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Elder Links & Abuse Notification

The purpose of the Elder-Links Project is to provide a safety net for elders who are in need of non emergency services that Fire-Rescue does not provide (examples: in home health care, in home food services, in home house keeping, transportation for doctor visits, etc).

A service gap arises when Fire-Rescue representatives detect needed services, which they themselves cannot provide to the elders. Under the Elder-Links Project, emergency service providers would have an avenue to refer elders to an appropriate community-based service agency within the aging network.

The primary objective in providing these services is to team the elder in need with a service agency to maximize the elder’s independence, which allows them to remain in the community and in their own homes. Special consideration is given to frail older persons and those in greatest social and economic needs.


It is the intent of the Protective Service Act, Florida State Statute Chapter 415, to provide for the detection and correction of abuse, neglect and exploitation through social services and criminal investigations, and to establish a program of protective services for all children, aged persons and disabled adults in need of these services. Chapter 415 requires reporting of suspicions of abuse, neglect or exploitation by all community professionals. Under this Act emergency service providers refer suspected victims to the Florida Abuse Hotline.

The Florida Abuse Hotline, under the direction of Chapter 415, was developed to protect children, disabled adults and aged persons from abuse, neglect, threatened harm and exploitation by providing necessary services and/or conducting investigations.