If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. For situations where abuse is happening but the person is not in crisis right now, file a report with Adult Protective Services (APS) by calling the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116, which will connect you to your local APS office. You do not need proof that abuse occurred to make a report. You just need a reasonable suspicion.
Recognize the Signs First
Caregiver abuse takes several forms, and knowing what to look for strengthens your report. Physical abuse shows up as unexplained bruises, scars, burns, or signs of restraint. Neglect looks like preventable health problems: bedsores, dehydration, weight loss, or unclean living conditions. Emotional abuse often surfaces as sudden depression, anxiety, fearfulness around the caregiver, or noticeable changes in personality.
Financial exploitation is one of the most common and hardest-to-spot forms. Warning signs include sudden large withdrawals from bank accounts, new names added to a bank signature card, unauthorized ATM use, abrupt changes to a will, unexplained disappearance of valuables, or forged signatures on financial documents. If the person’s caregiver has started controlling their finances or the person seems confused about where their money went, that alone is worth reporting.
Where to File Your Report
The right agency depends on where the person lives and the type of abuse.
- Adult Protective Services (APS): The primary agency for abuse of adults living at home or in the community. Every state has an APS program. Call the Eldercare Locator (1-800-677-1116) to be connected to your local office, or search online for your state’s APS hotline. Many states accept reports online as well.
- Long-Term Care Ombudsman: If the person lives in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or other residential care community, contact your state’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman program. Ombudsman staff are specifically authorized to investigate and resolve complaints on behalf of residents in these settings. Physical abuse ranks among the top five complaints they handle.
- Law enforcement: Call 911 if the person faces immediate physical danger. For non-emergency criminal conduct like theft or assault, contact your local police department to file a report alongside your APS filing.
- National Elder Fraud Hotline: For financial exploitation specifically, call 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311). The hotline is staffed Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, and case managers can guide you through next steps.
You can report to more than one agency. Filing with both APS and law enforcement, for example, is common and often recommended.
What Information You’ll Need
When you call APS or another reporting agency, intake staff will walk you through a set of standardized questions. Having as much of the following ready as possible helps them act faster:
- About the victim: Name, age, address, and any known medical conditions or diagnoses. If the person has a court-appointed guardian or conservator, mention that.
- About the alleged abuser: Name, relationship to the victim, and whether they live with or have regular access to the victim.
- About the abuse: What type of harm you suspect (physical, emotional, neglect, financial, sexual), what you observed or were told, and when it happened.
- Safety concerns: Whether the victim is in immediate danger, whether there are weapons in the home, or whether an APS worker visiting could face risks like aggressive pets or a hostile environment.
- Witnesses: Names and contact information for anyone else who has observed the situation.
You do not need all of this to file. Partial information is far better than no report at all. APS will investigate with whatever you provide.
Gathering Evidence of Financial Exploitation
If the abuse involves money, gathering documentation before or alongside your report makes a significant difference. Useful records include bank statements showing unauthorized withdrawals, credit card bills with unfamiliar charges, copies of a power of attorney (especially one obtained under questionable circumstances), property deeds that have been transferred, and investment account statements showing unusual activity. In cases reviewed by the Department of Justice, evidence has ranged from forged checks made out to a home health aide to property deeds quietly transferred into a caregiver’s name.
If you don’t have direct access to these records, report what you know anyway. APS investigators and law enforcement have tools to subpoena financial documents once a case is opened.
What Happens After You Report
Once APS receives your report, intake staff determine whether the allegations meet their investigation criteria. If they do, the case is assigned a priority level based on severity. In Texas, which follows a model similar to many states, the timeline works like this:
- Priority 1 (life-threatening harm): A caseworker attempts a face-to-face visit within 24 hours.
- Priority 2 (risk of serious harm): Visit within 3 days.
- Priority 3 (abuse or neglect present): Visit within 7 days.
- Priority 4 (financial exploitation only, no immediate hardship): Visit within 14 days.
Within 24 hours of receiving the case, the assigned caseworker contacts someone with reliable information about the situation, often the person who filed the report. During the investigation, the caseworker meets with the victim to assess safety, gathers evidence, and determines whether abuse, neglect, or exploitation occurred. If the finding is confirmed and the victim agrees to accept help, the caseworker develops a service plan to prevent further harm. This can include arranging new living situations, connecting the person with legal services, or coordinating medical care.
Legal Protections for Reporters
Every state provides legal immunity to people who report suspected abuse in good faith. This means you cannot be sued or prosecuted for making a report, even if the investigation ultimately finds no abuse. Your identity as the reporter is kept confidential in most states, and APS will not share your name with the alleged abuser.
Certain professionals are legally required to report suspected abuse. These mandatory reporters typically include healthcare workers, social workers, law enforcement officers, and sometimes financial institution employees, though the specific list varies by state. In many jurisdictions, mandatory reporters must file within 24 hours of becoming aware of suspected abuse. But you do not have to be a mandatory reporter to file. Anyone who suspects caregiver abuse can and should report it.
If the Person Refuses Help
One of the more difficult realities of caregiver abuse is that competent adults have the right to refuse services, even when abuse is confirmed. APS cannot force an adult who has decision-making capacity to leave a situation or accept intervention. If this happens, the caseworker will typically document the case, provide the person with information about available resources, and leave the door open for future contact. You can continue to report new incidents if the abuse persists. Repeated reports build a case file that can eventually support stronger intervention, particularly if the person’s capacity to make decisions changes over time.