Empowering Support for Wellness & Aging (ESWA)

Adult Protective Services

At Empowering Support for Wellness & Aging (ESWA), our Adult Protective Services program works to protect older adults who may be experiencing abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation. As the designated Protective Services agency for our service area, along with Hudson, Marlborough, Southborough, Westborough, and Northborough, ESWA receives and investigates reports involving adults age 60 and older who may be at risk and helps coordinate services that support their safety, dignity, and wellbeing.

Abuse can take many forms, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, self-neglect, and financial exploitation. These situations can affect an older adult’s health, safety, independence, and quality of life. ESWA’s Protective Services team works compassionately and respectfully with older adults, family members, caregivers, healthcare providers, and community partners to assess concerns and identify appropriate supports and interventions.

Quick Links

  • Report Older Adult Abuse(preserve existing website links for state’s direct reporting system (same as report elder abuse tab) and Mass Gov) [mass.gov]
  • Massachusetts Elder Abuse Hotline: 1-800-922-2275 (available 24 hours a day)
When to Report

A report may be appropriate if an older adult appears to be experiencing:

  • Physical abuse
  • Emotional or psychological abuse
  • Sexual abuse
  • Neglect by a caregiver
  • Self-neglect
  • Financial exploitation
  • Unsafe living conditions or unmet basic needs such as food, shelter, or medical care

Anyone can report suspected abuse, including neighbors, friends, professionals, family members, and the older adult themselves.

Mandated reporters are required by law to make a report when they have reasonable cause to believe that an older adult is experiencing, or has died as a result of, a reportable condition. Reasonable cause means a judgment based on specific facts, either observed directly or obtained from reliable sources, indicating that abuse likely occurred or that an abusive condition likely exists.

By working together, we can help ensure older adults remain safe, respected, and connected to the services and protections they deserve.

If you are concerned about an older adult (age 60 or over) who may be experiencing abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation, help is available.

Call the Massachusetts based Central Intake Unit (Elder Abuse Hotline) at 1-800-922-2275 or submit an on-line report using the following link: Report Elder Abuse

Every community in Massachusetts is covered by a state designated Protective Service Agency. While the intake is centralized, all reports will be referred to the designated Protective Service Agency based on where the older adult resides in the state.  All reports are confidential.

Mandated Reporters: If you file a report by phone, you must submit the Mandated Reporter Form within 48 hours. The form should be faxed to ESWA’s Protective Services Unit at 508-856-0375. If you file a report online, you do not need to call, and you do not need to fill out/submit the Mandated Reporter Form.

No mandated reporter is liable in any civil or criminal action by reason of submitting a report. No other person making a report is liable in any civil or criminal action if the report is made in good faith. Anonymity of reporter is protected.

Once ESWA receives a report, it is screened in or out based on whether it meets the Executive Office of Aging and Independence’s definition of a reportable condition.

When a report is screened in, a Protective Services Worker is assigned and investigates to determine whether the allegation(s) can be substantiated. During the investigation phase, the worker interviews the older adult as well as others who have knowledge of their situation. Interviews may be held with family members and friends, professionals such as visiting nurses or treating physicians. Other pertinent information, such as police reports, may be obtained. In addition to looking at the allegations, information such as the older adult’s apparent understanding of the risks of the situation is also obtained. The investigation phase can take up to 30 days, but services to meet emergency and/or urgent needs are offered as the need arises.

When there is reasonable cause to believe abuse or self-neglect has occurred and allegations have been substantiated, the Protective Services Worker meets with the older adult to discuss available service options. Services may include case planning, ongoing monitoring, advocacy, and coordination with community resources. Depending on the individual’s circumstances, staff may also help connect the older adult to medical, social, legal, financial, housing, emergency, or other supports that promote safety and stability.

During service planning, the older adult has the right to accept or decline Protective Services interventions if they are determined to have the capacity to make their own decisions.  If the older adult remains at serious risk due to abuse and/or self-neglect, and the Protective Services Worker questions capacity, Elder Services may pursue a formal competency evaluation and legal intervention, most often in the form of a legal guardianship, in order to bring about change in the older adult’s situation in order to alleviate the abuse or neglect.

Protective Services is a short-term intervention, typically working with an older adult for three to four months, until the abuse or risk has been resolved, or until the older adult declines further intervention.