Pennsylvania launches objective CAPE monitoring for area agencies on aging; results to be posted publicly in April

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging said it has deployed a new Comprehensive Aging Performance Evaluation, or CAPE, to replace inconsistent, subjective monitoring of the state’s 52 area agencies on aging (AAAs).

"The results are that we wanna see older adult services thrive," Department of Aging Secretary Jason Kovulich told the House Aging and Older Adults Services Committee, summarizing the stated purpose of the new system.

The CAPE evaluates AAAs with objective, verification‑backed measures tied to state or federal requirements, department staff said. Jonathan Bowman, Acting Deputy Secretary and a lead developer of CAPE, told members that protective services are assessed by 25 individual performance measures and the Options and Caregiver Support Program by 36 measures; each individual measure uses an 85% compliance threshold.

Under CAPE, the department will also report category‑level results publicly. Category minimums now begin at 75% and may be raised by up to five percentage points after each cycle until category thresholds reach 85%, Bowman said. The department said it piloted CAPE in five counties, built the tool over roughly 25 months, piloted for about 18 months and launched the system statewide in January 2025.

CAPE changes the monitoring cadence and follow‑up process. The department will review a 12‑month lookback of cases rather than the prior six months, convene a results call within 30 business days of case review, issue a statement of findings within two days of that call, and require an AAA to submit a performance improvement plan (PIP) within 15 business days of the statement of findings. The department aims to conduct a subsequent CAPE cycle for the AAA within 18 months of the initial review.

The system also standardizes sample sizes, eliminates a prior color‑coded rating (red/yellow/green), and requires internal peer review before findings are issued. "All of the performance measures that we're talking about within the CAPE are tied to verification sources," Bowman said, adding that the department raised its historic overall pass threshold from 80% to 85% for individual measures.

Department officials described technical assistance as continuous and more focused than before. Kovulich said the department now engages monthly with AAAs on practice improvement plans, pulls routine reports to spot trends, and is expanding on‑site technical assistance in addition to virtual support. He said many AAAs have improved under the new approach and cited Westmoreland County as an example, where timeliness of certain determinations improved from the mid‑30s percentile to about 96 percent.

The department outlined enforcement steps for repeated underperformance. Agencies that fail to meet a 75% category minimum for two consecutive reviews will receive a formal notice to the AAA and its board (and possibly county commissioners). Agencies that fail the same category for three consecutive reviews will be referred to the secretary for potential remedial action, which the department described could include de‑designation; the process will be spelled out in cooperative agreements AAAs must sign.

Committee members asked about elder abuse investigations, coordination with law enforcement and how CAPE affects protective services. Kovulich said the department has standardized communication with district attorneys and the attorney general’s office and has increased training for staff to preserve evidence and support prosecutions. He also said some delays in meeting investigative timelines are attributable to missing records needed to make determinations.

The department plans to post CAPE monitoring schedules and a mock‑up of public category graphics on its website now and to publish initial AAA results in April 2025. Officials cautioned category thresholds and some measures could be adjusted after the first statewide cycle, while measures used in cycle one will remain fixed for that round.

The House committee heard the presentation as an informational briefing; no committee votes were recorded at the meeting. Members thanked the department for the work and for providing draft language supporting pending legislation that would require the department to post compliance information, and the department indicated support for greater transparency.

Looking ahead, the department said it will continue monthly monitoring and technical assistance while using CAPE as a cyclical tool to identify systemic issues earlier in the monitoring schedule and to target training and resources where AAAs show recurring weaknesses.