Adult Protective Services investigates allegations of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults residing in private home settings and connects vulnerable adults to needed services. Indicators such as beating, slapping, kicking, rough handling, or other abuse causing welts, cuts, burns, abrasions, sprains, bruises, dislocations, fractures or broken bones. Indicators such as lack of supervision, failure to give medicine, food or personal care, not attending to bed sores.
Indicators such as the inability to provide self-care i. Indicators such as verbal threats or insults, cursing, belittling, withholding companionship or isolation. Indicators such as Sexually Transmitted Diseases STDs , pregnancy, bruises, bleeding, pain or itching in genital or anal areas, difficulty in walking or sitting.
Indicators such as mismanaging money or stealing property, savings, credit cards, unusual activity in bank accounts, misuse of assets by a representative payee. You can report vulnerable person abuse through our online form or by calling the Vulnerable Person Abuse Hotline at When you make a report, you will be asked to provide as many details about the situation as possible to APS.
The Vulnerable Persons Act mandates that any person who knows or suspects that a vulnerable person has been or is being abused, neglected or exploited, shall immediately file a report. Mandated reporters include anyone who is a n :. A vulnerable person is a person 18 years of age or older whose ability to perform the normal activities of daily living, or to provide for his or her own care, protection from abuse, neglect, exploitation or improper sexual contact, is impaired due to:.
Matters involving a person younger than 18 are handled by Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services. Abuse of vulnerable persons living non-institutional private home settings i. Report abuse occurring within licensed care facilities i. Anonymous reports are accepted. However, all mandated reporters shall be required to give their name, address and phone number in the report of the alleged abuse, neglect or exploitation.
