Community Approach to Guardianship Grows Statewide

By Csaba Sukosd

Guardianship service boards allow probate courts to transition from an individualized attorney-based system to a social services format shared among community partners.

What started as an effort by one judge and one local court to help some of the most vulnerable people in its jurisdiction has evolved into a growing Ohio initiative.

Seven years after Franklin County Probate Court – with the assistance of community partners – created a program to address concerns about citizens unable to take care of or make decisions for themselves, the idea has expanded to other counties.

“Having a fresh, new idea and seeing it put into place, it’s why you get into public service,” said former probate Judge Robert Montgomery, who used his pilot project to  craft a state law for other courts to use as a model.

Franklin County – followed by Fairfield, Union, Lucas, Allen, and Delaware counties – have created guardianship service boards. These entities are comprised of partnerships among local courts; county commissioners; alcohol, drug, and mental health (ADAMH) boards; boards for the developmentally disabled; healthcare providers; and social service organizations.

The idea was to create a centralized operation among all stakeholders involved in these types of cases, transitioning from an attorney-based system to a social services format.

Instead of a lawyer individually handling all legal and personal affairs for a client – known as wards – the board acts collectively to address issues.

Boards consist of multiple factions allowing each component to serve to their strengths while assisting individuals in one streamlined way.

An operations side focuses on funding and fiscal responsibilities while treatment teams handle the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of wards. Legal representatives manage court-related concerns.

Boards enable a larger network to identify people who can benefit from the services and incorporate them earlier into a holistic program.

Rather than having a probate court determining who is a ward, any person within the board can recognize someone in need of help and nominate the at-risk person to the program.

“We had a little bit of discomfort with our old model. It had its limitations,” said Fairfield County Juvenile and Probate Magistrate Troy Sitzmann about the need for the guardianship service board, which he helped start two years ago.

Shortly after taking the bench in 2014, Judge Montgomery was informed about the issues surrounding those with substantial mental health impairments and the developmentally disabled.

Under the law at that time, unless there was a relative or loved one capable of representing people who local courts deem incompetent, these wards would be appointed an attorney.

Fewer and fewer lawyers were willing or able to bear the responsibility, leading to the remaining practitioners caring for hundreds of wards.

On top of legal matters, court-appointed attorneys also were responsible for their clients’ daily life decisions – such as residential and health care matters – akin to what a social worker does.

“You don't necessarily go to law school to learn how to take care of or support people,” said Allen County Probate Judge Todd Kohlrieser.

Knowing the system needed changes, Judge Montgomery began drafting revisions to the statutes with the assistance of the Ohio Legislative Service Commission. The changes to establish guardianship service boards were enacted in 2019.

The idea was to give probate courts parameters to follow as part of a standardized process in creating a county or multicounty guardianship services fund.

Some of the specifications list how the programs are subsidized and what boards can finance – staff, equipment, training. Other details describe who can represent a board, including appointed representatives from the probate court as well as local ADAMH and boards for the developmentally disabled.

The expansion in guardianship programs pairs with the improved care that has resulted for the people they serve.

Fairfield County, which handles more than 100 guardianship cases at a given time, has tripled the contact hours provided to its wards since the inception of its board.

Sitzmann said the increase in time is surpassed by the “quality of time” that can now be devoted to their clients

Recently, Judge Montgomery’s modernization of this aspect of the justice system resulted in recognition beyond Ohio’s borders. At last month’s National College of Probate Judges winter conference, Montgomery was given the organization’s annual award,  which honors a judge’s efforts to innovate guardianship laws.

“To me, the biggest reward is providing justice for those who have trouble attaining it,” he said. “These service boards will benefit wards and their families for many years to come.”

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Community Approach to Guardianship Grows Statewide

How a new Tennessee law aims to reduce elder abuse

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A new Tennessee law aims to reduce abuse among vulnerable populations.

It requires a search of the Department of Health's abuse registry and sex offender registry for anyone seeking to become a conservator.

A conservator is a court recognized person allowed to make decisions on behalf of someone else.

It usually applies to the elderly or people with intellectual disabilities.

Chattanooga's Orange Grove helps support adults with special needs in independent housing.

Director of Development Heidi Hoffecker says, "Because the population that orange grove serves is vulnerable, this is an added layer of protection for that population. So of course, we're happy with anything that helps us further protect the people that we support."

