How to report elder abuse or neglect in Dallas County, Texas: when to call Adult Protective Services, HHSC facility intake, the ombudsman, or 911.
By Dallas Senior Advisor Care Team · October 12, 2026
When a daughter in Plano or a son in Frisco starts to suspect that something is wrong with a parent's care in Dallas County, the first obstacle is rarely a lack of concern. It is the question of who to call. Texas splits the work of protecting older adults across several offices, and the correct one depends on a single fact: where the older person lives. If your mother lives in her own house in Lake Highlands, her sister's duplex in Oak Cliff, or an apartment in Vickery Meadow, the report goes to Texas Adult Protective Services (APS), which investigates abuse, neglect, and exploitation of adults aged 65 and older, and of adults with disabilities, in their own homes. If she lives in a licensed assisted living facility or a nursing facility, the report goes to a different intake line run by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), Long-Term Care Regulation. Calling the wrong office is not a disaster, because staff will usually redirect you, but it can cost a day that matters.
The distinction also explains why families in a sprawling four-county metro lose time. A grandson who lives in McKinney may be watching his grandmother's decline in Oak Cliff from a screen, and the 45-minute drive on US-75 and I-35E makes it easy to postpone a visit and a call. This guide is meant to shorten the decision. It explains which office takes which kind of report, what you should have ready before dialing, what happens afterward, and how the Texas Long-Term Care Ombudsman and Dallas-area agencies fit alongside the formal investigators. It is general information, not legal advice, and in any situation where someone is in immediate danger the first call is always 911.
Texas Adult Protective Services is the state's investigative arm for adults who are being abused, neglected, or financially exploited in a home setting, and its intake line is 1-800-252-5400, staffed around the clock. You can also report online through the Texas Abuse Hotline website. APS handles physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect by a caregiver, self-neglect where an older adult cannot meet basic needs for food, medicine, or safe shelter, and financial exploitation. Self-neglect surprises many families: an APS caseworker can open a case on a parent who is not being mistreated by anyone but is living in unsafe conditions, perhaps a widow in a pre-1980 Garland ranch house with no working air conditioning in August, or a veteran in Pleasant Grove who has stopped eating regularly. That caseworker can arrange services that keep the person at home.
Texas law does something many people do not expect: it makes reporting a duty rather than an option. Under the Human Resources Code, any person who has cause to believe that an elderly person or person with a disability is being abused, neglected, or exploited must report it, and a person who fails to do so can face criminal penalties. In practice, that means a neighbor, a church member, a home health aide, or an adult child cannot rest on the assumption that someone else will call. A good-faith report is protected from civil and criminal liability, and your name can be kept confidential from the person reported. You do not need proof. You need a reasonable basis for concern, and investigators exist to establish the facts, so describe what you saw rather than what you conclude.
Be aware of what APS does not do. APS can investigate and connect an older adult with services such as the Dallas Area Agency on Aging, operated by The Senior Source, but it cannot force a competent adult to accept help. If your father has the capacity to refuse and does, the case may close with his consent respected. That is a legitimate outcome, and it is often the moment families begin to look at powers of attorney, guardianship alternatives, or a move into care.
If your parent lives in a licensed assisted living facility or nursing facility, the roadmap changes. Texas licenses assisted living under Health and Safety Code Chapter 247 and 26 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 553, and nursing facilities under Chapter 242. Complaints and incident reports about those licensed settings go to HHSC Complaint and Incident Intake, which routes them to surveyors in Long-Term Care Regulation. Reports can cover abuse, neglect, exploitation, unsafe staffing, medication errors, resident rights violations, and failure to follow the care plan. The detail families most often get wrong is assuming the facility's administrator is the only recourse. You have the right to file directly with the state, and a facility is not permitted to retaliate against a resident or family for doing so.
The type of license also affects what you should look for. A Type B assisted living facility, where residents need staff help to evacuate and where most Texas memory care sits, carries heavier staffing and care obligations than a Type A community. If your mother in a Type B facility in Far North Dallas has had three unexplained falls this month, that pattern is worth putting in writing. Before you call, you can look up the facility's inspection and citation history using the HHSC Long-Term Care Provider Search and, for nursing homes, Medicare Care Compare. Seeing a repeat citation for supervision or medication handling will help you frame your complaint, though a clean record never means a new concern is unfounded.
One practical point for Dallas families: if the older adult is in a hospital rather than a home or a facility, such as Parkland Health, Baylor University Medical Center, or Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas, the hospital social worker or case manager can make an APS referral on your behalf. Ask for them by name and ask whether a referral has been made.
Not every worry rises to a formal abuse report, and that is where the Texas Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program earns its place. Ombudsmen, trained staff and volunteers connected to the area agencies on aging, visit residents of assisted living and nursing facilities, listen to complaints, and advocate for residents' preferences. They work for the resident, not the facility, and with the resident's permission they can raise an issue directly with administrators. In Dallas County, the ombudsman presence comes through the Dallas Area Agency on Aging and The Senior Source. For Collin, Denton, and Rockwall counties, the contact runs through the Area Agency on Aging of North Central Texas at NCTCOG, and Tarrant County, including Arlington, has its own Area Agency on Aging.
For families who are unsure which door to open, Texas 2-1-1 and the HHSC Aging and Disability Resource Center can point you toward the right office. Think of it as a ladder. For a rude aide, a cold dinner, or a call light that goes unanswered for twenty minutes, the ombudsman and the facility's grievance process are a sensible first step. For an unexplained bruise, a resident found outside the building, a missing medication, or an unexplained withdrawal from a bank account, go straight to APS or HHSC intake, and to 911 if a person is in danger or a crime is in progress.
Before you call, gather the facts you can without putting yourself or your parent at risk. Useful details include the person's full name, age, and exact address, the facility name and room number if applicable, the dates and times of what you saw, the names of staff or caregivers involved, a description of injuries or conditions, and the names of other witnesses. Photographs of visible injuries taken openly and with the person's consent, copies of suspicious bank statements, and a short dated log of your observations can all help. Do not confront a suspected abuser, and do not try to investigate financial records you are not authorized to access. Leave that to APS, the bank's fraud unit, or law enforcement, such as the Dallas Police Department or the county sheriff.
After a report, APS typically assigns a priority based on risk and then sends a caseworker, and reports involving imminent danger are handled most quickly. HHSC surveyors for facility complaints likewise prioritize by severity, and an on-site investigation may follow. You may not receive full details of the outcome, because privacy rules limit what investigators can share, but you can ask whether a report was accepted and assigned. Meanwhile, keep visiting at varied times of day, stay in contact with your parent privately where possible, and think about whether a safer placement or more in-home support is needed. If you believe your parent has been financially exploited, notify the bank, consider a credit freeze, and consult an elder law attorney about powers of attorney.
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