Guardian Bill Will Help Nebraska's Less Fortunate

The Nebraska Legislature is on the verge of rectifying a situation that has jeopardized some of the state's most vulnerable residents for too long.

LB920 has reached final reading and would create the Office of Public Guardian. This office would give legal guardianship for elderly and disabled residents who lack other options.

Nebraska is the only state without a guardianship office. Many would hope that such a government office wouldn't be needed. That families or friends would serve as guardians for people unable to make decisions for themselves.

Unfortunately, that's not how it is in society today. Families are often spread throughout the country. In some cases, there may not be any close family. Friends often aren't willing to take on the responsibility.

"Nebraskans take care of their own," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln. "But as the last state, what we're going to find is a growing need (for volunteers) and a diminished capacity."

What the state has found, unfortunately, is that the current system left the courts no choice but to appoint guardians from private services who had no connection to the person and were doing it for profit.

For example, Judith Widener of Scottsbluff was named guardian for 688 people in 60 counties. Providing the needed attention to these 688 cases was impossible. In fact, Widener appears to have been taking advantage of the system and has been charged with embezzling $600,000 from her clients.

LB920 would help rectify this with oversight of the state's guardian system. In the new office would be a director, deputy public guardian and up to 12 associate guardians. Of course, these 14 people couldn't handle all of the cases in the state. But they would provide education, training and support to current and future guardians. They also would serve as guardians when no one else could be found.

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Guardian bill will help state's less fortunate