Orange Grove leaders say local checks like this already happen, but more protections are always a good thing.

Full Article & Source:

How a new Tennessee law aims to reduce elder abuse

‘Pray for Daisy:’ Local teen defies odds, recovers from severe brain injury

by: Ashley Sharp

GRAY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Life can change in a matter of seconds. For Daisy Side, a 14-year-old cheerleader and student at Daniel Boone High School, it did.

In a car wreck on June 20 Daisy suffered a traumatic brain injury.

She was sitting in the backseat without a seatbelt on when the crash happened.

“When she hit her head in the car accident it was such a hard hit that the brain diffused inside the skull,” said Daisy’s mom, Tonya Side. “There were no fractures to her head, face or body, her brain just came apart.”

Two other teenagers were in the car, including Daisy’s brother. However, she was the only one seriously injured.

“I honestly wouldn’t want it to happen to anyone else. So, I’m glad it happened to me,” Daisy said.

Daisy says she does not remember the wreck at all or her six weeks at Johnson City Medical Center.

But, those are days her mom will never forget.

“They were preparing us to have a hospital bed in our home, the trach and the feeding tube, and her be in diapers. To have no quality of life whatsoever,” Tonya said.

Daisy suffered what is called a diffuse axonal injury, or DAI. According to Hopkins Medicine, DAI is the tearing of the brain’s long connecting nerve fibers that happens when the brain is injured as it shifts and rotates inside the skull.

Many times, DAI can cause severe disability and mortality following the closed head trauma, which happens often after traffic crashes.

For weeks in the hospital, Daisy’s brain was working to heal itself. She was unconscious, intubated, fed through a tube, and at times constantly moving as her brain took control over her body.

“In my mind I’m thinking, ‘How would I ever be able to take care of her? How would anybody be able to take care of her?'” Tonya asked through tears.

Following four really bad days of “thrashing” and “brain storming,” through Daisy’s constant movement came a welcome surprise. Daisy rested, was alert and responsive. Doctors were shocked at her overnight change.

From that point forward, every day was better than the last.

“I think it is very much a miracle and I am very thankful for that,” Daisy said. “I feel like every time people see me they thought I would have problems and be in a wheelchair. I’m thankful I’m not any of the above.”

Daisy left Johnson City Medical Center in August, headed for the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. Here she would continue extensive rehab.

“It just felt like I had a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Daisy said. “I just wanted my life to go back to normal and for everything to be normal again. I just kept telling myself that.”

Step-by-step Daisy began her physical recovery, learning to walk again.

She also wrote everything down on pads and dry erase boards when she could not speak for four weeks.

Daisy says all the way in Georgia she could feel the community’s support.

“It just made me feel powerful in a sense. I was just very thankful for everyone that was nice and prayed and thought about me,” Daisy said.

This looked like yard signs, fundraisers, and prayers. The community rallied and held vigils for the family back home.

“I really feel like the prayers from so many that didn’t even know her, I feel like God heard those prayers,” Tonya said. “That’s why she had a miraculous turnaround and is where she is now.”

Daisy came back home to Gray on Oct. 12 with a new lease on life.

She starts back to school in a few weeks and plans to slowly pursue her passion of cheering once again.

“That’s the goal. I don’t know if I will be where I was, but that’s my hopes and dreams,” she said.

More than $15,000 were donated through a GoFundMe account to help Daisy’s family with their mounting medical bills. The family says they remain grateful for everyone who sent a card, a meal, bought a t-shirt or whispered a prayer.

Full Article & Source:

‘Pray for Daisy:’ Local teen defies odds, recovers from severe brain injury

Louisiana judge caught on video using racial slurs on alleged home burglar resigns

Michelle Odinet resigned as a judge for the Lafayette City Court

 

By Danielle Wallace

A Louisiana judge heard on video using racial slurs to describe an alleged burglar at her home has resigned. 

Michelle Odinet submitted her resignation from the Lafayette City Court Friday. In her letter addressed to the Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John Weimer, Odinet said she took "full responsibility" for the "hurtful words" she used to describe an individual who allegedly burglarized vehicles at her home. 

The video that cost Odinet her job appeared to be recorded on a cell phone as members of the family could be heard watching home surveillance footage on a television screen. A surveillance camera captured the attempted burglar running across a driveway at the ex-judge’s home in the Bendel Gardens neighborhood until at least two people tackle the perpetrator to the ground.  

