- [Announcer] NPT Reports: Aging Matters.

(dramatic music) - My name is Tabitha Anderson.

I'm an investigative specialist with the State of Tennessee Adult Protective Services.

(gentle music) When elder abuse is reported to APS, somebody can call the hotline, they can report online, they can send a fax.

We take the report, organize the information, and then it's divided in, you know, to the investigators, and then we go out and see the client.

So reporting can be anonymous.

Nobody outside of APS ever knows who the reporter is.

(gentle music) Victims can expect that a person with APS, an investigator, will show up, visit with them, talk with them one-on-one alone, so nobody else besides the investigator and the victim or the client will be present.

We'll ask questions, we'll ask about information, and we'll address the allegation specifically with them, whatever it might be in the report, neglect, financial exploitation, abuse, physical, sexual, emotional.

Once we do that interview, you know, they can expect that they have, you know, a whole team, four or five agencies behind them trying to figure out the best outcome for them.

I like to think that APS is kind of like a safety net because we are backed by so many different resources.

Mostly, I love that I get to have an actual effect.

I have a drive to help.

I've always had that.

You know, I can go into a situation that might be chaos and through hard work and partnering with our resources and things, we can make some of it better.

- How many cases you've got active now?

- Some of the resources that we use, we use CREVAA a lot, which is collaborative response to elder and vulnerable adult abuse.

It's kind of like the recovery from criminal activity.

The ultimate goal is to increase safety and reduce any risk that might be present.

APS is kind of like the bridge, so we help clients get connected with resources in the community.

- [Woman] One that we could look at for referral resources?

- [Woman] Yes, actually, I already.

(gentle music)