Tulare County Supervisors Receive Adult Services Report

At their August 12th meeting, Tulare County Supervisors heard a presentation about the county's adult services from Dayna Wyld, manager of the Adult Services Division of Tulare County Health and Human Services.

"Each May, we celebrate Older Americans Month with Senior Day in the Park, a special community event held at Mooney Grove Park," Wyld said to start her presentation. "And each June, we recognize and support those affected by elder abuse at our annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Event.

"While these two events are incredibly meaningful, they represent only a portion of Adult Services' ongoing commitment to supporting older adults, and individuals with disabilities throughout the year," she said.

Wyld then focused on the programs "that serve our most vulnerable clients through long-term services and supports."

"Adult Protective Services (APS) promotes safety, independence and quality of life for vulnerable adults who are or are in danger of being abused, neglected by others or financially exploited, and who are unable to protect themselves," she said.

"APS is a social service program authorized by law in every state to receive and investigate reports of elder or vulnerable adult maltreatment, and to intervene to protect the victims to the extent possible," she said, adding that, "victims have the right to decline protective services unless a qualified professional determines they are unable to make decisions for themselves."

APS also has a representative payee program, which provides essential financial management for individuals who are unable to manage their own Social Security or their supplemental security income payments.

"This year, we have received approximately 180 cases per month with the majority being financial or self-neglect," Wyld said.

Another APS program is the public guardian program.

"The superior court appoints a public guardian as the conservator for individuals who are unable to care for themselves or manage their finances," she said.

Services can include medical care, housing and daily living needs, in addition to handling financial matters, which is conservatorship of the person's estate.

"It includes managing income and real property, paying bills and protecting assets," Wyld said.

In-Home Supportive Services provides in-home assistance to eligible, aged, blind and disabled individuals as an alternative to out-of-home care, and enables recipients to remain safely in their home.

"We have personal care services, which includes assistance with bathing and grooming, and homemaker services, which helps with household chores, such as cleaning, meal preparation and laundry," Wyld said.

"We have our paramedical services, which provides support with medical tasks as directed by a healthcare professional," she added.

"And then we have our special circumstances services," which she defined as "such things as yard abatement and heavy cleaning."

Adult Services is affiliated with the Kings/Tulare Area Agency on Aging (K/T AAA), which helps seniors locate community resources to assist them to remain independent and safely age in place.

"For our nutrition services, the AAA has 11 senior centers across both counties, and provides nutritional meals and opportunities for socialization," Wyld said. "Additionally, we provide home-delivered meals to homebound seniors and disabled individuals.

"The nutrition program provides opportunities for staff to have eyes on the client to ensure their safety and well-being," she added. "Staff visit the most vulnerable clients that are alone to not only check in, but also provide socialization."

Telephone reassurance provides an opportunity to call clients to see how they are doing, and we always do this during an emergency, she said.

"We check in to make sure that the client is okay, whether they need transportation, things like that," Wyld said. "On an annual basis, we do behavioral health assessments to check for things such as depression, loneliness and suicidal thoughts.

"Any client that scores at a certain level has been referred to our behavioral health branch," she added. "And the ombudsman program investigates complaints for those residing in a facility."

The multipurpose senior services program provides both social and healthcare management services to assist individuals to remain safely in their home.

"And each year, we partner with CSET for Senior Day in the Park," Wyld said. "This event is extremely successful with 1,500 or more seniors attending.

"We also have 55 to 65 vendors that share the services and supports they offer to older adults and individuals with disabilities," she said. "This event also provides opportunities for socialization and entertainment. "

For more information, visit https://tchhsa.org/eng/human-services and click on Adult Protective Services.