Special investigator of the Adult Protective Services serving Elkhart, Kosciusko, Marshall and St. Joseph counties, Michelle Livinghouse discussed Indiana’s Adult Protective Services at the last meeting of the Plymouth Lions Club. Indiana legislature adopted Adult Protective Services in 1985 and was originally governed & funded by the Indiana Prosecuting Attorney Council. Today it is federally mandated and state funded. Her office and the main office are at the St. Joseph Prosecutor’s office serving St. Joe, Marshall, Elkhart, and Kosciusko counties.
The law defines endangered adults as those individuals 18 years of age or older who are incapable of managing self-care or property because of a physical or mental incapacity, or if they are harmed or threatened with harm as a result of neglect, self-neglect, battery or exploitation. APS investigates reports of potential endangerment and when substantiated, seeks to find the least intrusive resolution interventions which may include referrals for appropriate housing, in-home services, social services, or legal assistance, even facilitating emergency medical treatment, initiating criminal actions, obtaining civil orders, and advocating.
Adult Protective Service also provides education for service providers, community organizations, and public groups interested in learning about preventing and responding to adult endangerment.
A special thank you was announced to the Plymouth Lions Club for their donation s to Junior Achievement. And another thank you was presented to the Plymouth Lions for the vision screening of 1600 students in our area including Head Start for Marshall & Starke Counties. As always the Kidsight program has been a huge success. The Club unanimously approved the purchase of five sets of eyeglasses for children who are not able to afford them but need them to read and progress in school.
It was announced that the Blueberry Festival brought in a great deal of revenue as one of the biggest fundraisers of the year and all were thanked for their work and efforts in making it such a success. It is fundraisers like this that allow the Plymouth Lions Club to continue with programs such as Kidsight and other contributions to local organizations for their continued success, thus keeping with our motto, Changing Someone’s Life for the Good !! If you or someone you know would like to become a member of the Plymouth Lions Club, please contact any Lions Club member.
Provided by Susan Eggleston from the Lions Club
