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Lawmakers Seek Release Of Critical Elder-Abuse Report

An elderly man and woman hold hands and walk down a hallway at a nursing home.
Matt Rourke
/
AP

Pennsylvania lawmakers want to read an internal state watchdog agency's critical report on how county-level agencies investigate thousands of elder-abuse complaints and how the state ensures complaints are investigated adequately. 

In a budget hearing Wednesday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Stan Saylor told Acting Secretary of Aging Robert Torres that he wants a copy and that he'll use his subpoena power, if necessary.

Gov. Tom Wolf's administration says it's addressing the report's findings and is reviewing Saylor's request.

summary of the Office of Inspector General's report released in January identified failures by some county-level agencies to properly investigate complaints under timelines required by state law.

It also says investigative practices aren't standardized across counties and it criticizes training requirements for caseworkers who are fielding a fast-growing number of complaints.

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