These are extraordinary times. Continued flexibility and creativity are vital to ensure personal safety for the client, worker, and community. Kindness, patience, ethical practices, and following public health advice will get us through this time. Take care!

APS and COVID-19

♦ Communications from DHS Adult Protection Unit regarding COVID-19 and Impacts on Adult Protective Services are collected on the DHS Adult Protection Partners and Providers web page under the "News" section. Don't miss the Frequently Asked Questions communication from 4/1/20. 

Resources

♦ Senior LinkAge Line at 1-800-333-2433 or HelpOlderAdultsMN.org

AND

♦ Disability Hub at 1-866-333-2566 or https://disabilityhubmn.org/

The Senior LinkAge Line and Disability Hub continue to be resources for APS and to refer MAARC reporters,  vulnerable adults without case managers, primary support persons and informal supports for vulnerable during the COVID-19 situation. These services help identify resources  and make connections with alternative services, if someone’s provider or support network has changed or temporarily stopped providing services.  Resources are also available for telephone reassurance and friendly visitors to support people who are isolated during COVID-19. Service requests that do not result in a provider referral are noted to identify areas that need support to develop increased service capacity during COVID-19.

The Minnesota Board on Aging (MBA), Minnesota’s Area Agencies on Aging and the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) are working closely together to share information and ensure that all parts of the state have the resources they need to support older Minnesotans and caregivers.

♦ Administration for Community Living (ACL)  APS Technical Assistance and Resource Center (TARC) COVID-19 Education Brief

♦ To find the most up-to-date information for providers, counties, tribes and members of the public, visit the DHS COVID-19 webpage.

♦ For the latest information on MN public health recommendations, visit MDH COVID-19

♦ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19

♦ Coronavirus Disease in Minnesota https://mn.gov/covid19/

♦ Resources for Older Adults During COVID-19 HelpOlderAdultsMN.org

COVID-19 Hotline

Health questions: 651-207-3920 or 1-800-657-3903 (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.)

♦ Vulnerable Adult Act (VAA) Redesign Update

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the World Café event planned for April is canceled. Minnesota’s Management Analysis and Development (MAD) Division and the Department of Human Services (DHS) will work to identify next steps in the VAA Redesign process, including an opportunity for stakeholders to review and react to recommendations resulting from the Solution Groups process.

Please visit the VAA Redesign website for additional information and updates as we move forward with this important project.

♦ MAARC Scripting Updated for Phone Reporters

Beginning April 2, 2020, and until further notice, all MAARC agents are using the following scripting to encourage phone reporters to provide an email address.

For phone reports, if the reporter responds positively (answers Yes) to the "would like to receive notification of the status of your report" question on the reporter screen, agents will state the following:

"You should receive notification from the agency responsible to respond to the report within two (2) weeks of making your report.”

“Due to Governor Walz Stay at Home Order, the agency responsible may need an alternate method to notify you on the status of your report, such as secure email. Do you have an email address you would like to include?”

TRAINING UPDATE: On March 17^th DHS canceled all non-mandatory training sessions across the state until May 1, 2020. Future training session offerings will be reviewed and updated as needed while we navigate the COVID-19 crisis.

APS Foundations (2 days) In-Person Training

Foundations is intended for new adult protection workers and supervisors, or adult protection workers and supervisors seeking a foundations refresher. Minnesota DHS Adult Protection offers the two-day APS Foundations training to support APS workers meeting education requirements for APS under 626.557 Subd. 9e. APS Foundations supports consistency in service response and outcomes for vulnerable adults regardless of their location in Minnesota and addresses core competency training recommendations in the ACL Voluntary Consensus Guidelines for State APS Systems. APS partners (county attorneys, law enforcement, etc.) may attend the training upon request.

See the Eventbrite links below for more detailed information about specific APS Foundation offerings and event registration. Eventbrite registration password is "APSFoundations" 

CANCELED Apr 29-30, 2020 - Owatonna - APS Foundations (2 days) 

Jun 11-12, 2020 - Detroit Lakes - APS Foundations (2 days) 9:00am - 4:00pm each day

Aug 12-13, 2020 - Marshall - APS Foundations (2 days) 9:00am - 4:00pm each day

Oct 14-15, 2020 - Andover - APS Foundations (2 days) 9:00am - 4:00pm each day

Eventbrite registration password: "APSFoundations"   

If you have any questions, please contact Peter Larson at peter.larson@state.mn.us

MN DHS Training on YouTube

DHS Adult Protection has posted the Adult Proteciton Investigation Determinations video conference from 9/12/19 on YouTube. Click the link to see Adult Protection Resource Specialists Kelli Klein and Angelo Flowers explore AP Investigation Determinations.

SSIS Adult Protection Worker Training

Please visit their CountyLink page for more information about upcoming sessions.

SSIS Adult Maltreatment Module has been updated with helpful tips, screen shots and field/use descriptions that include functionality through 20.1 release. SSIS Essentials eLearning modules are also a great APS resource.