Louisiana Elderly Protective Services: How to Report and What Happens Next

What Louisiana Elderly Protective Services Actually Does

Louisiana Elderly Protective Services (EPS) is a state program run through the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs (GOEA) that investigates reports of abuse, neglect, self-neglect, and financial exploitation of adults aged sixty and older. A separate program — Adult Protective Services (APS) — under the Louisiana Department of Health covers adults aged eighteen to fifty-nine with disabilities, but for most families dealing with an aging parent, EPS is the relevant agency.

Anyone can file a report. You don't need evidence or proof — a reasonable suspicion that something is wrong is enough. Mandated reporters (doctors, nurses, social workers, law enforcement) face criminal penalties if they fail to report, but family members, neighbors, and friends can report too.

The EPS intake line is 1-833-577-6532 (833-LSP-OLEA). You can also call the GOEA main line at (225) 342-7100 during business hours. Reports can be made anonymously.

What Triggers an Investigation

EPS investigates four categories of harm:

Physical abuse — hitting, slapping, restraining, or using force against an elder. This includes inappropriate use of physical or chemical restraints in a care facility.

Neglect and self-neglect — failing to provide food, shelter, medical care, or hygiene. Self-neglect covers situations where a cognitively impaired person living alone cannot maintain basic safety. If your parent with dementia is refusing help and conditions in the home have deteriorated, this is often the category that applies.

Financial exploitation — unauthorized use of an elder's funds, property, or assets. This includes a caregiver using a parent's credit cards without permission, pressuring them to change a will, or manipulating a power of attorney (mandate, in Louisiana's legal terminology) for personal gain.

Emotional or psychological abuse — verbal threats, isolation from family, or intimidation.

The Investigation Process

After you file a report, EPS assigns a caseworker who must make contact with the alleged victim. The caseworker conducts an in-home assessment, interviews the elder privately when possible, and reviews the living conditions. They also interview the alleged perpetrator and any witnesses.

The investigator evaluates whether the elder is in immediate danger. If so, EPS coordinates with local law enforcement for emergency intervention — this can include obtaining an emergency protective order or arranging emergency placement.

If the situation is not immediately life-threatening, the caseworker develops a service plan that might include referrals to home care programs, connecting the family with the local Council on Aging, or recommending legal intervention such as interdiction if the elder cannot make safe decisions.

When EPS Gets Involved in Dementia Cases

Dementia creates a specific vulnerability pattern that EPS sees frequently. A parent with moderate cognitive decline may appear functional during brief interactions but make dangerous decisions when unsupervised — leaving the stove on, giving away money to scam callers, or wandering from the home.

EPS involvement often becomes relevant in two scenarios:

Self-neglect referrals — a neighbor, mail carrier, or wellness-check officer notices the elder living in unsafe conditions. If your parent is refusing home care and you live out of state, a self-neglect report sometimes creates the leverage needed to get the state involved in coordinating care.

Exploitation by a caregiver — a paid or unpaid caregiver who takes advantage of the elder's confusion. In Louisiana, the financial exploitation statute covers situations where someone in a position of trust uses a mandate (power of attorney) to enrich themselves rather than act in the principal's best interest.

If EPS substantiates abuse or neglect, the report creates a paper trail that has practical consequences. A substantiated report, when the parent also faces imminent nursing home placement, moves them into Priority Group 1 on the Community Choices Waiver waitlist, potentially bypassing years of waiting for home-care services. It also provides evidence that can support an interdiction petition if the family needs to secure legal authority through the courts.

What EPS Cannot Do

EPS is not a law enforcement agency. Caseworkers cannot arrest anyone, remove an elder from their home against their will (unless they lack capacity and a court order is obtained), or force a competent adult to accept services. If your parent still has decision-making capacity and refuses help, EPS documents the refusal and closes the case.

For criminal matters — theft, assault, financial crimes — you need to file a separate report with the local sheriff's office or police department. EPS can refer cases to law enforcement, but the criminal investigation runs on its own track.

EPS also does not handle complaints about licensed facilities. If your parent is in an assisted living community or nursing home and you suspect substandard care, the complaint goes to the Louisiana Department of Health's Health Standards Section. For advocacy within a licensed facility, contact the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman through GOEA.

How to Prepare Before You Call

Having specific details ready makes the intake process faster and gives the caseworker actionable information:

• Your parent's full name, date of birth, and physical address
• A description of what you observed or were told, including dates
• Names of anyone you suspect is involved
• Whether your parent has a diagnosed cognitive condition (Alzheimer's, dementia)
• Whether your parent has a legal representative (mandatary or curator)
• Any immediate safety concerns (is the person in danger right now?)

If you are managing your parent's care from out of state and suspect something is wrong, EPS can conduct a welfare check. You don't need to be present in Louisiana to file a report.

The full Louisiana Dementia & Memory Care Guide covers how EPS investigations interact with legal authority (mandates and interdiction), Medicaid eligibility, and the Community Choices Waiver priority system — including how a substantiated report affects waitlist placement.

See more Louisiana guides →