The industry’s lobbyists have used the crisis to successfully garner liability protections in 20 states including New York, Illinois, Michigan, Connecticut and Kentucky. According to the Washington Post, this is part of an “agenda to use immunity to evade long-standing liabilities.”
Even with a federal law that now mandates long term care facilities must disclose the number of cases and deaths due to COVID-`19, there are still states that are refusing to release data or have divulged unreliable numbers.
In New York and Michigan, both governors came under fire came under fire for mandating that nursing homes accept COVID-19 patients.
We know that, during the lockdowns, probate and family courts nationwide still heard guardianship/conservatorship cases by phone or Zoom meetings. This was a huge concern for the vulnerable who may not have had access to the technology to attend. Without the proper monitoring of these cases, we do not have a clear idea as to whether guardians and conservators were continuing the practice of moving the elderly out of their homes and into a facility, despite the dangers of doing so.
Today, NASGA reaches out to people across the country to ask for their help while offering some help of our own:
Please take our COVID-19 guardianship survey by clicking: HERE. This six-minute survey is designed only to help us gather data on how guardianships have been dispensed over the past four months and what has happened to wards. Answers will be used for no other purpose than to formulate a study to distribute to the media and lawmakers while assisting where possible on individual cases.
Our full guardianship survey is available HERE. In just 20 minutes, you can help us accomplish the kind of nationwide data collection the lack of which has muddied the waters in terms of understanding the level of guardianship abuse that has and continues to victimize our most vulnerable.
Today, NASGA announces that it has made available documentation gathered by investigative journalist Gretchen Rachel Hammond and her team for the Lisagor Award-nominated series on a massive alleged guardianship abuse ring operating out of Oakland County, Michigan.
These case files offer an insight into the practices employed by four guardians including allegedly fraudulent petitions for guardianship, billing and real estate practices, questionable ward progress and Guardian at Litem reports and heartbreaking letters to the court from the wards themselves. Each folder comes with a brief, explanatory paragraph and each file is highlighted to show questionable behavior.
You can access the files by clicking these links:
*Guardian Accounts:
*Ward Letters to the Court
People nationwide are invited to add to this wealth of information by sharing their own documents and video stories.
Click HERE for details as to how
On this elder abuse day, it is more important than ever to come together, share information and build a movement that neither media nor lawmakers can continue to ignore. Together, we will end the abuse and exploitation of our most vulnerable once and for all!
People nationwide are invited to add to this wealth of information by sharing their own documents and video stories.
Click HERE for details as to how
On this elder abuse day, it is more important than ever to come together, share information and build a movement that neither media nor lawmakers can continue to ignore. Together, we will end the abuse and exploitation of our most vulnerable once and for all!
1 comment:
NASGA does great work. Thank you.
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