the 26-27 budget, Governor Josh Shapiro secured a $1 million increase for CAPE so the Department can continue to improve AAA oversight and accountability.
“Under the leadership of Governor Shapiro, the Department of Aging is providing unprecedented levels of transparency and oversight of the AAA network that touches the lives of thousands of older adults every day with services that help them stay healthy, safe and living independently in their communities,” said Secretary Kavulich. “The previous monitoring system only told a AAA whether it passed or failed and provided no insight on how to improve. With a rapidly growing older adult population and growing need for services, we need a system that does much more than that. CAPE raises the bar of accountability and communication to ensure our local aging agencies not only know their score but are armed with the right insight to improve their services and ultimately keep older adults safe."
During a visit today with Northumberland County aging services leaders, Secretary Kavulich noted that the work of serving and protecting older adults has never been more transparent or comprehensive in Pennsylvania. Through CAPE, monitoring results are now routinely posted to the Department’s website for the first time ever, with clearly defined, simple key categories for each AAA. For the first time in the Department’s history, the public can see exactly how well their local AAA is doing in programs including Protective Services, OPTIONs (help at home) services and Caregiver Support Program services.
Olivia Sims, agency administrator at the Northumberland County Area Agency on Aging and Veterans Affairs, noted that findings from her agency’s CAPE monitoring process helped her team strengthen its focus on improving documentation standards and ensuring timelines are consistently met.
“CAPE monitoring has been an invaluable process for our team. It provides us with an opportunity to take a closer look at the work we do, identify areas of strength, and recognize opportunities for continued improvement, said Sims. “Most importantly, the process encourages collaboration, accountability, and consistency across our agency. CAPE has helped our team strengthen our practices and ensure that we remain focused on providing high-quality services that truly meet the needs of older adults and individuals we serve here in Northumberland County.”
Launched in 2025, CAPE streamlines monitoring of a AAA’s performance through a more comprehensive approach, where each of Pennsylvania’s AAAs is evaluated for different programs during a singular monitoring review. This approach gives the Department a better snapshot of the local organization’s overall functioning, helping to quickly identify trends and focus training resources where they are most needed. Secretary Kavulich recently hosted a virtual training for 500 aging network professionals to directly address issues identified through the new system that, for years, often went unaddressed.
A deeper dive into the development of CAPE is available here.
The Department’s overhauled approach to monitoring the AAAs more aggressively, to hold them accountable and boost transparency of the process, is already making a difference in other key areas of performance:
- As of March 2026, 48 out of 52 Area Agencies on Aging are responding to reports of suspected elder abuse in a timely manner 85 or more percent of the time, often within 24 hours.
- The Department also monitors and measures each AAA monthly on the percentage of protective services cases where determination was achieved within a 20-day timeframe; as of March 2026, more than half (28) Area Agencies on Aging are scoring 85% percent or better on meeting the 20-day timeframe, including Northumberland County AAA, currently scoring 87%.
Three more AAAs – Butler, Cambria and Crawford – recently joined the growing list of agencies that have recently been evaluated, bringing the total number of results for AAAs on PDA’s website to 31, covering 42 counties. CAPE monitoring order and completion status for each AAA is here.
The Department will continue to provide that safe, reliable care thanks to a $1 million increase in the 26-27 budget for Aging Our Way, PA — the Shapiro Administration’s comprehensive 10-year strategy to transform services and strengthen support for older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers.
Since taking office in 2023, Governor Josh 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 as they age.
Learn more about how Pennsylvania is serving the needs of older adults by visiting the Department of Aging's website.