Assessment in Adult Protective Services: do multidisciplinary teams make a difference?

Area of Science:

• Social Work
• Public Health
• Gerontology

Background:

• Adult Protective Services (APS) agencies face increasing demands for elder abuse assessment.
• Staffing models, including multidisciplinary teams versus single practitioners, may impact service delivery.
• Optimizing resource allocation within APS is crucial for effective case management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of a nurse/social worker team approach versus a lone social worker in assessing Adult Protective Services (APS) cases.
• To examine differences in case disposition, risk reduction, recidivism, and cost-effectiveness between the two APS assessment models.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of administrative data from 869 Adult Protective Services (APS) cases across two Maryland counties.
• Comparison of outcomes between cases handled by a multidisciplinary team (nurse/social worker) and those handled by a lone social worker.

Main Results:

• Lone social workers were significantly more likely to confirm financial exploitation, physical abuse, and neglect by others.
• The nurse/social worker team approach demonstrated significantly greater risk reduction for clients.
• No significant differences were found between the two approaches regarding recidivism or self-neglect.

Conclusions:

• The findings suggest that while lone social workers may be more adept at confirming certain types of abuse, multidisciplinary teams are superior in mitigating client risk.
• Optimal staffing patterns for Adult Protective Services (APS) agencies warrant further investigation, especially considering limited resources.
• Future research should focus on cost-effectiveness and specific outcome measures to inform APS staffing decisions.