National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse

Governor Kelly Signs Bipartisan Bill Establishing the Supported Decision-making Agreements Act

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Post Date:04/07/2026

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly today announced she has signed Senate Bill 84 (SB 84), establishing the Supported Decision-making Agreements Act, which will allow adults to enter into supported decision-making agreements to receive assistance with an adult’s affairs from one or more other adults. This bill provides individuals who need assistance with decision-making with the option to receive support from one or more adults while remaining as independent as possible.

“Senate Bill 84 is thoughtful legislation that empowers Kansans to receive support as they make key decisions about their lives, while preserving their independence,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “These voluntary agreements will equip those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental health needs, or other impairments, with assistance from trusted adults as they navigate decisions about health care, finances, housing, and more.”

SB 84 establishes the legal framework for a supportive adult to provide decision-making assistance to another adult (the principal), who could be an adult with developmental disabilities, brain injuries, mental health needs, or more, who wants support while maintaining control over decisions in their life. A supporter could provide the principal with aid in making and communicating decisions, and understanding information, options, responsibilities, and consequences related to those decisions. The supporter could also access and obtain information relevant to decisions necessary for managing the principal’s affairs; ascertain the wishes and decisions of the principal and help communicate those decisions to others; advocate to ensure those wishes and decisions are implemented; and accompany the principal, as well as participate in discussions with others, when the principal is making decisions.

“I’m pleased to support this commonsense legislation that establishes a legal framework to help Kansans receive voluntary support from other adults as they navigate their lives, while maintaining their control and independence,” said Representative Mari-Lynn Poskin, District 20. “Everyone has the right to agency in their own life, and this bill will enable more Kansans to make choices that are best for them with the comfort of knowing they have reliable assistance from others. Congratulations to disability advocates who have been working on this for years.”

The supportive adult would not be allowed to exert undue influence on the principal, make decisions for or on behalf of the principal, sign for the principal, obtain information not reasonably related to the matters the supporter is authorized to assist the principal with under the agreement without consent, and use information acquired for a purpose other than authorized under the agreement. Violations would be added to the crime of mistreatment of a dependent adult or an elder person, for which felony or misdemeanor penalties would apply, depending on the amount of financial resources involved.

“Through Senate Bill 84, we’re offering Kansans more avenues to be active participants not only in their own lives, but also in their communities across the state,” said Senator Rick Billinger, District 40. “This is strong, bipartisan legislation that will truly help more Kansans make life-changing decisions that will be in their best interests.”

In addition to Senate Bill 84, Governor Kelly also signed the following bipartisan bills:

House Substitute for Senate Bill 260: Establishing the born to invest act and requiring the office of vital statistics to provide data to the office of the state treasurer for distribution of informational materials regarding certain government-administered savings accounts

Senate Bill 398: Aligning a part of the Kansas Rules of Evidence dealing with Expert witnesses with the Federal Rules of Evidence by requiring a proponent to demonstrate that it is more likely than not that certain specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand evidence before certain qualified witnesses may testify.

Senate Bill 418: Enacting the by-right housing development act to provide a streamlined permit approval process for by-right housing developments and allowing third-party review of new residential construction development documents and inspection of improvements, along with making other updates to zoning and regulations.

Senate Bill 459: Removing the prisoner review board from the supervision of the secretary of corrections, changing the appointing authority, creating qualifications for the members of the board, and requiring parole hearings to be postponed if proper notice of the public comment session is not made to the victim.

Senate Substitute for House Bill 2402: Requiring eligible boards of education to consider participation in the community eligibility provision, providing a financial hardship exception to such participation and requiring the state department of education to assist school districts seeking such participation.

House Bill 2739: Relating to housing code requirements, removing the definition of apartment houses from chapter 31 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, providing requirements for adoption of the national fire protection association standards, 2024 edition, and providing that certain state accessibility standards are not applicable to moderate income housing program and Kansas investor tax credit housing act projects.

House Bill 2528: Requiring all state board of nursing actions related to certain nonpractice violations be void, allowing for late license renewal for professional, practical and advanced practice registered nurses, setting fees for late license renewal, limiting unprofessional conduct to acts related to the practice of nursing, prohibiting the board from taking retaliatory action against a licensee based on certain lawful actions and creating a civil cause of action for violation thereof, requiring termination of current board members on January 1, 2027 and requiring the governor to appoint interim board members subject to senate confirmation and requiring the board to issue refunds for overpayment or duplicate payment.

House Bill 2652: Requiring the clerk of the appellate courts to publish monthly a list of cases of the supreme court and court of appeals in which a decision has not been entered and filed within six months of submission and a list of cases in which a petition for review has not been granted or denied within six months of submission.

Source:
Governor Kelly Signs Bipartisan Bill Establishing the Supported Decision-making Agreements Act

Streamwood woman says brother took more than $430,000 from elderly parents' financial accounts

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:30:00 +0000

By Carol Thompson, Dorothy Tucker

Cathy Solway remembers a promise made with her brother to take care of their aging parents when their health began to decline and they moved into assisted living: "We're gonna take care of mom and dad as a team. We're gonna do this together."

