Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy DeFoor released a performance audit Wednesday that found weaknesses in the state’s Department of Aging oversight of elder abuse investigations, including inadequate staff training and how the agency monitors cases handled by Area Agencies on Aging.
At a news conference at the state capitol, DeFoor shared the findings of the audit, made recommendations for the department to make improvements and called on the legislature to strengthen the Older Adults Protective Services Act.
The audit, which covered Jan. 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, found the agency is not properly monitoring elder abuse investigations performed by the Area Agencies on Aging and failed to train staff according to regulation.
“In fact, we found the intake workers who are responsible for the first step in the investigation process receive the least amount of training,” DeFoor said.
The audit found that the 20-day time frame for investigations was seen as a goal instead of a requirement, and the Comprehensive Aging Performance Evaluation, known as CAPE and implemented in 2025, is flawed.
“We found CAPE is not effective at assessing if [Area Agencies on Aging] are meeting their legal obligation to detect when older adults are at risk of harm and mistreatment,” DeFoor said. “We found aging is using unvalidated, self-reported data… in its monthly compliance reports that are posted to its website.“
DeFoor called the agency’s response to the audit “very disappointing,” claiming that the agency delayed the audit by six months, taking an unusually long time to provide documents and set up interviews with staff.
“Instead of accepting the facts, Aging chose to be defensive,” DeFoor said. “Going so far as to question the integrity of our auditors.”
The Department of Aging said that the findings are not accurate because CAPE had just been implemented, and that the new system was put in place to address existing flaws.
“The Auditor General has been in office for nearly six years and has only completed a handful of audits on state agencies over his term – but today, he decided to release an inaccurate, misleading report just weeks before an election,” spokesperson Karen Gray said in a statement. “In a craven and transparently political move, the Auditor General completed this report months ago but decided to release this report today in a desperate attempt to help his political allies.”
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