Mackenzie Garton, a former ward of the state in Missouri, shares her story of independence after more than 13 years under public guardianship.
by Matt Flener
MARSHFIELD, Mo. — Mackenzie Garton used a small applicator at her dining room table last month, picking up tiny pieces of diamond art to create a picture of a wolf. The do-it-yourself craft project — a mix between cross-stitch and paint by numbers — takes perseverance and determination.
Garton recently started the hobby to help her patience and mental health after years of guardianship in Missouri.
“I gotta get them on the end of this pencil,” she said, as she picked up a magnifying glass to see.
Asked if she could have done a similar project a few years ago while a ward of the state in group homes, she said, “No probably not. I didn’t take the time.”
Garton, who lives in a small apartment in Marshfield, Missouri, has gained several skills since living independently for the past couple of years.
"Sometimes it wasn't easy," Garton said. "Just because I have a mental illness, and just because I was on guardianship, doesn't mean I was evil, or I wasn't a human being."
Garton attends a day program. She has counseling, medicine and a support team. She still needs help with her finances.
Danielle Boggs, the county’s public administrator, remains her conservator to help with budgeting and spending.
But Boggs believed Garton could manage life on her own, away from group homes. She encouraged Garton to seek a medical opinion in 2023, leading to a judge’s decision to restore her right to live independently.
"I give praise to Danielle a lot. I really do. She has been there for me through all of it," Garton said. "I would say my years of guardianship was awesome, really."
Restoration and risks under public guardianship
Garton is one of tens of thousands of people who have interacted with Missouri's public guardianship system since the turn of the 20th century.
People like Garton in Missouri are often referred to public administrators, elected or appointed officials, to act as court-appointed guardians when a judge decides family or friends can no longer care for them.
Garton contacted KMBC 9 Investigates after Boggs told her about KMBC’s investigation called Paper Prisons. KMBC is exploring ways to systemically improve the care of those under guardianship by telling stories of people struggling to navigate a tangled system of legal paperwork, medical records, and court orders. KMBC is also seeking answers, perspective, and context from those in charge of keeping wards of the state in their care for their recommendations on how to improve the system.
"I see it is something much different than a Paper Prison,” Boggs said. “I see it as someone needs help and there's a resource connector put into place to help connect them to those resources."
Boggs let Garton speak for herself to respect her privacy but did speak to KMBC about her work as public administrator. She has around 100 people in her caseload and is the former president of the Missouri Association of Public Administrators.
"When people realize we're all interconnected and we all need to rely on different people at different times to help us with different things in our lives, that's what makes restoration so beautiful," Boggs said.
Public administrators ask for help to take care of wards better
Still, Boggs believes Missouri's public guardians and wards need more help from state lawmakers.
A 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report highlighted how Missouri "unnecessarily institutionalizes" people inside nursing homes. Boggs said those facilities are often the only places available to send people who need highly specialized help.
“It's something that public administrators have said for a long time,” she said. “We don't have anything else. The state does not provide any high-level structured setting for people to have oversight, counseling, medication management.”
Boggs believes the state needs to add capacity for highly structured behavioral health settings with Department of Mental Health involvement and counseling.
She also emphasized those facilities must not solely focus on medication management but life skills training, counseling and things that can help them reintegrate once they get to a lower level of care.
“But in the meantime, there's nowhere else for these individuals to be placed in our current system,” she said.
Boggs also spoke to KMBC last year as part of a leadership group with the Missouri Association of Public Administrators. She emphasized more education is needed about the role of guardians and said issues within Missouri’s public guardianship system should not be attributed solely to public administrators.
Private guardians, multiple state agencies and courts all have a role to play, they said.
Meanwhile, KMBC has fielded calls, letters and emails from multiple wards of the state across Missouri asking to share their stories about being trapped in that system. KMBC continues to investigate their claims, seeking accountability and insight from public officials, judges and attorneys in charge of their care.
Garton, meanwhile, is grateful for her time in guardianship, believing it was important for her to set her life on the right path.
“It wasn't all easy,” she said. “That's what I had to do is take responsibility and, and own up to my own actions, and take care of things for myself.”
If you know of someone going through struggles with Missouri’s public guardianship system, or if you have a case to highlight that exposes solutions for Missouri’s public guardianship system that could teach lessons to others, please email investigates@kmbc.com.
Full Article & Source:
Missouri woman shares journey of restoration from public guardianship
See Also:
Paper Prisons: Missouri woman seeking release from public guardianship
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