EATON — Preble County Job and Family Services is in the process of garnering $50,000 for Adult Protective Services in Preble County. The agency is currently in the third step of a four-step process to get the extra money.

According to JFS Director Becky Sorrell, “Preble County Job and Family Services is mandated to provide services and interventions to citizens who are 60 years of age or older and who are victims of abuse, neglect, and or exploitation.”

According to Sorrell, the allocation to provide services has been less than $2,000 per year. In 2015 she said the county received $1,789 for services and by the end of September, they had received 50 referrals to assist abused, neglected and exploited senior citizens.

The state, according to Sorrell, is ready to step up their funding into the program. In 2016 local agencies will receive $30,000 to provide services to at-risk seniors.

She continued by explaining the current level of funding does not allow the agency to provide anything more than intervention and case management.

In addition to the new allocation amount, the agency also applied for and received a capacity building grant for $13,450.

Sorrell said the new money will allow the agency to provide more services. “It will allow us to create an assessment tool to assist in identifying the needs of the senior, to purchase items that will increase the ability of the senior to remain comfortably in the home such as incontinence supplies, pill sorters, blankets, fans, etc., and to support the Probate Court in providing a guardianship program for those seniors who need legal assistance with their financial and other affairs.”

The agency has begun work on the next part of the one-time funding assist for $50,000. Currently they have already completed the first two steps according to Sorrell, who said they have already received $20,000 for completing the first two steps. The agency is now in the process of working with community partners and is preparing to complete the final two steps to receive the remaining money.

“This is very exciting,” Sorrell said. “We are looking forward to providing more intervention and support to our seniors.”