What is the difference between calling Adult Protective Services and calling the Long Term Care Ombudsman?
Short answer: APS investigates suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a specific at-risk adult, with authority to intervene directly. The Ombudsman advocates for a resident's rights and helps resolve complaints inside a licensed facility, but only with the resident's consent and without independent investigative authority.
Both exist to protect older and vulnerable adults, but they serve different functions and it helps to know which one fits your situation. If you suspect actual abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation — inside a facility or at home — APS is the right first call, and it can act even without the person's consent if they lack capacity to protect themselves. If your concern is more about care quality, a rights violation, or a dispute with facility staff or management for a resident who is otherwise safe, the Long Term Care Ombudsman is usually the better first call, since ombudsman involvement is specifically designed to advocate with and for the resident directly. When in doubt, either office can point you to the other.
