National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse: volunteer monitors

Showing posts with label volunteer monitors. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Who Guards the Guardians, Part Four

Last fall, Lubbock County court administrator Cryctal Spradley took another look at the county’s guardianships on her own. She took a sample of 300 cases and asked basic questions, including whether guardians were filing paperwork on time and whether they had posted a bond adequate to their ward’s estate. What she found “shocked the conscience,” she wrote. “Proper case management has been lacking among court and clerk staff,” she wrote, while guardians’ compliance with reporting rules was “abysmal.” One-third of the cases she examined should have been closed because the ward had died or regained capacity, or because they were misfiled. In half the cases, guardians didn’t file annual paperwork. The rate was the same whether the guardian was a family member or a court-appointed professional. In two-thirds of cases, the court — typically [Judge] Head — simply waived the requirement to post a bond on the estate. Such a failure, she notes, “can be, per statute, considered gross neglect.”

Lubbock County Judge Tom Head

Years after its wake-up call, Lubbock County is doing little to protect people it has stripped of their rights. Counties with far fewer guardianships have come up with some oversight. Lubbock’s court visitor program lasted about a year, until 2013. “We were just told that the county decided not to do it anymore,” says Baker, who volunteered as a visitor before starting her own guardianship practice. “That was the only explanation we got.”

Full Article and Source:
Who Guards the Guardians?

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Watching the Guardians: Volunteers sought to protect N.J.'s most vulnerable

Newark - As she digs into each case file, Patricia Nichols opens a window into the life a person who was incapacitated to the point where a legal guardian was appointed to manage their affairs.

Inside the county surrogate's offices in Essex and Hudson counties, Nichols spends several hours each month inputing data from case documents into a statewide database to track guardianships across New Jersey.

With each computer entry, Nichols said she knows the state's most vulnerable citizens are "now going to be part of a monitoring system that's going to take care of them, that's going to do nothing but be good for them."

Nichols said she knows she's "helping somebody somewhere down the road."

An attorney with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, Nichols is one of the roughly 70 volunteers across the state who are participating in the Guardianship Monitoring Program.

But with thousands of guardianship cases to monitor, there is a need for more volunteers to join the program, according to Kristi Robinson, chief, civil practice liaison for the Administrative Office of the Courts.

In recent years, the number of guardianships established annually has increased, going from about 1,900 in 2006 to roughly 2,600 in 2014, Robinson said. The number of guardianships will continue to grow as the elderly population in New Jersey increases in the coming decades, she said.

"We expect that guardianships are going to continue to rise as well and, with that, there's a need to monitor them, because the court recognizes its responsibility to protect those who are most vulnerable," Robinson said.

OPINION: Much to be done in fight against Alzheimer's disease

In New Jersey, incapacitated individuals who receive guardianships include those suffering from mental illnesses and elderly citizens suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Guardians, who control the individuals' assets and make all financial decisions on their behalf, must report annually on the financial status and the general well-being of the individuals. But in some cases, guardians have been caught stealing from the incapacitated individuals.

Under the monitoring program, which was launched in January 2013, volunteers examine documents and input information into the electronic database as part of an effort to ensure guardians are meeting their reporting requirements and handling cases properly.

As volunteers make recommendations for potential follow-ups, judiciary staff members will review cases identified as possibly problematic and then certain cases may ultimately be referred to a judge, Robinson said.

Given how the maintenance of guardianship cases varies from county to county, the database provides a uniform way of monitoring the cases, Robinson said. The database begins with cases where guardianships were established in 2010, she said.

"The volunteers are on the front lines," Robinson said. "In reviewing the reports, they serve as the first eyes and ears."

"Fundamentally our volunteers are those who are really committed to assisting the courts in helping to protect those who cannot protect themselves," she added.

Due to the sheer volume of cases, historically there has been little to no oversight of guardianships, according to some volunteers.

Once a guardianship was approved, "then the file sits in the office of the surrogate," said Alvin Weiss, a program volunteer in Essex County and a former assignment judge in the county.

