House committee hears push to update Older Adult Protective Services Act to address scams, background checks and bank reporting

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Lawmakers, the Department of Aging and local area agencies on aging pressed the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee on Friday to update the Older Adult Protective Services Act, saying the 1987 law is out of step with modern threats to older Pennsylvanians, especially financial exploitation.

Jason Kovulich, secretary of the Department of Aging, told the committee the statute ‘‘has not kept up with the changing times’’ and urged changes including expanded mandatory reporters, stronger partnerships with banks and an updated waiver process for lifetime bans that a 2015 Commonwealth Court decision found unconstitutional. "We need a law that is there to support our work, and we need a law that is there to support older adults," Kovulich said.

The request comes as reports of need handled by Pennsylvania’s 52 area agencies on aging have increased sharply in recent years. Kovulich said reports rose from about 32,000 to about 58,000 and that the older-adult population has grown 22% while resources have increased about 2.5%.

Why it matters: Committee leaders and aging officials said financial exploitation is now the leading category of reports and that billions of dollars are leaving the commonwealth. They said earlier protections focused on imminent physical harm and did not address the ways older adults are targeted via phone, online scams or by family…