A female voice is heard describing the suspect using the n-word and then comparing him to a roach.  

Michelle Odinet submitted her resignation from the Lafayette City Court.  ( City and Juvenile Court of Lafayette, Louisiana)

"I am sorry for the pain that I have caused my community and ask for your forgiveness, as my words did not foster the public's confidence and integrity for the judiciary," Odinet wrote. "After much reflection and prayer, and in order to facilitate healing within the community, I hereby resign as judge of the Lafayette City Court effective immediately. I am sending a copy of this letter to the Secretary of State and hope that a special election can be scheduled to fill the vacancy that my resignation creates." 

Her resignation comes about three weeks after the video surfaced online. More than 100 complaints have since been filed with the Louisiana Judiciary Commission, The Advocate reported. 

Louisiana Gov. John Edwards on Dec. 16 had called on Odinet to resign, as did other officials, including the mayor of Lafayette and a state senator. The video drew criticism too on a national stage, and Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che referenced it in his satire news segment "Weekend Update." 

Michael Toussaint, head of the NAACP’s Lafayette chapter, called for additional investigations into all the cases Odinet’s handled for any potential prejudice or bias against people of color. 

"She understood that many people in the community were horrified by what she had said, and realized that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to preside over cases, and not have her impartiality questioned," Odinet’s lawyer, Dane Ciolino, told KLFY. "It was just the right thing to do."

Odinet, a Republican who previously served as a prosecutor for the district attorneys in New Orleans and Lafayette, was elected to serve as a judge for Division A of Lafayette City Court in November 2020. 

The Louisiana Supreme Court had already moved to temporarily disqualify Odinet two weeks ago and named Vanessa Harris, a Black judge from Opelousas, to handle cases in her division until at least the end of February, The Advocate reported. City judges normally serve six-year terms.

Full Article & Source:

Louisiana judge caught on video using racial slurs on alleged home burglar resigns 

 

See Also: 

Louisiana High Court signs order holding disciplined judges financially accountable

Marked for Destruction - A True Story

by Officer John Caravella (retired)

What Adele Fraulen might have thought to be nothing more than a meaningless bad dream one night in 1935 would actually come true. At age 79 she would find herself living a nightmare — a struggle for her life, simply because she innocently trusted the wrong professionals to help with her portion of a Million Dollar inheritance; they would steal her very existence.

Her neighbors, Chris and Patricia Zurillo, would realize that Adele’s life was going terribly wrong and dedicate themselves to freeing her from captivity. “Marked For Destruction” is a rare book that exposes an ever-expanding crime against our elderly.

Don’t miss this opportunity! In an attempt to reach and help as many people as possible with the true story of Adele’s victimization of elderly abuse and fraud, it has been decided to give a free download copy of the book to anyone who clicks the button below.

On behalf of Adele’s friends, Chris and Patricia Zurillo, whose photo is displayed on the site and linked to this posting, it is felt that the importance and timeliness of this story warrants making it as available as possible.

CLICK HERE to download a free text copy of "Marked for Destruction"

Happy New Year

 

May 2022 be a year full of blessings and rightful wins!

Peace on Earth

 Source: YouTube

Justice Department seeks to improve services for crime victims with more than $40M in grants

by Chris Galford

© Shutterstock

A total of 14 programs focused on victims of crime earned more than $40 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last week as a means of culturally specific enhancement to help them better reflect and support their communities.

Of these, an award of nearly $2.9 million went to the Office of Justice Program’s (OJP) National Institute of Justice to support research, and another $2.1 million was given to the Bureau of Justice Statistics to support the National Census of Victim Service Providers. However, the bulk of the funding – approximately $38 million – was dispersed between 12 grant programs overseen by the OJP’s Office for Victims of Crime. These included: 

