Connecticut Adult Protective Services and Dementia
Protective Services for the Elderly (PSE) is Connecticut's adult protective services program for people aged 60 and older. If your parent with dementia is being abused, neglected, or financially exploited — whether by a facility, a caregiver, a family member, or through self-neglect — PSE is the state's investigative and intervention arm.
Understanding when and how to use this system matters because dementia makes your parent uniquely vulnerable. They may not be able to report what is happening to them, recognize exploitation, or advocate for their own safety.
What PSE Investigates
PSE handles five categories of harm to elderly individuals in Connecticut:
Physical abuse. Any intentional use of physical force that causes pain, injury, or impairment. This includes hitting, pushing, rough handling during transfers, and inappropriate use of physical or chemical restraints in care facilities.
Neglect. Failure by a caregiver — whether a family member, home aide, or facility staff — to provide the necessities of daily life: food, shelter, clothing, medical care, hygiene, and supervision. For a parent with dementia, leaving them unsupervised when they require constant monitoring also constitutes neglect.
Abandonment. Leaving an older adult without necessary care or support is also a reportable category.
Self-neglect. When a person with dementia lives alone or with insufficient support and cannot maintain basic self-care — refusing to eat, wearing soiled clothing, living in unsanitary conditions, not taking essential medications. Self-neglect triggers a PSE investigation to assess whether the person needs intervention, potentially including a conservatorship petition.
Financial exploitation. Unauthorized use of an elderly person's money, property, or resources. This includes forging signatures, stealing from accounts, coercing changes to wills or beneficiary designations, and misusing a power of attorney. People with dementia are disproportionately targeted because they may sign documents they do not understand or fail to notice missing funds.
How to Report
Contact PSE at 1-888-385-4225 during business hours (8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday–Friday), or call 2-1-1 after hours, on weekends, or state holidays. Reports can be made by phone, form, or online. You do not need proof of abuse or neglect to file a report — a reasonable suspicion is sufficient to trigger an investigation.
Certain professionals in Connecticut are mandated reporters — physicians, nurses, social workers, home health aides, and facility staff are legally required to report suspected elder abuse. But any person, including family members and neighbors, can file a report.
When calling, be prepared to describe what you observed or what concerns you, the elderly person's name, age, and location, the suspected abuser's identity if known, and any immediate safety concerns.
PSE will assign a social worker to investigate and develop a plan of care. The response may include a home visit, interviews with the elderly person and the suspected abuser, and coordination with law enforcement if criminal conduct is involved.
When PSE Intersects with Dementia Care Decisions
PSE investigations sometimes begin the process of establishing legal authority over a parent with dementia. If an investigation finds that a parent is self-neglecting and has no family member or legal representative managing their affairs, PSE can refer the case to the Probate Court for a conservatorship proceeding.
This is a separate path from a family-initiated conservatorship (Form PC-300). In extreme cases, DSS may seek court authorization to provide necessary services or apply to the Probate Court for appointment of a conservator; the court decides who serves.
For families already managing a parent's care, a PSE report against a paid caregiver or a facility can be a useful tool. If you suspect that a home health aide is stealing from your parent, or that a memory care facility is neglecting residents, PSE has the authority to investigate and coordinate with the DPH Facility Licensing and Investigations Section (FLIS) for facility-level complaints.
Free Download
Get the Connecticut — Dementia Care Resource Checklist
Everything in this article as a printable checklist — plus action plans and reference guides you can start using today.
The Difference Between PSE and the Ombudsman
PSE and the Connecticut Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program serve different functions. PSE investigates abuse, neglect, abandonment, and exploitation with state authority — its investigations can lead to law enforcement referrals and court proceedings. The Ombudsman advocates for residents' rights and works to resolve complaints through mediation and negotiation with facilities. The Ombudsman is confidential and resident-centered; PSE is investigative and state-authorized.
If your parent is in a residential facility and the issue is about rights violations, care quality, or billing disputes, start with the Ombudsman. If the issue involves physical harm, neglect, or financial exploitation, go directly to PSE.
The Connecticut Dementia Care Guide includes the full directory of reporting contacts, legal authority frameworks, and facility complaint pathways for families navigating these situations.
Get Your Free Connecticut — Dementia Care Resource Checklist
Download the Connecticut — Dementia Care Resource Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.