The Comprehensive Agency Performance Evaluation, or CAPE, is part of the Department’s work to increase accountability for and transparency of services that protect and help older adults
Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Aging today announced the rollout of the agency’s new Comprehensive Agency Performance Evaluation, or CAPE, an innovative tool designed to boost transparency and accountability of Pennsylvania’s Area Agency on Aging (AAA) network that provides a host of services to older adults. In April, the Department will begin publicly posting performance results on its website for the first batch of AAAs to be monitored under CAPE, with more AAA performance results regularly added. After nearly two years of work, the public will be able to see for the first time how well their local AAA is performing in major program areas, such as investigative activities related to suspected elder abuse and helping older adults at home with tasks of daily living.
“Since arriving at the Department of Aging 25 months ago, one of the Shapiro Administration’s top priorities has been to modernize how we oversee AAA performance at the local level and make those results easily available to the public,” said Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich. “The completion of CAPE – the first major overhaul and upgrade of the department’s monitoring system in decades – is a huge achievement and monumental leap forward for this agency. We are transforming our ability to evaluate and improve services for older Pennsylvanians.”
Implemented with an initial group of four AAAs in January 2025 following a 2024 pilot program, CAPE transforms the Department’s prior monitoring approach into a more holistic philosophy, where each of the 52 AAAs is evaluated for different performance metrics during a singular monitoring review.
Performance evaluations will include things like:
- Older Adult Protective Services (documentation requirements, data management, administrative oversight, risk mitigation and safety, and investigative activities)
- OPTIONS (help at home) and the Caregiver Support Program (documentation requirements, data management, administrative oversight, care management, program eligibility, and policy and fiscal operations)
Multiple measures feed into each category score; results of CAPE will be routinely posted to the Department’s website, with clearly defined, simple key categories for each AAA.
Earlier today, the Department of Aging unveiled details of the new monitoring system – the result of 22 months of work – to the legislature in a public hearing. In April, the Department will begin posting the performance results of the new system on its website. A sample of how the performance measures will look can be viewed here, along with other relevant key AAA performance data that the Department has already begun posting, including the timeliness of required face-to-face visits after a report of suspected abuse is received, and quarterly snapshots of AAA program enrollment and waiting lists.
AARP Pennsylvania and AAA leaders across the Commonwealth applauded the Department’s leadership in modernizing older adult protective services.
“For nearly a decade, advocates for the rapidly growing number of Pennsylvanians 60 and over, have advised policy makers that better statewide planning, coordination, and innovation are needed to ensure that the Commonwealth’s aging network is delivering effective programs and quality services ranging from protective, caregiver support, and home- and community-based services,” said AARP Pennsylvania State Advocacy Director Teresa Osborne. “The importance of these aging programs and services are critical at this time in Pennsylvania, and the steps that the Shapiro Administration are taking to create and deliver a consistent, system-wide monitoring and evaluation standard are needed, necessary and appreciated.”
“We are proud of the work we do every day to help older adults live safely and independently, and we are proud to have participated in the intensive pilot process that was deployed to develop and refine CAPE,” said PA Association of Area Agencies on Aging executive director Rebecca May-Cole. “We look forward to the opportunities this new system will present for us to understand all aspects of our performance and strive for excellence.”
Cumberland County Area Agency on Aging director Annie Huff, who previously worked in protective services monitoring at Aging, welcomed the new system, calling the previous monitoring approach “subjective, based off each individual’s monitoring experience rather than standard measurements, and one of the programs that most needed to evolve. This is good news for the Department’s ability to monitor AAA performance consistently and accurately.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Aging works with a network of 52 AAAs to deliver services to older adults that help them stay healthy, safe and able to continue thriving in their homes of choice as they age. The Department disburses millions of dollars annually to AAAs to fund these services, and one of the Department’s most important responsibilities is to monitor the performance of each AAA to make sure they are meeting performance standards. However, the Department’s system for doing so has previously been fragmented, inconsistently scheduled, and did not focus on objective measures.
Under the new system, the Department will continue to monitor AAA data and performance monthly; in addition, each AAA will be comprehensively monitored on a consistent schedule, with regular communications in-between those monitorings to discuss the outcomes, ensure that they are taking steps toward any needed performance improvement and provide additional training and technical assistance as needed.
“Monitoring is just one component of what we have envisioned and engineered to be a continual flow of communication toward strengthening accountability and performance,” said Sec. Kavulich. “The system has been developed both to help the AAAs identify problems and strive for excellence, while setting objective measurements and impactful sanction procedures if that doesn’t happen.”
The new system is part of the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of Pennsylvania’s rapidly growing older adult population and making certain the Commonwealth remains a place where they can thrive in their golden years. In 2023, Governor Josh Shapiro directed the Department of Aging to produce a 10-year strategic road map to meet the needs of older adults, called Aging Our Way, PA, while his 2025-26 budget proposal includes $2 million to increase accountability and oversight of the AAA network, and a $20 million investment for those AAAs so they can continue to provide key services to older adults.
Work on CAPE began in the spring of 2023. This included tool development, testing, stakeholder engagement and a pilot program with five of the AAAs. CAPE was piloted during calendar year 2024 before being finalized. The core group who made CAPE a reality worked intensively to ensure that this piloting produced useful, actionable information within a compressed timeframe.
“The completion of this hugely complex and important Department project is a true case study of Governor Shapiro and the Administration’s commitment to “Getting Stuff Done” for the people of the Commonwealth,” said Sec. Kavulich. “It is also a prime example of the Administration’s commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of Pennsylvania’s rapidly growing older adult population. For years, stakeholders and the media have called for greater transparency of this Department. Finally, under this new administration, this Department is getting the attention and resources to modernize and perform at the level our older adults deserve.”