LAS VEGAS (NV) - A Contact 13 investigation has led to long-overdue changes in state law. Abuse and exploitation have run rampant in our adult guardianship system, but protection and oversight are on the way.
It's deadline day in the Nevada Senate and two bills both passed to safeguard older and vulnerable citizens from those who would exploit them.
Court-appointed guardians are supposed to protect those who can't care for themselves.
But, as a recent spate of indictments shows, the so-called protectors often take advantage of vulnerable people for their own personal gain.
Senate Bill 360 increases both civil and criminal accountability in guardianship cases and provides for more prison time for convicted abusers.
It also establishes a bill of rights for people under guardianship.
Senate Bill 433 ensures those protected persons can't be isolated and compels the court to hear cases in short order.
It also makes sure protected persons will have legal representation and authorizes a court to impose fines and order restitution in cases where guardians are guilty of impropriety.
This legislative action comes as the result of a two-year Contact 13 investigation.
After we exposed systemic corruption in the guardianship system and lack of oversight in Clark County Family Court, the Nevada Supreme Court formed a guardianship oversight commission to fix flaws and change laws.
Full Article & Source:
CONTACT 13: New Nevada guardianship laws promise accountability and protection
Showing posts with label guardianship accountability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guardianship accountability. Show all posts
Monday, May 1, 2017
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Guardians Gone Bad?
Imagine yourself reaching the age of 93, you are still healthy and you have wealth, only to become a prisoner of the legal system in your own home. It is a scenario being played out in hundreds if not thousands of Florida homes.
“My mom has the money. Did have the money. She pays nine hundred dollars, a hundred dollars an hour to see her children” says one of three siblings.
Private Guardians are for profit businesses. No one regulates them. Nancy Detert wants to change that.
“They’re in charge of your money, your assets, your health care, your family. So basically, they can take you prisoner and we don’t even have a complaint department” says the Republican Senator.
After the testimony, the sons were denied an Easter visit to their now 93 year old mother. The email claims the sons conduct is brazen and harmful. We asked Detert what the Franks can do.
Q:”What does Mr. Franks do to see his mother without having to pay?”
A:”It’s impossible”
One of the problems is that no independent authority is checking what is true or not true.
Legislation on the move here at the Capitol would regulate all guardians…public and private. And it would set up a way for people to file complaints so people like Doug Franks don’t have to publish pamphlets about their case.
Franks and others who testified say the proposed law is a step in the right direction, but just a small step.
No professional private guardians testified against the legislative changes last week. The number of private guardians has gone from 23 in 2003 to 450 in 2015.
Full Article & Source:
Guardians Gone Bad?
See Also:
Florida Bill, SB1226, Seeks to Stop "Cockroaches" From Preying on the Elderly
Escambia Senior Out $1 Million; Bill Seeks To Stop Predatory ‘Cockroaches’
NASGA: Ernestine Franks, Florida Victim
Monday, June 9, 2014
‘Great first step’ for more accountability in guardianships
Since 1989, Florida’s clerks of the court have been directed by statute to audit guardianship reports and advise the court of their audit findings. However, these audits have been limited in scope, checking only for mathematical accuracy, timely filing and a reconciliation of disbursements to court orders.
Some suggest that Florida has already reached a breaking point for fraud in the state’s court-appointed guardianships, using descriptive words such as “profiteering” and “racketeering.”
The protection of our most vulnerable community members should be one of the highest priorities of public servants. And as keepers of the state’s court records and with the current duty to provide cursory review of annual guardianship reports, the clerks are the logical local governmental entity for uncovering waste, fraud and abuse in court-appointed guardianship cases.
With the passage of this legislation, we have taken a great first step toward more accountability and curbing abuse by those who would hold their own self-interests above the interests of those they are sworn to protect.
In addition to allowing for closer monitoring of guardians’ fiduciary and financial responsibilities to the ward, this legislation will allow clerks throughout Florida to create enhanced guardianship audits in their offices, thereby enhancing the courts’ oversight of guardianship cases.
The legislation also would further codify in statute the relationship between the clerks and the court.
We thank and congratulate Sen. Brandes on his advocacy and hard work this legislative session to pass this good bill, making Florida a leader in protecting its most vulnerable population by giving clerks the authority to implement a consistent and successful enhanced guardianship audit program in their counties.
Karen Rushing, Sarasota County’s clerk of court and comptroller, is the legislative chair for the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers.
Full Article & Source:
‘Great first step’ for more accountability in guardianships
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