With the aging of the baby boomers there is a concern for the liklihood of an increase in reported cases of adult and dependent abuse with Adult Protective Services (APS). This study examined what the social work implications were regarding clients who refuse APS interventions and what subsequent outcomes existed. Data was extracted from closed case files for the period of January 1, 2000 and January 31, 2001 in the high desert region of San Bernardino County.

The study investigated the relationship between San Bernardino County Department of Adult Protective Services (APS) client refusal of services and the outcome of their cases. A data extraction tool was used to collect demographic information about the APS clients and their perpetrators, types and number of contacts made by the APS worker, types of abuse, reasons for refusal, and outcomes from closed APS cases for the San Bernardino, Ontario, and Rancho Cucamonga regions.