• The Advancing the Use of Technology to Assist Victims of Crime program, for strategies to create, expand or improve the use of technology to interact directly with crime victims and to provide information, referrals, crisis assistance, and long-term aid.
• The Expanding Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Services to Victims of Sexual Assault program, to create or expand sexual assault examination programs focused on improving sexual assault care through a community-based approach. This could help campus efforts, nonprofits, or even Tribe-affiliated providers. 
• The Transforming America’s Response to Elder Abuse: Enhanced Multidisciplinary Teams (E-MDTs) for Older Victims of Financial Exploitation and Abuse program, to support multidisciplinary teams and strengthen their ability to identify and respond to cases of elder abuse and provide more comprehensive support for victims of financial exploitation.
• The National Center for Culturally Responsive Victim Services program, which will develop and maintain OVC’s National Center. This center will oversee national training and technical assistance for victim services and victim compensation among victims in historically underserved, marginalized, or other inequality-afflicted communities.
• The Building State Technology Capacity program, to enhance victims’ access to services while innovating the provision and quality of services, as well as improving the accessibility and responsiveness of victim service organizations.
• The Fostering Resilience and Hope: Bridging the Gap Between Law Enforcement and the Community program, will help law enforcement officers address trauma and adversity and rebuild relationships within their community.
• The Advancing Hospital-Based Victim Services program splits funding between four organizations and one technical assistance provider to improve links between victim services, hospitals, and other medical facilities that increase support for victims of crime and reduce the chances of future victimization.
• The Emergency and Transitional Pet Shelter and Housing Assistance Grant Program, supporting shelter and other assistance to victims of domestic violence and their pets.
• The Services to Support Victims of Hate Crime and Strengthen Communities programs, to support field-generated strategies, approaches, and models to support individuals, groups, and communities affected by hate crime.
• The Addressing Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting program, to halt female genital mutilation through education and community response.
• The National Joint Training Conference for VOCA Victim Assistance and Victim Compensation Administrators
• The National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Community Awareness Projects program, to increase public awareness of victims’ rights and services nationwide and strengthen agencies’ approach to develop collaborative community awareness during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

“The Department of Justice is committed to doing all it can to reduce violent crime, and supporting victims of crime is not only critical to those efforts but also central to our most fundamental responsibility: protecting our fellow citizens,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. “The resources announced today will provide direct support to victims of crime as they recover and also bolster the important work of our state, local and Tribal partners who provide victims with comprehensive, high-quality victim services and care.”

Most funding for these awards was generated by the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984 and the Crime Victims Fund it created, which uses fines and penalties paid by convicted federal offenders to aid victims. 

Full Article & Source:

Justice Department seeks to improve services for crime victims with more than $40M in grants

Former caregiver charged with stealing thousands from 90-year-old York County woman

By Andrew Dys

 

Clover, SC -  A former caregiver in South Carolina has been charged with stealing thousands of dollars from a 90-year-old woman in Clover, according to police and court records. 

 

Anisa Lee Douglas, 42, of York, was arrested Wednesday on charges of exploitation of a vulnerable adult and breach of trust between $2,000 and $10,000, said Capt. Logan McGarity of the Clover Police Department. 

 

Douglas allegedly stole the money from the person she worked for from early 2019 through August 2020, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald. Douglas “unlawfully used funds for her advantage while working as a caregiver,” the warrants state.

The Herald is not naming the victim or the street address. Clover police were told of the alleged thefts when a family member of the victim saw unauthorized account activity, according to a police report.

Clover police investigated and located bank statements and surveillance video from a financial institution that show withdrawals allegedly made by Douglas, McGarity said. 

 

Both charges are felonies that can carry up to five years in prison for a conviction under South Carolina law. 

 

Douglas was released from the York County jail Thursday under a $5,000 bond, according to jail officials and court records. 

 

Police: Check accounts regularly 

 

McGarity said it is good practice for family members of the elderly to review financial records themselves or have a professional financial company do so regularly.

Clover is a town of about 7,000 people in York County, southwest of Charlotte. 

 

Crimes with elderly victims being ripped off by caregivers is a national issue. Older victims lose more than $3 billion annually in scams and financial exploitation, according to FBI and National Institute of Justice statistics. As many as one in 10 vulnerable adults are potential targets, according to federal officials. 

 

Law enforcement agencies in York, Chester and Lancaster counties, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office, and federal agencies have repeatedly warned the public about thefts and scams that target vulnerable or elderly adults. 

 

Rock Hill police charged two former caregivers in early 2021 after thousands of dollars were allegedly stolen from elderly victims. 

 

In 2018 and 2019 in York County criminal court, caregivers were convicted of stealing thousands of dollars from elderly people in their care, court records show. In those cases, the suspects had access to financial cards.

 

Full Article & Source:

Former caregiver charged with stealing thousands from 90-year-old York County woman