Guardianship... Yet Another Hall of Fame Member

From The Elder Abuse Reform Now Project and the Silver Standard News
by Marcia Southwick

MEET JUDITH WIDENER:

Judith has the dubious honor of having been inducted into The Boomers Against Elder Abuse Guardianship Hall of Shame in 2013.

Judith had 660 or more cases during her 17 years as a conservator in Nebraska.

At the time of her arrest, Judith was in charge of 216 wards spread out over 36 counties all over the state.

So how did she manage to visit all of her wards in far-off corners of the state? Who on earth would allow one guardian to handle 216 wards at a time? We are talking about 216 people who have had their fundamental rights and life savings taken away and have been put under the complete charge and control of Judith Widener.

To put this in perspective, imagine someone taking care of 216 dogs. Would not that person land in jail for abuse, negligence, or hoarding? Yet, Judith Widener was given control of 216 human beings with literally no oversight. Apparently, in Nebraska, it is perfectly acceptable to neglect and abuse elders, and others, rendered powerless by the court—human beings who can’t fight back and then use the bank accounts of those human beings for your self-benefit.

Wards of the state are people who have lost all rights and all power of choice to make any decision concerning their own life—even when it comes to choosing the people who can visit them.

A ward is person denied the right to drive a car—denied the right to carry their own personal ID or to even leave a facility without the guardian’s permission.

No one is more vulnerable than a ward of the court.

A ward no longer has equal rights in the eyes of the law.

A ward is even prohibited from signing a contract to hire an attorney to protect themselves.

The charges against Widener involved thefts, uncovered by State Auditor Mike Foley as part of an audit of the state Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled program. His staff audited a sample of the accounts connected with Widener’s business, Safe Haven. At that time, Widener controlled 40 bank accounts that held more than $600,000. Mind you, these are only samples of a few cases-- not the final figures.

Widener also allegedly accepted funds on behalf of wards who were no longer living, double-billed for services, and used funds belonging to wards to make personal payments on credit cards and for phone and television services to her home. She had also written checks from guardianship accounts for birthday and Christmas gifts to herself.

Judith Widener was sentenced to only 180 days in jail and instructed to pay restitution.

Full Article & Source:
Guardianship... Yet Another Hall of Fame Member

See Also:
The Elder Abuse Reform Now Project (The EARN Project)
Watch the documentary, "The Unforgivable Truth"