Alaska Adult Protective Services (APS) Program Information
The State of Alaska Adult Protective Services (APS) has offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau. There are currently ten investigators and three intake workers for the entire state of Alaska. Adult Protective Services has seen an increase of 183% of Reports of Harm filed in the last 5 years and is expected to increase as our population ages.
- FY2011, APS received 4425 reports of harm and investigated 3272 of these reports.
- FY2010, APS received 3689 reports of harm and investigated 2972 of these reports.
- FY2009, APS received 2138 reports of harm and investigated 1724 of these reports.
Examples of Adult Protective Services:
Information and Referrals
Investigation of Reports
Protective Placement
Guardianship/Conservatorship Counseling or Mediation
Linking Clients to Community Resources
Training and designation of local community resources to provide services.
Guiding Principles of Adult Protective Services:
When interests compete, the adult client is the person Adult Protective Services is charged to serve; not the community concerned about safety, the landlord concerned about property, citizens concerned about crime or mortality, or families concerned about their own health or finances.
When interest compete, the adult client is in charge of decision making until he or she voluntarily delegates responsibility to another or the court grants responsibility to another.
Freedom is more important than safety. The person can choose to live in harm or even self-destructively provided that he or she has the capacity to choose, does not harm others and commits no crime.
In the ideal case, protection of adults seeks to achieve simultaneously, and in order of importance: freedom, safety, least disruption of life-style and least restrictive care alternatives.
Follow this link to see Alaska Statute 47.24
