Department of Human Services Division of Aging, Adult, & Behavioral Health Services (DAABHS) Director Jay Hill (left) and Arkansas Adult Protective Services (APS) Director Shannon Halijan are excited about the grant rewarded to APS.

For immediate release
October 4, 2018                          

Arkansas Program Earns Grant to Help it Improve Services

Arkansas Adult Protective Services, within the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS),
receives its first Administration Community Living Grant
 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Adult Protective Services (APS) is one of fourteen APS programs nationally to receive a $1.2 million grant from the Administration of Community Living (ACL). This is Arkansas’s first time receiving the award. Grant funds will support efforts to improve Arkansas’s APS system over the next three years.                                           

APS will use the grant to evaluate and upgrade practices, improve the program’s systems and data collection, and streamline overall reporting to the National Adult Maltreatment Reporting System (NAMRS).       

“We earned the funding because of our focus on communication, education, staff trainings, and the use of technology to help improve the way we serve aging Arkansans,” said Shannon Halijan, Director of Arkansas Adult Protective Services. “This is the first time we’ve applied for the grant. The ACL grant strengthens our program by giving us the ability to review our work in new ways. Ultimately, we’ll be able to better identify trends, prevent adult maltreatment, and hold offenders who prey on our senior citizens accountable for their actions.”

Arkansas APS staff investigate reports of abuse and exploitation of older adults and people with disabilities. They provide support, case management, and connect people facing abuse to a variety of protective, emergency, and support services.                             

“This grant, and the upcoming work for my team over the next three years, will put Arkansas’s APS program on the map," Halijan said. "I’m proud of the APS staff, and I admire their compassion and dedication to protecting those who cannot protect themselves.”          

The goal of Arkansas APS is to improve the state’s ability to complete documents and report cases, clients, and offender characteristics in a way that’s consistent with national standards. Arkansas APS is a program within the DHS Division of Aging, Adult & Behavioral Health Services.

For more information about Arkansas APS go to https://humanservices.arkansas.gov/about-dhs/daas/aps.

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