By Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

HARRISBURG — The Shapiro administration has delayed implementing new contracts with local agencies responsible for keeping vulnerable older adults safe from abuse and neglect — agreements that a top official previously said would include tougher accountability measures for those that fail to improve.

Earlier this year, Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich told Spotlight PA that he intended to add clearer and stricter language into renewed agreements with the 52 county agencies. A Spotlight PA investigation over the past year has revealed significant and persistent failures in Pennsylvania’s older adult protective services system, some of which have led to devastating or catastrophic outcomes.

The department’s five-year contracts with the counties ex

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