Norristown, PA – Following a full performance evaluation of Montgomery County's aging services under a new monitoring tool, the Pennsylvania Department of Aging (PDA) today continued a statewide tour highlighting how the Department’s new approach to evaluating the performance of older adult protective services 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 network and delivers historic levels of transparency and accountability of that 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.
“Older adults in Pennsylvania deserve a modernized system that helps them stay safe and supported, healthy and thriving, but our infrastructure had not kept pace with the growing and changing needs of older adults,” said Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich. “The Shapiro Administration took this challenge head on and is making overdue system improvements. We have raised the bar of accountability. CAPE allows the Department to do away with a simple pass/fail scoring system, and instead comprehensively ask, ‘what does this local agency specifically need to improve?’"
During a visit today with Montgomery County aging services and county leaders, Secretary Kavulich noted that the work of serving and protecting older adults has never been more transparent 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.
“CAPE assists us to advance our practice as aging service providers. It elevates and centers the data and feedback with a clarity and consistency that the former pass/fail evaluation system did not provide,” said Jennifer Haeussler-Barnhart, Administrator, Office of Aging Services, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. “CAPE provides the details and the technical assistance that Area Agencies on Aging need to implement strategies that will improve performance where needed, while allowing us to continue the good work that’s being performed each day. The process simultaneously promotes accountability and lifts best practices to improve the overall aging service system.”
Launched in 2025, CAPE streamlines monitoring of a AAA’s performance through a more comprehensive approach, where each of Pennsylvania’s 52 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. Last month, Secretary Jason Kavulich 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.
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.