Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Aging this week continued its commitment to protecting older adults by hosting a special learning session with the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) Network to explore how Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs) can support elder justice efforts in Pennsylvania.
The event brought together a bipartisan group of leaders, including representatives from the PA Office of Attorney General, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association and the Office of Elder Justice in the Courts of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, along with 27 AAAs representing every region of the Commonwealth.
These MDTs are community-based groups and include professionals from various fields like social services, criminal and civil justice, mental health, medicine, finance and public health. Under the leadership of Secretary Jason Kavulich, the Department is working to bring this approach, utilized by several other states including New York and California, to improve collaboration and outcomes for complex protective services cases in Pennsylvania.
“We are proud of the work we are doing at the state level to ensure protection of older adults at the community level,” said Secretary Kavulich. “One of our Administration’s priorities is to continuously advance and modernize our practices while supporting the AAAs to ensure older adults are cared for and safe in their chosen community. This gathering is part of an approach to help AAAs and community partners build teams that are person-centered and nimble, able to move quickly to get the right resources for the victim.”
“Older Pennsylvanians are targeted every day by scammers and other bad actors trying to exploit them, so we all have a role to play to keep seniors safe and their assets protected,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “I commend our partners at the Department of Aging, and all of our collaborators from varying professions, for everyone’s hard work towards this common mission.”
“Pennsylvania’s AAA protective services workers respond every day and night to the needs of older adults and their families, investigating complex cases and often reaching out to multiple other service providers within a community on the victim’s behalf," said Rebecca May-Cole, executive director of PA Association of Area Agencies on Aging. “The MDT model offers an exciting opportunity for counties and regions to focus resources in an efficient, effective way to benefit the older adults we serve.”
Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget proposal includes $2 million so the Department can increase accountability and oversight of the AAAs and a $20 million investment for those AAAs so they can continue to provide key services to older adults.
The Department works with a network of 52 AAAs covering Pennsylvania’s 67 counties to deliver services to older adults that help them stay healthy, live safely and thrive in their homes of choice as they age. PDA continues its commitment to provide more transparency and accountability of the AAA network with its new Comprehensive Agency Performance Evaluation, or CAPE – with the ultimate goal of ensuring older adults are protected and safe in their communities.
In a recent op/ed, Department of Aging delivers on transparency, accountability in how we protect older adults, Secretary Kavulich touted the rollout of the new overhauled approach to monitor the performance of the AAAs, including protective services. In April, for the first time ever, PDA began posting performance results on its website for AAAs monitored under CAPE. There are results for the following eight AAAs currently on PDA’s website with more to follow in the coming months.