By Emily Hoerner and Christy Gutowski
A bill aimed at strengthening protections for vulnerable adults under
guardianship gained approval from Illinois lawmakers six months after a
Tribune investigation revealed troubling consequences of area hospitals’ use of guardianship.
If signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker, the legislation will create a
number of additional oversight mechanisms for hospitals and other
parties that request guardianship for an adult with whom they have no
personal relationship, as well as for private professional guardians.
Guardianship is a life-altering and often permanent legal process
that strips disabled adults of control over their life decisions. Under
the new legislation, institutions that petition for guardianship and
recommend a private guardian will be required to provide information to
the court describing their “efforts to contact the (person’s) nearest
relatives.” They would also need to notify the county public guardian of
the case.
The bill also encourages private professional guardians to meet with
the allegedly disabled adult prior to being appointed to the case or as
soon as is feasible. An earlier version of the bill had required that such guardians attest in court that they had met with and assessed the adult prior to their appointment.
The Tribune’s investigation last year found that area hospitals filed guardianship petitions
on behalf of patients hundreds of times during an 18-month period. The
reporting revealed that the hospitals’ use of guardianship often eased
the way to discharge patients to subpar nursing homes and sometimes
stripped family members of the ability to make decisions for their loved
ones. Tribune reporters spoke with several family members or close
friends of patients who said they were taken by surprise when a hospital
filed for guardianship, recommending that someone else make decisions
for their loved one.
While most of the patients placed under guardianship had limited
financial assets and were represented by the Office of the State
Guardian, the Tribune found that patients with financial assets like a
home or savings were often placed under the care of the same private
guardianship organization. In several instances, the Tribune found, the
private guardian and its lawyers billed the former hospital patients for
thousands of dollars in fees on top of hefty nursing home costs,
quickly draining lifelong savings.
Other guardrails in the bill include naming an individual on the
guardianship petition instead of an organization, requiring
certification of all staff working in guardian roles at private
guardianship organizations, and periodic background checks of those
employees.
Private guardians will also be required to notify the court at least
60 days prior that they are planning to refer the disabled adult under
their care to the state or county guardian, and to estimate as part of
the budgeting process how much longer the disabled adult can afford
their fees and services before their estate is depleted. They also need
to notify the court if the disabled adult’s home would be required to be
sold to pay for continued services within the next 36 months.
Two prior bills that aimed to address the steep costs charged by
private professional guardians and their lawyers in guardianship cases
initiated by hospitals, nursing homes and similar institutions faced
staunch opposition because they barred private guardians from being
appointed. The recent bill still allows for the appointment of private
guardianship organizations in those cases.
Although the final version of the bill includes several compromises
from the original language, Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert,
who along with AARP Illinois helped champion the bill, said it still
represents real progress in safeguarding the rights of vulnerable
adults.
Golbert, whose staff oversees the cases of more than 600 adults under
guardianship, said face-to-face meetings are standard practice in his
office prior to appointment and are crucial to properly assessing the
person’s needs. He said more than 20% of all cases in his office involve
people under a limited guardianship that allows the person some control
over their life. In the Tribune’s 18-month review, only seven of the
hospital-initiated guardianships, or roughly 2%, were limited in nature.
“I think all guardians should be seeing and evaluating their people
before they’re appointed,” Golbert said. “I think that’s key to
preventing unnecessary guardianships and from preventing a full
guardianship when the person might only need a limited or a temporary
guardianship.
“But the bill still does a lot. I still support it.”
State Sen. Michael Halpin, a Rockford Democrat and one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a news release
citing the Tribune’s investigation: “This kind of abuse taking place in
Illinois is unacceptable. When our most vulnerable are put in the care
of a stranger we have to guarantee that individual’s safety and
financial security.”
In an emailed statement, AARP Illinois State Director Philippe
Largent said the AARP worked with Halpin and another sponsor, Rep. Marti
Deuter, in collaboration with “aging, hospital, and guardianship
advocates to pass a meaningful measure that helps protect older adults,
caregivers, and all Illinoisans” who are involved in private
guardianships.
“This bill reflects a strong commitment to improving lives,
strengthening accountability, and ensuring greater protections for
vulnerable individuals across our state,” Largent said.
A spokesperson for Pritzker’s office said in a written statement that
state agencies were “heavily involved in negotiations” around the bill
and its passage. The spokesperson did not confirm whether the governor
intends to sign the bill into law, stating “the Governor will carefully
review everything that comes across his desk.”
Full Article & Source:
New safeguards approved for Illinois hospitals’ adult guardianship cases
