I received a request from the local Department of Aging Services to provide bank records for a new investigation for elder abuse of one of our customers.

The Agency is quoting a state statute where financial records can be requested for the investigation. Am I permitted to release any records for this investigation without a subpoena? And if I require a subpoena, this may tip off the abuser that they are being investigated.

Please help!

have your legal counsel review the applicable quoted statute and provide guidance. There is a difference between requesting records and compelling you to provide them.

We supply the asked for documents without a subpoena. I believe HB 2014 provides if requested in written form, records to complete an investigation are to be made available to the AAA.

Consult your legal counsel. The statute says in part:

(b) Consent by request.--Except as provided in section 307, an individual shall receive protective services voluntarily. In no event may protective services be provided under this chapter to any person who does not consent to such services or who, having consented, withdraws such consent, unless such services are ordered by a court, requested by a guardian of the older adult or provided under section 307. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the agency from petitioning for the appointment of a guardian pursuant to Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (relating to decedents, estates and fiduciaries).
***
(g) Access by consent.--The agency's access to confidential
records held by other agencies or individuals and the agency's
access to an older adult reported to be in need of protective
services shall require the consent of the older adult or a
court-appointed guardian except as provided for under this
section or section 307.

This is the section I am referring to:
(d) Access to records
(d)(3) Records of State agencies, private organizations, financial institutions, medical institutions and practitioners, which the AAA reasonably believes to be necessary to complete an investigation or assessment and service plan, shall be requested in written form and be available to the AAA unless the disclosure would be prohibited by any other provision of Federal or State law.

I should add, we have consulted our legal before this came out. We are regulated by the OCC and I believe they have something out about providing financial information when it concerns Elderly Financial Exploitation. I would have to look to be sure.

Dear NotDoneYet,

I'd like to know where that language comes from, especially if it is federal. I do not see it in the PA Older Adults Protective Services Act, which I quoted from. The closest section I can find reads:

(d) Access to records.--The agency shall have access to all records relevant to:
(1) Investigations of reports under section 303.
(2) Assessment of client need.
(3) Service planning when an older adult's need for protective services has been or is being established.
(4) The delivery of services arranged for under the service plan developed by the agency to respond to an older adult's assessed need for specific services.
36 P.S. 10225.304

It is not federal. It is from PA HB 2014 dated 4/7/2014.

The easiest way to find it might be:
20140HB2014PN3326

Thanks - that Bill was referred to a committee and has not been passed into law:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/bill...e=B&bn=2014

Well, there goes that answer.
Thank you for pointing that out since I obviously went by the final page when I determined it had been amended.
However, our Security Officer who handles all this has consulted legal and we do provide documents upon request normally accompanied by the authorization of the elderly customer.

Thanks everyone for your input.

The difficulty here is that no one can get to the Elder to have a private conversation with her and if we try to get an authorization to release records, it will tip off the abuser.

We just received a letter from the local Office of Area Agency on Aging requesting documents but it does NOT contain an authorization from our customer. He cites an allegation of financial exploitation, abuse, neglect and abandonment against adults 60 years or older under the PA Older Adult Protective Services Act P.S. Section 10225.101.

He also says "I am requesting these records under Pennsylvania law, 35 P.S. Section 10225.302-304 APS shall have access to all documents relevant to the investigation".

Without customer authorization, and without court order, subpoena, etc. it doesn't appear we can comply with this request. Is that correct? Or should we obtain a legal opinion as well? We don't want to be unhelpful as a quick review of our customer's checking account does show a social security payment coming in and then being immediately taken out via ATM. So although it sounds suspicious to say the least, there could be a logical explanation - we just don't know.

Just contact the Office of Area Agency on Aging and ask them to cite the section of PA law which authorizes you to comply with their request without having customer authorization or subpoena.

It is legal to provide the requested info, we have done it in the past, just can't locate the cite we hung our hat on.

Besides................it's the right thing to do!

That sounds good. Thank you!