Pennsylvania Department of Aging Secretary Jason Kavulich visited the Berks County Area Agency on Aging on Tuesday to highlight a new regional effort aimed at strengthening protections for older adults facing abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Berks is partnering with Lehigh and Lancaster counties to develop a regional multidisciplinary team — or MDT hub — designed to bring together professionals from social services, law enforcement, health care, mental health and financial institutions to better coordinate complex protective services cases.
The three counties are among the first in the state selected through a competitive process to receive tailored consulting support from Weill Cornell Medicine, a nationally recognized leader in elder justice initiatives.
“Today is another step we are taking as a department, as an administration, as partners to ensure that we are building a commonwealth of communities that protects our older adults and responds to their needs with compassion and respect,” Kavulich said.
Five applications statewide were selected to receive expert guidance. In addition to the Lehigh-Berks-Lancaster collaboration, individual agencies in Bucks, Cumberland and Indiana counties were chosen, along with a six-county rural coalition in north-central Pennsylvania.
The MDT model, already in use in states such as New York and California, is intended to break down barriers among agencies that often work independently. By formalizing collaboration, officials say cases involving elder abuse — particularly financial exploitation — can be handled more effectively and consistently.
STEVEN HENSHAW – READING EAGLE)
Berks County Office on Aging Director Jessica Jones said her agency is excited to join their counterparts in Lancaster and Lehigh counties on a regional, interdisciplinary approach to better protect older adults from abuse and financial exploitation. (STEVEN HENSHAW – READING EAGLE)
Berks County Area Agency on Aging Director Jessica Jones said her agency is excited to collaborate with its Lancaster and Lehigh counterparts to strengthen protective services.
“Through this multidisciplinary team approach, we seek to enhance our capacity to promote elder justice, address complex situations, improve outcomes for the older adults we serve and ensure that the least restrictive options are always considered,” she said.
Berks District Attorney John T. Adams said financial scams targeting older residents have become increasingly sophisticated, often fueled by advances in technology.
“We’re really at a crisis point in protecting many of our older residents,” Adams said, noting that district attorneys across the state sent a letter to the governor and lawmakers Tuesday urging updates to Pennsylvania’s Older Adults Protective Services Act.
Kavulich echoed that call, saying the law has not kept pace with emerging threats. The current statute does not explicitly include financial exploitation — now considered one of the fastest-growing forms of elder abuse — as a crime.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed long-overdue updates to the act, including adding financial exploitation and expanding background check requirements for caregivers. His proposed 2026-27 budget includes more than $6 million in additional funding for aging services statewide.
Lisa Rachmuth of Weill Cornell Medicine said the regional hub model will help counties respond more quickly and collaboratively to protect vulnerable adults while preserving their dignity and right to self-determination.
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Lisa Rachmuth, program administrator of Weill Cornell Medicine’s Center for Elder Abuse Solutions, applauds Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich during an event Tuesday at the Berks County Area Agency on Aging, (STEVEN HENSHAW – READING EAGLE)
County Commissioner Christian Leinbach praised the regional partnership, calling it part of a broader trend toward cooperation among neighboring counties.
“Regionalization is where it’s at,” Leinbach said. “This is another way that we partner to better protect one of the most vulnerable populations in our communities.”
With 52 area agencies on aging serving all 67 counties, Kavulich said the state hopes to refine and expand the MDT model, building a stronger, more coordinated system to ensure older Pennsylvanians can live safely in the communities they call home.