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Operational Plan for ARPA funding: Grants 1 and 2: Washington, D.C. Adult Protective Services 

State/Territory/District District of Columbia 

Contact Dari Pogach

Budget Allocation $398,969

Timeline AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (ARPA) OF 2021- Grant 1 

August 2021 – September 2023 $129,080

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021 - Proposed Grant 2 

August 2022 – September 2024 =$140,809(Covid Amount) + $129,080 (ARPA 1 

Amount) = $269,889

Vision 2025

The Vision clarifies what your ARPA Grant 1 Program 

aspires to become and to achieve. It is designed to 

inspire by providing a picture of where the program 

is heading in 3-5 years.

Note: If you are a part of a larger organization, does 

it have its own future vision? If so, you may want to 

adapt it to your own program.

APS services are designed to establish and/or strengthen appropriate family and social 

support systems to protect adults at risk of abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation 

and to prevent the occurrence of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. 
Operational Plan for ARPA funding: Grants 1 and 2: Washington, D.C. Adult Protective Services 

Mission Statement

Mission and Values statements can be an effective 

tool to educate the public; state and local 

government officials; state government agencies; 

provider agencies; and service recipients as to what 

the Adult Protective Services is and how they do 

business.

Mission Statements answer four key questions 

about your APS Program:

• Who do we serve?

• What needs do they have that we can fulfil?

• How do we meet those needs? How do we 

make the clients' lives better?

• Does it link directly to the Vision Statement?

Note: if you are a part of a larger organization, does 

it have its Mission Statement? If so, you may want 

to adapt it for your own program.

APS is a crisis-centered and investigation-based division established to determine the 

validity of alleged abuse, neglect, self-neglect, and exploitation of individuals who are 

residents of the District of Columbia, 18 years and older, and may have an intellectual 

and/or physical disability.

APS provides social services and crisis intervention to meet the needs of abused, 

neglected, self-neglected, and exploited adults, with a goal to mitigate immediate risk(s) 

as well as promote safety and well-being, while espousing collaboration, respect, 

accountability, and compassion. 
Operational Plan for ARPA funding: Grants 1 and 2: Washington, D.C. Adult Protective Services 

Guiding Principles / Core Values

Guiding Principles or Core Values guide internal 

processes and client interactions for your APS 

Program. 

Note: if you are a part of a larger organization, does it 

have its own set of Guiding Principles or Core Values? 

If so, you may want to adapt it for this program.

• APS will advocate, within the confines of its statutory mandate, for the right of 

an adult to make his or her own choices even when the community or family 

may oppose these choices. 

• APS will always use the least restrictive and least intrusive intervention 

necessary to protect the adult and stabilize the situation is the most 

appropriate.

• APS clients, and all adults, have the right to make their own decisions unless 

they delegate that responsibility voluntarily or the court grants that 

responsibility to another individual. 

• Adult abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation are primarily social problems 

and their resolution, for the most part, should be sought through the provision 

of social services and medical services rather than through the legal system. 

• Services that support and strengthen the adult’s informal support system are 

vital to the protection of adults who are at risk of abuse, neglect, self-neglect, 

or exploitation. 

• Legal action is considered only after all other alternatives have been explored. 

When legal intervention is required, the least restrictive means of intervention 

should be used. 
Operational Plan for ARPA funding: Grants 1 and 2: Washington, D.C. Adult Protective Services 

Goals for Program Improvement

These are goals to be obtained in order to move your APS 

program from current practices to your Vision.

Now that you have new funds targeted for your work with 

APS, what can be enhanced or improved in your current 

program? These goals must meet the APS Formula Grant 

requirements. It is recommended these goals become 

SMART goals (specific, measurable, actionable, and 

timely).

Using the results of your Environmental Scan, identify key 

issues that need to be addressed during this planning 

cycle. 

These are goals to move your APS Program from current 

practices to your Vision #1.

1) Develop a deeper and more nuanced understanding of who APS serves, and 

which populations APS is not reaching and/or serving. 

2) Promote the rights of older adults and people with disabilities to decision 

supports that will allow them to maintain independence and continue to 

make their own choices. 

3) Support APS staff in seeing themselves as an integral part of the Department 

of Aging and Community Living and as providing crucial services to D.C. 

residents. 

4) Increase access to available resources for clients and social workers.
Operational Plan for ARPA funding: Grants 1 and 2: Washington, D.C. Adult Protective Services 

Targeted Improvement Projects

Using the results of your Environmental Scan and PESTEL, 

describe the targeted improvements and enhancements 

needed for this planning cycle. 

Your improvements should be concrete, measurable, and 

complete.

WHY is this improvement needed? 

What Purpose or NEED will it fill? 

What RESOURCES will be used? 

