Development of a National Adult Protective Services Data System: Namrs Pilot Final Report (volume 1)

VOLUME 1: PILOT OVERVIEW AND FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS

Y. Yuan, S. Leelaram, S. Dahbour, M. Greene, A. Acker and E. Swartz

WRMA, Inc.

ABSTRACT:

In September 2013, HHS/ASPE began a 2-year effort to design, develop, and pilot a national reporting system based on data from state adult protective services (APS) agency information systems. The project was funded by Prevention and Public Health funds through an interagency agreement with ACL. The project team conducted extensive outreach to gain an understanding of information needs. More than 40 state administrators, researchers, service providers, and other individuals in the field participated in stakeholder calls. Over 30 state representatives from 25 states participated in three in-person working sessions to discuss the uses of collected data and the key functionalities that should be included in a national system. The national system was named the National Adult Maltreatment Reporting System (NAMRS). Stakeholder meetings resulted in the general design of the data reporting system, conceptualized as three components:

1. Agency Component data, submitted by all agencies, on their policies and practices.
2. Case Component data on client characteristics, services, and perpetrator characteristics, provided by agencies that have report-level tracking systems.
3. Key Indicators Component data consisting of aggregated data on key statistics of investigations and victims, provided by agencies that do not have report-level tracking systems or are unable to provide case-level data.

    

From January through May 2015, nine states--Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts (Disabled Persons Protection Commission), Missouri, Montana, Pennsylvania, and Texas--participated in a pilot of the data system and submitted the Agency Component and either the Key Indicators Component or the Case Component data. This report (Volume 1) consists of a description of the NAMRS Pilot, findings from the piloting process, and recommendations for the future NAMRS.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions and views expressed in this report are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Health and Human Services, the contractor or any other funding organization.