Governor Authorizes Measure Strengthening Guardian Oversight To Protect Vulnerable Adults In New Mexico

Submitted by Carol A. Clark

 

STATE News:

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday signed into law extensive guardianship reform legislation, creating much-needed oversight of legal guardians and conservators that control medical, financial, residential and other major life decisions of more than 6,000 New Mexicans who are aging or living with disabilities.

Inadequate oversight of guardianship and conservatorship cases have left many of the most at-risk adults in this state susceptible to abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Sponsored by Rep. Marian Matthews and co-sponsored by Rep. Joanne Ferrary, Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, Sen. Linda Lopez and Sen. Katy Duhigg, House Bill 234 establishes a court visitor pilot project, a partnership between the courts and the Developmental Disabilities Council’s Office of Guardianship to provide eyes and ears on the ground for judges to monitor guardianship cases.

The goal of the pilot project is to build a program that will allow judges to assign volunteer court visitors to meet with and submit a report about every person under guardianship in New Mexico at least once a year.

The bill also establishes the Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders program, or WINGS, based on a national model that studies and implements best practices in guardianship and alternatives to guardianship.

“This legislation will help ensure that our guardianship system provides adults with the least restrictive alternatives to managing and living their lives,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said. “We must commit to the ongoing work of reforming and evolving beyond guardianship. Through the WINGS program, we will bring to New Mexico the most innovative ideas from around the country on how to best protect the rights of people who are subject to guardianship and ensure that they and their families have a voice.”

House Bill 234 requires the Office of Guardianship, Administrative Office of the Courts and Office of the State Auditor to oversee and monitor guardians and conservators in meaningful ways. Specifically, the bill requires the Office of Guardianship to conduct annual comprehensive reviews of state-funded guardianship services, as well as welfare visits of protected persons receiving those services.

Additionally, the bill requires the Administrative Office of the Courts to establish a guardianship annual report review division and authorizes the Office of the State Auditor to review annual conservator’s reports, access financial records in conservatorship cases, and conduct full audits, if necessary.

“For too long, the guardianship system in New Mexico has been paternalistic, overly restrictive, and unexamined,” said Executive Director Alice Liu McCoy of the New Mexico Developmental Disabilities Council. “HB 234 will hold everyone in the guardianship system accountable – which include not only guardians and conservators, but legal professionals, state agencies, and the courts. Most importantly, it requires everyone in the guardianship system to continually seek the least restrictive options to meet the protected person’s needs.”

The bill requires the Office of Guardianship to publish an annual report about publicly funded guardianship services in New Mexico, which will increase transparency and support evidence-based policy recommendations to improve the guardianship system. The bill also requires the head of the Office of Guardianship to be an attorney licensed in New Mexico.

The number of guardianship cases is expected to increase significantly, as pandemic complications arise and the state’s population ages rapidly. The Office of Guardianship’s wait lists have dramatically increased in the past year.

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Governor Authorizes Measure Strengthening Guardian Oversight To Protect Vulnerable Adults In New Mexico

New Hampshire law aims to protect vulnerable elderly

At the request of its securities regulators, New Hampshire has enacted a law that will take effect on Sept. 8, intended to protect vulnerable adults from financial exploitation.

The law will allow registered representatives and investment advisers to delay a disbursement of funds from an investment account for a limited time if they reasonably believe it could result in the financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

The state's Bureau of Securities Regulation said New Hampshire law defines "vulnerable" to mean that the "physical, mental, or emotional ability of a person is such that he or she cannot manage personal, home, or financial affairs in his or her best interest, or that he or she cannot act or cannot delegate responsibility to a responsible caretaker or caregiver."

Regulators said that if an investment firm or its representative delays the disbursement of client funds due to a reasonable suspicion of financial exploitation, the firm or individual must follow certain procedures. This includes notifying the Bureau, notifying affected parties (except for parties believed to have engaged in the exploitation), and reviewing the proposed disbursement.

"With New Hampshire having the second oldest average age in the country and with the increasing numbers of baby boomers approaching or in retirement, it is particularly important to protect an aging population," said Barry Glennon, the state's head securities regulator.

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New Hampshire law aims to protect vulnerable elderly

Ombudsman program gives protection to vulnerable adults

Residents of nursing facilities, long-term care facilities and residential homes for the aged have rights, but a question arises of whom to contact when residents or their families feel those rights have been violated.

Thomas Kahler, long-term care ombudsman with East Tennessee Human Resources Agency (ETHRA), will discuss issues surrounding this topic at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 18, at Everett Senior Center in Maryville as well as other information, such as help provided with Medicare/Tenncare, admissions, medications, abuse, transfers, privacy, food, care, discharge and activities. The program is hosted by Blount County ElderWatch.

Kahler, who was named District 2 long-term care ombudsman July 1, 2017, said, “I am an advocate for residents and residents’ rights in nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and residential homes for the aged – licensed care facilities – in 16 counties. There are 128 of them in the 16 counties.”

These 128 facilities house more than 11,000 residents. An average of 100 or more complaints, concerns or consultations are received per month. These are discovered directly from visits to the facilities, calls from a concerned resident, family member or other responsible party, or from individuals reporting anonymously through various organizations.

Human dignity

“Primarily, I work to identify issues or complaints that residents may have,” Kahler said. “I investigate and work to resolve those complaints with the resident, with their consent, to approach the facility, the staff, and work through problems, or if the resident needs me to be their advocate, I will speak for them directly. My objective is to ensure they have the highest quality of care, which I feel equates into a quality of life and just basic human dignity.”

His duties also include acting on behalf of residents to ensure their stay is as pleasant and home-like as possible and providing assistance to family and resident councils to enable them to advocate for change.

With such a large district to serve, Kahler is charged with recruiting, training and certifying volunteer ombudsmen. “These are people in the community who have an interest in serving as a volunteer at local nursing facilities. The benefit of that is that they can spend a little more time in a facility than I can physically manage,” he said.

Kahler also works with other agencies, including the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Adult Protective Services, Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and law enforcement to ensure that residents are protected and receive the best possible care.

Cases

Kahler’s presentation will include a wealth of information about the ombudsman program, how it arose, who is eligible to receive the services, details of services offered and upcoming legislation to address the needs of older Americans. He will also speak about elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation, what these may entail, how to recognize red flags and how to prevent your loved one from becoming a victim.

“Tennessee is a mandatory reporting state,” he said. “Both males and females are affected — there is no one typical victim. It can affect anyone in a long-term care facility. It can seem somewhat benign or it can be very egregious.”

Kahler gave examples of some of the issues he has helped residents resolve, from severe cases of abuse and neglect to making sure they are bathed regularly, receive assistance in eating, and are free of restraints, both physical and chemical. In one case, he was able to speak with staff and administrators at a facility and work out a solution for a resident whose room was at the end of a hall, who told him her food was delivered last and was always cold.

“It’s always something different,” he said.

If a resident or someone concerned with the resident’s welfare has a question or sees a problem, Kahler urges them to contact him. “I will work to resolve issues in the best way we can,” he said.

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Ombudsman program gives protection to vulnerable adults