"Nobody goes back and monitors each of the individual cases," Weiss said. "You're talking (about) thousands of cases."

Now the database can function as a central registry for guardianship cases, allowing officials to identify cases where reports have not been filed and monitor the cases, Weiss said.

With paid staff members focused on their existing tasks, Weiss said volunteers like himself are able to assist with building up the database.

"It's an absolute necessity that you get volunteers...This helps improve the system," Weiss said. "It's a benefit to the public."

For more information on the Guardianship Monitoring Program, go here.

Full Article & Source:
Watching the Guardians: Volunteers sought to protect N.J.'s most vulnerable

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Linda Kincaid Reports: Elder abuse by conservator Scott Phipps: Advocates request volunteer monitors

On October 7, 2014, elder rights advocates in California addressed the Alameda County Board of Supervisors concerning ongoing elder abuse of conservatee Elinor Frerichs. Conservator Scott Phipps of Phisco Fiduciary denies Elinor her most basic civil rights: the right to companionship with friends of her choice and the right to speak for herself in a court of law.

Coalition for Elder & Dependent Adult Rights submitted the following letter to the Board.

Dear Supervisors,

RE: Request for volunteer conservatorship oversight program

We wish to thank this Board for their openness and willingness to discuss the difficult topic of elder abuse within conservatorship. We especially wish to thank Supervisor Miley and his staff for offering to work with us on language for a resolution to honor the rights of elders and dependent adults in Alameda County.

We request the Board consider recommending a volunteer conservatorship monitoring program. The American Bar Association developed manuals and training materials for such a program. New Jersey and several other states established volunteer monitoring programs with excellent results, as well as realizing savings to courts and counties. Los Angeles County had a similar Advocates for Conserved Elders (ACE) program for several years. Attorney Steven Peck said of ACE:

ACE Volunteers help serve as an extra pair of “eyes and ears” for the court in its effort to reduce isolation, loneliness and elder abuse among nearly 9,200 conserved elders in Los Angeles County.

The ACE program is now simplified to a “friendly visitor” program, bringing social interaction to conservatees. The program is managed by the non-profit Wise & Healthy Aging.
https://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/probate/pdf/ACEFactSheet.pdfhttps://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/probate/pdf/ACEFactSheet.pdf

The case of Elinor Frerichs is just one example of the potential for abuse of power as Alameda County’s conservatorship program is now administered. Our October 2, 2014 letter to the Alameda County Court Investigator demonstrated the need for volunteer oversight in conservatorship.

Elinor’s conservator Scott Phipps denies Elinor her right to visitors and phone calls.

Elinor’s conservator Scott Phipps denies Elinor her right to attend court hearings on her case.

Elinor’s court appointed attorney Scott Jordan opposes Elinor’s right to visitation.

Elinor’s guardian ad litem, Legal Assistance for Seniors (LAS), opposes Elinor’s right to visitation, and LAS applauded Phipps’ abusive practices.

On September 12, 2014, advocates attended a hearing in Berkeley Probate Court in which conservator Scott Phipps and three attorneys all opposed Elinor’s most basic civil rights. That conservator and those attorneys will all bill Elinor’s estate for their time in court and their time preparing motions in opposition to Elinor’s rights. The cost to Elinor’s estate will be thousands of dollars. Yet, Elinor’s voice was not heard.

Only through volunteer oversight programs will conservatees’ voices be heard. Only through volunteer oversight programs will churning and pillaging of conservatees’ estates be brought under control.

LAS receives nearly $1,000,000 per year in public funding. Their website states:

'The mission of LAS is to ensure the independence and dignity of seniors by protecting their legal rights through education, counseling, and advocacy.'

'Our vision is that all seniors will be able to live with safety, dignity, and the greatest possible independence regardless of their economic, social, or health circumstances.'

LAS lost sight of the goals stated on their website. With a return to ethical management and needed accountability for use of public funds, LAS could be an appropriate entity to implement a volunteer conservatorship monitoring program. Using funds they already receive, LAS could return to their mission of advocacy for the rights of seniors.