LEWISBURG— When Holly Kyle, executive director of the Union‑ Snyder Agency on Aging, stepped into a supervisory role one afternoon, she didn't expect to end the day surrounded by police officers and a growling Rottweiler. Throughout 2025, investigative reports have examined the Department of Aging and its 52 local Area Agencies on Aging, raising concerns such...
LEWISBURG — When
"We ended up, for the next three hours, in a standoff with five police officers and a rottweiler sitting on the inside of an apartment, looking out at us, baring teeth, etc., with an older adult inside that we needed to get to," Kyle said. "Those are things that, when I started doing this work in '87, didn't happen in
Kyle said that kind of experience illustrates the complexity of protective services work — an aspect that she and other agency officials allege has been underrepresented or mischaracterized in recent statewide coverage of
Throughout 2025, investigative reports have examined the
Kyle and other local leaders, including
"It's so critically important for our communities to trust us, to trust the area agencies on aging," Kyle said. "There's an area agency on aging representing every county in this state."
Kyle said their agencies operate under the Older Adults Protective Services Act of 1987, a law that she said protects both safety and individual autonomy.
"The primary mandate of the law is to preserve the civil liberties of older Pennsylvanians," she said. "Age doesn't strip an individual of their right to autonomy, dignity or self‑determination. And we, as investigators, aren't granted paternal authority to make decisions for an older adult simply because they're over the age of 60."
"Children and youth have the ability within their law and regulations to remove a child if there are concerns," Leonovich said. "Older adults may be making some really not‑so‑good decisions as far as their healthcare or how they live. But they have the ability to still make those decisions unless a doctor is telling us they don't… You have the right to make poor decisions. We've all done it."
State law requires that a qualified medical professional — not a caseworker — determines whether an individual can make independent decisions.
According to agency data for fiscal year 2024–2025, the Union–Snyder Agency on Aging received 443 reports of need. Investigations were conducted in 144 of those cases, a number they stated is lower than the total reports due to ineligibility, non‑residency or duplicate filings.
About 13% of those investigations were substantiated or involved individuals who required services. The agency said each determination considers the person's needs, ability to secure services independently and whether they meet protective‑services criteria.
Kyle and Leonovich said some of the most frequent public misconceptions involve investigative timelines, risk designations and death statistics.
"The law does not mandate a 20‑day deadline," Kyle said. "The regulations say that we will make all reasonable efforts to complete an investigation in those 20 days — but only if all the information is available and we are able to make a determination."
She said medical or financial records can take weeks to obtain, meaning investigations sometimes extend beyond that timeframe while immediate safety actions occur.
Leonovich said agencies respond to urgent cases "immediately," sometimes within hours.
"If someone is in need of immediate medical care and there's possible risk of death or serious injury, we respond immediately," she said.
Kyle said another common misunderstanding involves how "at‑risk" classifications are used.
"Risk can come in really a couple of different ways," she said. "Somebody could be at risk because they chose not to pay their electric bill. Imminent risk is the serious type of risk — an immediate threat to safety or well‑being."
According to the
Monitoring practices 'evolve'
Kyle said staff are "trying their 100% best," but may lack the capacity to fully address all elder abuse cases. She noted that financial exploitation, long fueled by scams, has begun to taper slightly due to widespread education efforts from agencies including hers and the
In
Both officials said state oversight of local agencies has changed over time, responding to concerns raised in reporting about monitoring tools and transparency.
"In my nearly 39 years in the aging network, I've seen monitoring practices evolve with changing administrations," Kyle said. "Monitoring is meant to improve — not punish. And let's be honest, it's easier to critique a situation after the fact than to live it in real time."
Leonovich said the current monitoring system is more structured and data‑driven than in previous years.
"Each administration I've worked with had a review process they tried to improve upon," she said. "This current administration kind of figured it out and finally nailed it… We're finding areas where the AAAs need assistance, and now the
Kyle said that despite the demands of protective services, the agency's role extends beyond investigating abuse.
"We have senior centers, meals, insurance counseling and health programs," she said. "We do need to be the trusted source in every community for people to feel comfortable calling upon us in their time of need."
Both said they are concerned that negative perceptions of the system could discourage residents from reporting suspected abuse or seeking assistance.
"If people say, 'Oh, the aging office — you don't do well when you go with them,' what about our other programs?" Leonovich said. "We don't want the perception of all this negativity to scare off people that may truly need us."
Kyle hopes residents will consider the human side of the work.
"These are people who are part of our community," she said. "They're somebody's child, grandchild, who are doing this work because they care about their fellow citizens. It's not glamorous. We're not law enforcement. But we do this work because we care.
"If you have reasonable cause to believe that someone is being abused, call your
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