Adult Protective Services (APS) harrassment?

Of course I don't know how it works in the US, but I would be extremely surprised to learn that a utility company would cut off electricity because one SS check went missing so the lady couldn't pay one bill on time.

Your husband was given POA by his aunt?

And the cousin is the child of the aunt your husband looks after?

It sounds rather like the cousin thinks your husband is not doing a very good job of looking after the aunt and is wondering what is being done with the aunt's social security money.

If it looks to APS as though her money has not been spent on the aunt, they will freeze the payments. Of course. This is not harassment, it is an investigation. I hope your husband has kept statements and receipts to show what he has been doing with the money.

APS would not request to stop checks without just cause. What is hubby accused of? Has APS requested a report of how the SS funds are spent? The SS check is for her benefit, her needs. Is she living with you? If she is paying rent and caregiving to you, is there a written agreement with her for that payment.

Give APS what they ask for. Having an adversarial relationship with them is not going to help, in the least.

I was reported to APS by twisted sisters for financial exploitation. One of them KNEW nothing of the sort was occurring. I welcomed the investigation as there was nothing to hide and hoped it would finally get twisteds to understand there was nothing covert that would raise questions. Caregiving and management of an elder's financials is a very precarious position and every expense must be accounted for to stay off their radar.

Ask for a new investigator and try to start anew and cooperate fully. Financial exploitation of vulnerable elders is a very real problem. They need protection, especially from their own family members.

You are caring for April who is 39 years old?

Ombudsmen work out of the Area Agency on Aging. They perform cognitive evaluations to help determine the level of care needed. They are also responsible for evaluation of various living facilities. When a complaint is made to them about a facility they will then talk to the elder and the facility to determine whether appropriate care is being provided. They would not look into financial exploitation. That is the job of Social Services.

How do you know that APS is the reason her check has been " frozen?

Is your husband the Aunt's representative payee?

Has your husband talked to the folks at the local SS office?

I'm sorry, I didn't see your extra question. Almost all places have an Ombudsman, who is appointed by the Government but is independent. Complaints can be made for free to the Ombudsman about bad behaviour by government employees or government agencies. The Ombudsman will investigate, and usually try to sort it out. If they find that there have been wrong things done, it usually goes in a report which is filed in Parliament. Sometimes things from the report go into the media too. It is very bad for the reputation of the people who are responsible for the problem. Before you can get the Ombudsman involved, you have to try to sort it out yourself by making the complaint to the agency. That is why you should try to sort it out with the APS worker's boss. Talking to the APS worker who is causing you problems is not enough - you have to let the agency know. The words I suggested are so that you don't come out and threaten to go to the Ombudsman, but you say that it has been suggested - which is a good hint. Most bosses would try to sort it out unless they are sure that the Ombudsman will be on the side of the agency, because it's a lot of paper work for them to deal with, and a nasty result if the agency is found to have acted unreasonably.

Two options. The first is that ‘this APS lady’ has a boss, and you should be speaking to the boss. The second is that this is the type of issue that an Ombudsman deals with. Approach the Ombudsman. Or a combination of the two – write to the boss saying that you are having difficulty with the ‘APS lady’ and are finding it hard to resolve. You don’t want to cause unnecessary problems by approaching the Ombudsman, as has been suggested to you, and can the boss help to sort things out? There might also be an APS complaints procedure, but it would probably be better to approach the boss first.

What is going on?