Adult Protective Services:
Frequently Asked Questions

Q. My _____ Won't Take A Bath, Or Take Their Medication, And I Can't Get Them To Go To The Doctor, Is There Anything I Can Do, I'm Already Power Of Attorney?
There isn't anything that one can do to force a individual to take his medication at home, or take a bath. If a person has a medical need that can be addressed by hospitalization and treatment we can assess and see if a Protective Service petition would be useful. If the person appears unable to make decisions for himself, guardianship could be pursued but again that would not make the person compliant with the guardians decisions.

Q. My ______ Is No Longer Able To Take Care Of Themselves At Home, But Won't Go Into A Facility, Or Live With One Of Us?
There is not a mechanism in place to force someone to comply with another's decision.

Q. My ______ Has Been Admitted To A Nursing Home, And Needs Someone To Manage Her Finances, But She Doesn't Have A POA? What Can We Do?
If the client is only receiving Social Security or SSI, you can make application with Social Security to become payee, or if the person is incompetent and has assets you can pursue guardianship, or if the person is competent they can name someone as their POA.

Q. Someone Calls Wanting To Know The Difference Between POA And Guardianship?
POA is when the individual is competent to name a POA to make decisions for him. Guardianship is a court process to have a person adjudged incompetent and a Guardian appointed for them to make decisions. The difference is that one entitles the person to make their own choice, and the other is a choice is make for them.

Q. What Is A Durable Power Of Attorney?
The Durable portion of the Power of Attorney is a clause which says that the Power of Attorney remains in effect after a person becomes incompetent.

Q. What is PS and what does it take to make someone go to a nursing home, make them take available help, go to the doctor etc. We need some kind of answer that clearly or briefly explains this.
PS is a service that determines a persons need for protection. This is answered briefly above, but there is nothing in place to make a person compliant with decisions. The only effective thing in place is when a person has a medical need which is not being met because the person lacks capacity to fully understand their situation. At those times we can possibly petition the court for a Protective Service order that authorizes us to make decisions and have them sent to the hospital and provided with treatment.