CRS 26-3.1-101
(1.5) "At-risk adult" means an individual eighteen years of age or older who is susceptible to mistreatment or self-neglect because the individual is unable to perform or obtain services necessary for his or her health, safety, or welfare, or lacks sufficient understanding or capacity to make or communicate responsible decisions concerning his or her person or affairs.



​Orchid rant

Adult protection

​*basically write-off homelessness because they can't do anything about it [so might as well not even try]

* Don't really investigate allegations before making a determination of whether the Allegations meet their criteria -- just go on what they can glean from caller's limited knowledge.

*  on the face of it -- Adult protection is not sure whether a 75 year old woman with brain injury facing imminent eviction and homelessness meets criteria for at-risk adult and whether they will actually speak with the woman.

* APS was happy to give us additional resources so we could follow up if they didn't.
          ​We ultimately spoke with a supervisor and we don't know if this will get resolved in the manner we're hoping or not with the knowledge and permission of the elderly woman in question we might add.

We've had concerns about APS for awhile and those are briefly referenced in the Horror Story in the menu.

There are a lot of at-risk adults & APS isn't serving their needs & that's the bottom line.

Our Big Gripes
  • False Dichotomies, that is government agencies presenting limited choices as if those choices are the ONLY choices;
  • Gov't agencies citing all kinds of technical or legal restraints to action that don't ring true, when in fact the primary restraint to action is FINANCIAL.
  • DISCRIMINATION.  People with invisible disabilities just get discriminated against on such a routine basis from Colorado Medicaid to Adult Protection.  We have to have major reform in this State and a good place to start would be to make Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) available to all where "reasonably medically necessary."