Washington is fighting to limit its duty to protect vulnerable adults

At the same time, Adult Protective Services workers say they’re under growing pressure to close investigations quickly.

By: Kelsey Turner

Outlets: InvestigateWest

Published: September 21, 2026

Words: 3,335

Last Updated: 1 month, 2 weeks ago

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Starting in February 2020, investigators with Washington Adult Protective Services responded to nine reports about Raymond Bell, a 71-year-old man with dementia and no nearby family.

Neighbors, bank employees, police, a hospital worker and Bell himself all raised concerns that a woman named Annette Shine — who Bell said moved in with him following her release from prison for bank robbery — could be financially exploiting Bell.

Yet the state agency didn’t protect him from …

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