What ACTIVITIES will it entail? 

What are the direct OUTPUTS of the activities? What are 

the intended results and how will clients benefit?

See example on next page.

1) Intake Redesign

2) Services to Clients 

3) Staff Trainings

4) Assessment of Capacity Evaluation Practices

5) Gap filling in-home services

6) Structured Decision-Making (SDM)
Operational Plan for ARPA funding: Grants 1 and 2: Washington, D.C. Adult Protective Services 

EXAMPLE: Illustrate targeted improvements using a Logic Model Framework

Purpose/Need

s to be filled 

by ARPA 

Funds

Inputs (Resources 

Deployed)

Activities Outputs from 

Investment

Short-Term 

Outcomes

Long-Term Outcomes

Based on the 

results of your 

Environmental 

Scan and 

PESTEL, what 

needs of your 

APS Program 

will be served 

by the ARPA 

funds?

Should be a 

clear 

“connection” 

with the 

Environmental 

Scan items.

People, financial, 

organizational, or 

community 

resources

Directed

toward doing 

the activity.

Improvement

Projects 

Identify the 

“What” for 

each targeted 

improvement, 

with enough 

context and 

information to 

explain.

Direct products of 

program activities. 

May include

types, levels, 

and targets 

of services to be 

delivered by the 

program. 

Examples include nu

mber of 

people served, 

number of events 

held, and number of 

units 

of service provided.

Specific changes 

in behavior,

knowledge, skills, 

status, or level of 

functioning in 1 year.

Internal Benefits.

Specific changes in 

behavior, knowledge, 

skills, status, or level 

of functioning. 

Long-Term outcomes should be 

achievable within the 2-to-5-year 

timeframe of grants.

Benefits to your Clients.

Update 

current intake 

system to use 

best practices 

$35,000

Fulltime program 

manager devoted to 

APS

ARPA 1 Project 

1: Intake 

Redesign 

Training Guides for 

internal APS trainers 

on intake 

procedures; 

More thorough 

referrals to other 

agencies to provide 

most appropriate 

Data analysis of referral sources 

and populations referred with a 

focus on identifying underserved 

populations; social workers will 
Operational Plan for ARPA funding: Grants 1 and 2: Washington, D.C. Adult Protective Services 

and reach 

targeted 

populations 

Revamp intake 

practices to 

integrate 

formalized 

processes 

instead of 

relying 

exclusively on 

social workers’ 

opinions.

integration of new 

data system with 

intake practices 

services; 

identification of 

common 

characteristics of 

cases; identification 

of referral sources; 

more efficient 

internal referrals to 

investigations 

have more time for serving 

clients; enhanced interagency 

communication and referrals. 

Address 

continually 

growing need 

for more 

services for 

people with 

hoarding 

disorders 

$36,080

Additional, more 

restricted funds 

available for heavy 

housecleaning 

ARPA 1 Project 

2: Services to 

Clients 

Provide heavy 

duty cleaning, 

limited hotel 

stay for clients 

who need to 

vacate their 

homes during 

cleaning or 

debugging and 

limited minor 

home repairs

Heavy 

housecleaning 

services for clients

Alleviate social 

workers’ stress in 

finding services for 

this population 

Support an interagency effort to 

address the needs of people with 

hoarding disorder 

Improve staff 

moral which 

has been 

depleted by an 

agency move 

and COVID

$58,000

Appointment of a 

new Community 

Services 

Administrator 

committed to 

supporting staff; 

ARPA 1 

Project 3:

Staff Training –

25% FTE for 

Training 

Coordinator; 

identify 

CEUs for social 

workers 

Development of 

trainings that can be 

Increased morale, 

more attention to 

best practices in 

serving clients

Better understanding 

of the legal basis for 

Social workers support client selfdetermination and learn skills for 

specific needs such as hoarding 

or homeless services
Operational Plan for ARPA funding: Grants 1 and 2: Washington, D.C. Adult Protective Services 

pilot home health 

aide program for 

APS clients 

trainings that 

can provide APS 

social workers 

with required 

CEUs and 

update staff on 

best practices. 

We plan to 

send several 

social workers 

to the 2022 

NAPSA 

conference 

where they can 

learn more 

about best 

practices and 

meet APS social 

workers from 

other states 

and begin to 

see themselves 

as part of a 

national 

network. 

used yearly and for 

new staff 

Fulltime Training 

Coordinator who 

can lead Person 

Centered Trainings 

(PCT)

appointment of a 

guardian and 

increased knowledge 

of other decision 

supports. 

