The measure, which seeks to ease the strain by ensuring that more relatives take on guardianship roles, won unanimous approval from the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, without any changes.
The bill goes next to the full Senate. The House approved it by a vote of 79-3 early this month.
It comes as the state struggles with growing caseloads of people who become wards of the state. The state is currently guardian for 4,448 wards, said Tim Feeley, deputy secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
“We have a system where our guardianship program continues to grow and grow and grow, and we can’t keep up with it,” he told the committee.
State guardians are juggling caseloads of 65 to 70 wards apiece, about three times more than that recommended by national guidelines, Feeley said.
Under the current system, when families are fighting over who will serve as a relative’s guardian, judges sometimes resolve the matter by appointing the state as guardian, the bill’s supporters said.
Under the bill, judges would have to determine that “exceptional circumstances” exist to appoint the state as guardian.
The bill “makes the family have to work it out,” said main sponsor Republican Rep. Daniel Elliott of Danville.
Unlike some neighboring states, Kentucky has no cap on the number of wards in its public guardianship program, and Feeley spoke against imposing such limits.
“I don’t think a cap is the right idea, because there’s always one more case that we need,” he said.
Much of the discussion in committee focused on another provision, which would allow jury trials to be waived in guardianship matters when all participants consent to a judge deciding the case.
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Bill to update guardianship laws clears Senate panel
I am glad every time I see a state take on guardianship abuse.
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