Frequently Asked Questions

Minnesota has a 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.

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 

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)

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.

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. 

Benton County Prioritization Reasons

• Self-neglect can be resolved and the adult’s health and safety addressed through case management.
• Abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation has stopped; risk of maltreatment reoccurrence is reduced and the adult’s needs, including health and safety, are met through services or supports.
• Adult is deceased at the time of the report.
• Adult is no longer in Minnesota.
• Adult is incarcerated; APS is unable to engage in assessment or service intervention at the time of report.
• Alleged maltreatment will not be addressed by APS based on informed choice.
• Adult Protection lacks the resources for assessment.

Should multiple reports be received at the same time, EPS reports/ reports alleging abuse or neglect will take priority over financial exploitation reports due to the nature of the report involving health and safety. 

Existing agency prioritization guideline that does not match above rationale. 

•  Financial Exploitation – loss to the individual through financial exploitation where there is no visible impact on the care and well-being of the individual.
•  Reports alleging financial exploitation has occurred more than 5 years prior may not be investigated by APS and may be deferred to law enforcement to make an independent decision on whether to pursue a criminal investigation. 

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

updated 6/1/24