Indiana Adult Protective Services: How to Report Elder Abuse and What Happens Next

Your mother's caregiver seems short-tempered. Your father has unexplained bruises. The assisted living facility smells wrong, and something about how the staff answers your questions makes your stomach drop. You know something is off, but you don't know who to call or what happens when you do.

Indiana has two separate reporting channels depending on where the abuse is happening, and using the wrong one delays the investigation. Here's exactly how each one works.

APS for Community-Dwelling Seniors

Indiana Adult Protective Services handles reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of adults aged 18 or older who live in the community — at home, with family, or in any non-licensed residential setting.

To file a report, call the APS Hotline at 1-800-992-6978. The line operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also report online through the Indiana FSSA website.

APS investigates five categories of harm:

• Physical abuse — hitting, pushing, restraining, or rough handling
• Neglect — failure to provide food, hygiene, medications, or medical care (by a caregiver who has that responsibility)
• Self-neglect — an individual living in unsafe conditions due to cognitive or physical decline
• Financial exploitation — unauthorized use of funds, coerced changes to legal documents, or theft of assets
• Sexual abuse — any non-consensual sexual contact

You do not need proof to file a report. Indiana law protects reporters from liability when they act in good faith, and reports can be made anonymously.

After you file, an APS caseworker is assigned to investigate. They will attempt to make face-to-face contact with the alleged victim, assess the living environment, interview involved parties, and determine whether the individual is in immediate danger. If the person lacks cognitive capacity to consent to services, APS can petition the court for emergency protective intervention.

IDOH Complaint Line for Licensed Facilities

If your parent lives in a licensed facility — a nursing home (comprehensive care facility), residential care facility, or any state-licensed assisted living community — complaints about care quality go through the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) complaint line at 1-800-246-8909.

This is a separate system from APS. IDOH investigates complaints against facilities that hold state health licenses, covering issues like:

• Inadequate staffing or supervision
• Medication errors or missed doses
• Unsanitary conditions
• Failure to follow care plans
• Resident rights violations (restricting visitors, withholding mail, retaliation)
• Unexplained injuries or falls without proper documentation

After receiving a complaint, IDOH may conduct an unannounced on-site survey of the facility. Investigators review records, interview staff and residents, and compare conditions against state licensing standards under 410 IAC 16.2. If violations are confirmed, the facility receives citations that become part of its public inspection record.

You can review any facility's complaint and survey history through the IDOH Consumer Reports database before scheduling a tour. Checking this record is one of the most effective ways to evaluate whether a facility is safe for your parent.

The Long-Term Care Ombudsman

Indiana also operates a Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program — a free advocacy service for residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other licensed care settings.

The Ombudsman can help with:

• Investigating complaints about care quality on behalf of a resident
• Mediating disputes between families and facility management
• Advocating during involuntary discharge or transfer proceedings
• Ensuring the facility follows state and federal resident rights protections

Contact the Indiana Long-Term Care Ombudsman at 1-800-622-4484. Unlike APS or IDOH complaints, the Ombudsman can work informally with the facility to resolve problems without triggering a formal investigation — which is sometimes the faster path to improvement.

When to File With More Than One Agency

These channels are not mutually exclusive. If your parent is in a nursing home and you suspect both criminal abuse and facility-level neglect, you can file with IDOH (facility licensing), the Ombudsman (resident advocacy), and local law enforcement simultaneously.

For financial exploitation specifically — unauthorized withdrawals, forged signatures on power of attorney documents, or coerced changes to wills or trusts — also contact local law enforcement directly. APS investigates and refers, but they do not have arrest authority.

How to Protect Your Parent Before Problems Escalate

Reporting is reactive. The better position is preventing harm before it starts — by understanding how Indiana licenses different care settings, knowing what questions to ask during facility tours, and having the legal authority to intervene quickly if your parent's cognitive capacity declines.

The Indiana Elder Care Decision Guide walks you through the complete facility vetting process, including how to read IDOH survey reports, what licensing distinctions matter for your parent's care level, and how to set up the legal documents that let you act fast when something goes wrong.

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