BUTLER TWP — Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich called Butler County an “age friendly community” Wednesday, Sept. 30, and commended the county Area Agency on Aging for achieving high scores on an updated evaluation system enacted last year.

Kavulich visited the recently opened Butler County Aging Resource Center in the township, where he discussed the Comprehensive Aging Performance Evaluation (CAPE) and held a roundtable discussion with the county agency’s director, Beth Herold, and a panel of agency staff members.

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging rolled out CAPE in 2025 to monitor how county aging agencies across the state are delivering programs and services. To be compliant, CAPE requires agencies to achieve a minimum score of 85% in each area that is monitored. The score is a performance measure that includes factors such as proper documentation or data management.

Agencies that fail to achieve a score of at least 85% in any one performance measure are placed on a performance improvement plan that addresses specific action the agency should take to reach and maintain full compliance. The department also provides personalized, direct technical assistance including training to help low-scoring agencies improve performance.

CAPE evaluates how agencies conduct required face-to-face visits with seniors and assesses protective services programs.

Butler County scored 94% to 98% on the face-to-face visit evaluations, and 93% to 98% on the protective service evaluations. CAPE provides scores from monthly evaluations that began in July 2025.

Agencies are required by law to have face-to-face visits with older adults potentially needing protective services after receiving a “report of need.” When the report is categorized as an emergency or priority, the agency must meet with the individual within 24 hours of receiving the report.

For all other report categorizations, agencies are required to meet with the older adult within a 20-day investigation time frame. The department monitors and measures each agency monthly on the percentage of cases where face-to-face compliance was achieved within the required regulatory time frames.

The protective services evaluation covers the percentage of protective services cases where determination was achieved within a 20-day time frame. The time it takes for an agency to complete its investigations is a key performance metric, and the 20-day turnaround is a goal, not a requirement.

For protective service cases involving financial exploitation allegations, an investigation may take longer than 20 days so that appropriate documentation may be collected from financial resources. Cases alleging only financial exploitation are excluded from the evaluation.

An agency that doesn’t complete a determination in 20 days must report the reason for delay. One investigation (or case) may have multiple reasons for experiencing a delay. Some of the reasons for delay are outside the agency’s control.

Kavulich said the previous evaluation system focused on pass or fail results and didn’t tell agencies why they failed. The previous system was based on opinions rather than adherence to laws and regulations, he said.

“It did not show us a path forward. It focused on the mistakes of the past,” Kavulich said of the previous system. “Instead of asking, did an agency pass, CAPE allows us to say, what does an agency do to improve the work that you’re doing.”

He said CAPE allows the department to identify issues it couldn’t previously identify.

CAPE found 60% of agencies in the state were below the compliance threshold for documentation, but the Butler County agency was not among those, Kavulich said.

The lack of documentation doesn’t mean seniors were not served or left at risk, but it makes it difficult for the department to determine how an investigation was conducted and doesn’t record the efforts agencies took, he said.

Training for agency staff was mandated under the previous system. CAPE calls for voluntary training, and nearly 580 staff members from across the state took voluntary training, Kavulich said.

He described Butler County’s evaluation results as an “excellent show” and a “demonstration of efficiency.”

During the roundtable discussion, county protective services worker Alex Scialabba suggested having in-person training session quarterly or semiannually.

Herold said CAPE relies on “concrete evidence” and is less subjective than the previous system.

Protective services worker Michelle Gallagher said there has been an increase in cases when a rapid response is needed, but workers are inundated with cases making it difficult to ensure a senior’s safety in a timely manner.

Herold said it is difficult for workers to get the information they need.

Kavulich said banks are not required to provide financial information to agencies about seniors who were victims of fraud or scams.

He said the department wants the legislature to amend the Older Adult Protective Services Act to give agencies authority to subpoena medical records of seniors.

Leah Ziegler, another protective services worker, said the agency has too many financial exploitation cases to investigate by the deadlines, and asked if the process can be streamlined.

Kavulich said financial exploitation is the fastest growing problem for seniors, and agencies need accountants to assist. He said the attorney general’s office has only seven investigators to deal with those issues.

He said baby boomers are targeted because they hold half the nation’s wealth.