HARRISBURG – Montgomery County Sen. Maria Collett plans to introduce legislation requiring the PA Department of Aging to assemble a fatality review team within each Area Agency on Aging. Collett said the Legislature has not funded the Department of Aging at levels to keep up with the growing need as Pennsylvanians have aged. When abuse or neglect of an older adult is suspected, county Area Agencies on Aging investigate the claim to determine whether abuse or neglect is taking place. However, if the older adult dies during an ongoing investigation, the PA Department of Aging is currently without authority to track the cause of death. That missing link hampers PA’s ability to prevent future tragedies and hold bad actors accountable. The fatality review team will identify connections between the cause of death and any deficiencies in investigations of abuse and neglect. Made up of a multi-disciplined group of professionals and experts, the team can also identify and report to PA Department of Aging methods of improving the elder protection system, which the department will compile and present to the legislature. A co-sponsorship memo is being circulated seeking support of the proposal.
SEN. MARIA COLLETT