WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — There are very few things that receive unanimous support in politics, but guardianship reform was one of those issues this past legislative session.
Without a single vote cast in opposition, a bill to create a statewide guardianship database passed the Florida House and Senate, and awaits Governor DeSantis' signature.
"We need to protect the vulnerable citizens who are under guardianship in the state of Florida, and without the proper data, we can't do that," said Ken Burke, chair of the statewide Guardianship Improvement Task Force and Pinellas County Clerk of Courts. "This is a big step in helping make that happen, and I think the Governor will be aligned with that step."
Since last year, the statewide task force has been studying problems in Florida's guardianship system, and making recommendations for improvement.
Citing several CBS12 News I-Team stories, the Task Force submitted 10
recommendations to the Florida Legislature to help crack down on abuse
and fraud.
As the I-Team reported last year, there is currently no way to track guardianship cases in the state, and no reliable data to show how many guardians there are, how many wards they have, and how much money they control.
Without proper oversight, advocates say, bad actors in the system can operate undetected and steal money from the people they are being paid to protect.
This year, State Rep. Linda Chaney, R-St. Petersburg, submitted HB 1349 to create such a database. If it becomes law, Florida will have that system up and running by July 2023.
"That was our top priority to establish a database that would have information on how many guardianships are active in the state of Florida, what type of guardianships there are to get basic information and make changes in the future," Burke said.
HB 1349 wasn't the only guardianship bill lawmakers considered this session.
Representative Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, submitted HB 1207, a bill that would ask judges to consider Supported Decision Making instead of guardianship for people with developmental disabilities.
The bill received unanimous support in its first committee, but stalled after that.
Lawmakers heard the story of Michael Lincoln McCreight, a Port St. Lucie man CBS12 News profiled last year who successfully ended his guardianship with Supported Decision Making. Instead of having someone else control every aspect of his life, he has a team of trusted adults to help him make certain decisions.
McCreight has become a champion for other people with developmental disabilities, and an advocate for this Supported Decision Making bill. He told CBS12 News advocates will continue to push for this legislation in future sessions.
For now, Burke says he is satisfied with the progress that the Task Force and legislature have made in addressing guardianship abuse. He hopes the momentum continues.
"I use this old expression I borrowed from someone else," Burke said. "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. We took a big bite this year with establishing a database bill and we have to keep taking bites in the future."
CBS12 News asked
Governor DeSantis' office he intends to sign the guardianship database
legislation. Press Secretary Christina Pushaw said he has not yet
received the bill from the legislature, and once he does, he has 15 days
to act.
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