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Indianapolis Star

08-05-2025

As Indiana officials try to rein in spending in the face of a predicted revenue shortfall, advocates fear a behind-the-scenes move to privatize the state's Adult Protective Services program could prevent elderly and at-risk Hoosiers from receiving the help they need.
Indiana Family and Social Services Administration confirmed to IndyStar that it has awarded PCG-Indiana Inc. a 3-year contract, estimated at more than $19 million, for the firm to staff and operate Adult Protective Services starting July 1. An award letter released April 30 greenlighted contract negotiations with the company. The contract could contain an option for the state to add three one-year extensions, potentially lengthening the deal to six years.
Indiana's Adult Protective Services is responsible for investigating reports of neglect, abuse and exploitation of vulnerable adults and coordinating a response to protect them. Traditionally, FSSA has contracted with the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council 's hub prosecutor offices to operate the program, but those contracts expire on June 30.
The new contract takes Adult Protective Services out of the hands of local prosecutors, who for years have complained that Indiana underfunded the program, and puts the program under a subsidiary of Boston-based Public Consulting Group. The parent company, with offices in nearly a dozen states, works with public-sector health, human services and education agencies. PCG-Indiana, the subsidiary, has contracted with Indiana since 2010, providing consulting services related to education, children and social services, and workforce development, according to public records.
"Over the next two months, the Division of Aging, will work with PCG-Indiana and the current APS units to establish an APS model for Indiana that is in line with new federal requirements and best practice recommendations," FSSA said in an emailed statement. Public Consulting Group did not respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, prosecutors and advocates say FSSA hasn't been transparent about the procurement process and what the APS model would look like under a private contractor with a motive to make a profit.
"It's been a very opaque discussion that's been going on the state level with regard to what's going on with APS," said H. Kennard Bennett, executive director and senior counsel for the Center for At-Risk Elders, Inc., a lawyer-led nonprofit that provides guardianship and advocacy for endangered adults in Marion County.
"They've not sought any input from any stakeholders."
Adult Protective Services fields 20,000 calls a year
A report is made to Adult Protective Services whenever an individual 18 years or older is suspected of being deprived of food and water, improperly clothed, neglected medically, exploited financially, or in other ways.
In 2023, Adult Protective Services received more than 20,000 calls for service, according to the FSSA Division of Aging Adult Protective Services 2024 Annual Report. Of those, 11,653 cases resulted from the calls. Vulnerable adults can include individuals unable to care for themselves due to age, mental or developmental disabilities, incapacitating injuries, mental illness, or those suffering from isolation or neglect.
The program, which resides in FSSA's Division of Aging, is funded through state appropriations. Indiana operates Adult Protective Services within the county-based criminal justice system and contracts with 17 prosecutors to administer it through a hub model. Most hubs service multiple counties.
Prosecutors say the program repeatedly had funding issues.
"For multiple budget cycles, the State and the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) declined to provide sufficient financial resources to the Adult Protective Services (APS) program, leaving prosecutors concerned that the standard of care to Indiana's increasing elder population and vulnerable adults could not be maintained," Whitney Riggs, spokeswoman for the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, said via email.
A 2016 IndyStar investigation revealed that Indiana Adult Protective Services was too understaffed, underfunded and ill-equipped to handle the deluge of calls requesting assistance for at-risk adults. At the time, Indiana had budgeted roughly $3.5 million for the program — significantly less than other states.
The lack of support left adults who could not protect themselves exposed to abuse and neglect, and well-intentioned investigators overwhelmed by caseloads. Shortly after the investigation was published, Indiana lawmakers pledged an additional $1.1 million to hire more full-time investigators for adult protective services.
But, advocates say funding shortfalls did not cease. The situation is becoming more dire as the state's population ages.
"The hope was that there would be an approach taken to reorganizing the APS model into a better, more efficient agency and to fund it appropriately," Bennett said. "There was some more funds dedicated following that series of articles.... but, I don't think it has been sufficient by any means."
Riggs said there have been times when county governments subsidized budgetary shortfalls, leaving residents of some counties to finance services for residents of other counties.
"This was unsustainable long term," she said.
According to the Adult Protective Services 2024 annual report, the APS Unit Contract was $5.6 million in 2023. The majority of the funding — $4.4 million — was from a state appropriation. The remaining $1.2 million was from federal Medicaid dollars. Acting on continued funding concerns, Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Committee notified FSSA in late 2023 that the majority of hub prosecutors did not intend to renew their contractual relationship again.
FSSA, in turn, issued in September 2024 a request for proposals soliciting vendors interested in administering the program.
Prosecutors bid to keep providing services
Riggs said the Adult Protective Services Hub Prosecutors Committee submitted a bid for the new contract. It was "at an amount of money that nearly forty years of experience doing this work told us would be the minimal amount of state money that should be allocated for a successful program, and in the same amount previously requested," she said.
For months, the council heard nothing.
It's unclear how the model for Adult Protective Services could change under PCG-Indiana. Neither the state nor the company responded to IndyStar questions about the for-profit company's plans for the program or what the transition would entail.
IndyStar has requested copies of the state's initial request for proposal and the responses to it.
According to the award letter recommending PCG-Indiana for the contract, the Massachusetts company will subcontract with three partners. Marion Edward Associates Inc., a Boston-based staffing firm, will get 9% of the contract value. Local consulting company Briljent LLC will get approximately 12% of the contract value while Axon Advisors LLC, a market research firm also based in Indianapolis, will receive about 4%.
PCG-Indiana beat out IPAC's Adult Protective Service Hub Prosecutor Committee and Community Care Hub of Indiana for the contract. The proposals were evaluated by FSSA and the Indiana Department of Administration, which oversaw the procurement process. According to the letter, the agencies were made aware of updates that were part of the state's budget process and limited the maximum amount of funding available.
Respondents were invited to withdraw or revise their proposals to align with the changes and new budget cap. "Only one of the three respondents updated their technical and cost proposals to align with a reduced scope of services within the new budget maximum. This Respondent was PCG," the letter reads.
Said Riggs: "Prosecutors were hopeful they could persuade the state to provide adequate resources for this important mission."
2-month transition window causes concern
Prosecutors, investigators and advocates who reached out to IndyStar have expressed concern about the lack of communication regarding the procurement process from FSSA and state officials.
"We're very concerned about what will happen and I know the courts are very concerned about what will happen with APS," said Bennett, who wasn't familiar with PCG Indiana or Public Consulting Group. "I'm hoping that whomever takes on the contract provides good services to be able to respond to complaints that APS might receive, but I think I may have to take a wait and see attitude on that.
He said FSSA has not sought input from stakeholders.
Prosecutors will focus on a smooth transition and handover of the program, Riggs said, though advocates wonder if there's enough time to transition the program.
The state awarded PCG-Indiana the Adult Protective Services contract just two months before the expiration of the current contracts on June 30, leaving some investigators to wind down active cases without a resolution and advocates wondering where they should turn to report suspected cases of abuse and neglect.