Social workers can 

share what they 

learned from 

trainings with each 

other

Assess 

capacity 

evaluation 

procedure and 

process to 

$39,889

On retainer 

experienced 

psychologist 

provides most 

ARPA 2 Project 

1: Assessment 

of Capacity 

Evaluation 

Practices

Standardize capacity 

assessment protocol 

to ensure best 

practices continue 

Exploration of 

capacity evaluation, 

update on current 

best practices 

Reduce infringements upon 

individuals’ rights to make their 

choices
Operational Plan for ARPA funding: Grants 1 and 2: Washington, D.C. Adult Protective Services 

ensure APS is 

ensuring the 

selfdetermination 

of clients 

whenever 

possible, 

including only 

pursuing 

guardianships 

when 

necessary 

capacity evaluations 

for guardianship 

petitions 

Determine 

whether 

current 

practices lead 

to unnecessary 

and/or overly 

restrictive 

guardianships 

when professionals 

change 

Engage with 

national 

discussion on 

APS best 

practices, look 

to 

neighborhood 

jurisdictions to 

ensure 

appropriate 

referrals 

$50,000

New training 

coordinator for all 

social services 

divisions at the 

agency

ARPA 2 Project 

2: Staff Training

Identify 

trainings that 

can provide APS 

social workers 

with required 

CEUs and 

update staff on 

best practices. 

Enhanced staff 

social work skills 

learn from other 

jurisdictions to 

improve services

Use best practices to better serve 

clients, develop a culture of 

continuous improvement and 

creativity in finding solutions for 

clients 

Fill in gaps for 

in home 

services 

$130,000

Existing funds for 

heavy house 

cleaning

ARPA 2 Project 

3: 

Gap filling in 

home services

Funding for 

temporary 

home health 

aides, 

Avoid more 

restrictive 

placement by 

addressing 

emergencies

Empower social 

workers to come up 

with creative 

solutions, expand 

social workers’ 

toolbox

Evaluate which services are the 

most in demand and consider 

expanded program and/or 

legislation
Operational Plan for ARPA funding: Grants 1 and 2: Washington, D.C. Adult Protective Services 

companions, 

medication 

management 

etc.

Identify 

purpose and 

scope of 

Structured 

DecisionMaking (SDM) 

Tool 

$50,000

Use ACL Covid-19 

funds to integrate 

SDM tool in new 

database system

ARPA 2 

Project 4

Structured 

Decision 

Making 

Engage the 

National 

Council on 

Crime and 

Delinquency to 

retrain staff on 

SDM. Evaluate 

how to best use 

an SDM tool in 

APS practice. 

Reengagement with 

SDM tool. 

Create more 

consistent 

approaches to cases

with use of the same 

tool in every case

Increased knowledge of SDM 

tool, give social workers a 

framework for every case to 

alleviate concerns about 

mishandling cases, prevents 

unnecessary APS investigations 

that create intrusions into 

individuals’ privacy and 

autonomy, and expedites 

investigations to address 

emergencies faster

Budget / Spending Plan for ARPA funds – Semi-annually for 3 to 5 years

Budget/Spending Plan will be used to enhance, improve, and expand the ability of APS workers to investigate allegations of abuse, neglect, and 

exploitation. Be sure to use separate line items for each major improvement project.

Operational Plan Submission due by January 31, 2022.

ARPA 1- First Grant Allocation - August 2021 - September 2023
Operational Plan for ARPA funding: Grants 1 and 2: Washington, D.C. Adult Protective Services 

Description 2022 

Period 1

2022 

Period 2

2023 

Period 1

2023 

Period 2 Total

Project 1 Intake Redesign $35,000 $35,000

Project 2 Services to Clients $36,080 $36,080

Project 3 Staff Training $32,485.54 $25,514.46 $58,000

Total $35,000 $68,565.54 $25,514.46 $129,080

ARPA 2- Second Grant Allocation - August 2022 September 2024

Description

2023 

Period 1

2023 

Period 2

2024 

Period 1

2024 

Period 2 Total

Project 1

Assessment of 

Capacity Evaluation 

Practices

$19,000 $20,889

$39,889

Project 2

Staff Training and 

Engagement with 

APS in other 

jurisdictions $15,000 $15,000 $10,000 $10,000 $50,000

Project 3

Gap filling in home 

services $60,000 $70,000 $130,000

Project 4

Structured DecisionMaking (SDM)

$50,000 $50,000

Total $144,000 105,889 $10,000 $10,000 $269,889

Summary of ARPA 1 + ARPA 2 Expense
Operational Plan for ARPA funding: Grants 1 and 2: Washington, D.C. Adult Protective Services 

2022 

Period 1

2022 Period 

2

2023 

Period 1

2023 

Period 2

2024 Period 

1

2024 

Period 2 Total

Summary $35,000 $68,565.54

$169,514.

46 $105,889 $10,000 $10,000 $398,969