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1. What phone numbers do I call to report suspected maltreatment?

Minnesota has a new central system for reporting suspected maltreatment of Vulnerable Adults called the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center (MAARC). It is a state-wide common entry point available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To report suspected maltreatment of a vulnerable adult, call 844-880-1574. This is a toll free number available for the public.

2. Who is a vulnerable adult?

A vulnerable adult is a person 18 years of age or older who:

• Has an impairment or disability that impairs the individual from meeting their basic needs and protecting themselves from harm 
• Is receiving services from an agency licensed by Department of Human Services (DHS) or the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) 
• Is a resident or inpatient of a facility 

3. What is Considered Maltreatment of a Vulnerable Adult?

Types of Maltreatment:

• Abuse: emotional, physical or sexual
• Financial exploitation: misuse of a vulnerable adult's funds, property or assets
• Neglect: failure to provide for a vulnerable adult's basic needs. The absence of care or services to maintain a person's health and safety.

For additional information, please review the following brochure: Adult Protection Brochure (PDF)

4. How Do I Make a Vulnerable Adult Report?

Call 844-880-1574: 

The Minnesota Vulnerable Adult Reporting Center. The MAARC Center has been developed to make reporting easier and to assure the highest quality of communication between state and county protective services. 

If you are concerned about the immediate health and safety of an individual, please dial 911.

5. What are Benton County's prioritization guidelines for Adult Protection Maltreatment Reports?

Adult Protection reports are made through the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center (MAARC). MAARC is the centralized intake/common entry point for all adult protection reports. MAARC determines the Lead Investigative Agency (LIA) and sends the reports accordingly. Adult Protective Services (APS) are provided by the county social service agency in which the Vulnerable Adult resides at the time of the incident. The primary goal of Adult Protection is to assess the concerns of the report and offer supportive services to mitigate the concerns. The County is also responsible for Emergency Protective Services (EPS), where they are responsible to ensure immediate protection of the vulnerable adult living in their community. Benton County has an on-call system for afterhours, weekends, and holidays where the Benton County after-hours on-call team receives, reviews, and responds to EPS reports falling outside of the established work week. When an Adult Protection report is received, human service staff must verify that Benton County is the Lead Investigative Agency (LIA) and if we have a role in addressing immediate safety concerns. Staff then need to assess if the alleged victim is a vulnerable adult based on statutory definition in MN Statute 626.5572 Subd. 21 (Attachment A), and does the allegation fit the abuse criteria as outlined in MN Statute 626.5572, Subd. 2 (Attachment B). Benton County Adult Protection staff will use the Structured Decision Making (SDM) tool to aide in the screening of the report received. 

For more information, see the following: Benton County Prioritization Guidelines for Adult Protection Maltreatment Reports (PDF)