But then she made a discovery that changed everything.

"I left the bank, sat in my car and about had a complete breakdown from what I was seeing. A lot less money than I knew should have been in that account," she said.

Growing up

Cathy Solway and her brother, Robert Carlson, grew up in suburban Streamwood.

"We had a pretty great childhood. My brother and I were pretty happy growing up," she said.

Their parents, William and Caroline Carlson, got married in 1958 and raised their family in a modest house.

"My mom was a stay-at-home mom. She was the room mom. My dad worked hard, but they never missed anything that we were involved in," said Solway.

William Carlson served in the Air Force as a young man. After his stint in the military, he worked for United Airlines, the FAA and the Village of Streamwood. He worked practically his entire life, his daughter said.

"He was getting a decent amount of retirement benefits," said Solway.

But then came the official word her parents' health was declining.

"They both were just not able to take care of themselves," she said. "They both were in various stages of Alzheimer's. They were diagnosed in 2017 to 2019."

In 2022 the family decided to move them into assisted living, first at an Illinois facility and then into a Wisconsin facility, closer to her brother Robert.

"And my brother was like, 'You know, I'm going to make sure that their finances are taken care of and, you know, we'll make sure that their bills are paid for the house.' They still had the house that they had lived in," Solway said.

Solway knew her parents had enough money to cover those bills plus the assisted living facilities' fees.

"I knew my dad was very good at saving money. He was very careful with his money," she said.

But her brother had surprise news.

"He just suddenly told me in March of '23 'We need to sell their house,'" she recalled. "To be told that there's no money left was a little odd."

The discovery

After asking her brother questions and getting vague answers, Cathy said she went to the bank to check the account balance.

"When they went into assisted living [in 2022] they had over $165,000 in their savings account," she explained. "When I saw how much was left in the account, I felt that was like a gut punch."

With that initial balance, plus their parents' monthly social security and benefit payments and minus the living expenses, Solway estimated the remaining balance should still have been a large amount.

"I'm doing the math in my head. At some point, there should be around $80,000 in there," she said. But the actual balance was much lower. "There was only about $9,200."

She looked through other statements, and said she spotted multiple large deposits, several withdrawals and checks for thousands of dollars each.

"This is what would happen: $30,000 would go in and about $30,000 would go out, but not in one lump sum," she said.

She, along with her mother, called the three financial institutions that held her father's retirement accounts and found in the one that held her father's 401k there was a zero balance. She found just $600 left in another one.

"Over $110,000 and that was just from those three accounts," she said.

Within months, her brother had sold the family home in Streamwood for around $160,000. That money was supposed to be used for their parents' living expenses.

Her brother had been designated power-of-attorney for the parents in early 2023, an arrangement made as part of a trust prior to the Carlsons' failing health. But by the end of the year, Solway was legally challenging his power over their financial affairs.

The court case and admissions

Solway and her attorney filed a petition to remove her brother as power-of-attorney and trustee of the family trust in December 2023 in Walworth County Civil Court.

Through the probate case, she was able to get access to detailed financial records and audio recordings from financial institutions.

"When we subpoenaed all the audio records, there were multiple times that he called and made withdrawals. They were all my brother," she said.

She said her brother called and told representatives he was his father, William Carlson. And in a deposition taken for the case he admitted the voice on the recordings was "Mine."

Some of the checks seen in the statements were made out to her brother's business, Looking Good Turf. Some had Robert Carlson's signature, but many appeared to be signed by his father.

"There were checks through '23 written for his landscaping company," Solway said. "Writing thousands of dollars of checks to his landscaping company and signing my dad's name to it."

And in his deposition, when Robert Carlson was asked who signed his parents' names on documents and checks, he answered, "Me."

By July 2024 a Walworth County judge removed Robert Carlson as power-of-attorney and trustee over the family trust. The ruling also ordered him to repay the trust more than $430,000.

Elder Financial Exploitation

The Illinois Department on Aging, or IDoA, released new data from 2025 showing financial exploitation is the leading type of abuse against people over the age of 60, and adults with a disability of any age.

Twenty-five percent of elder abuse is financial exploitation. and the 6,000 cases in 2025 are an increase from 4,500 in 2004.

"This is due to the growth of the program, but it's also due to increased prevalence of exploitation among the population," said Brian Pastor, division manager of Advocacy and Prevention Services in the IDoA.

He said the abuser is often close to the victim.

"They're a family member. They're a trusted individual," he explained.

The agency's data shows most often, in 34% of all cases, the abuse is committed by the victim's adult child, especially when it comes to money.

"They really do feel often in these circumstances that they are entitled to these funds because they're going to get them eventually. Which may or may not be true," Pastor said.

Solway said she doesn't expect her brother will ever repay the money. She has received compensation from at least one of the financial institutions.

Wintrust, the Carlsons' bank, told CBS News Chicago in a statement, that the judicial order did not pertain to it, so it will not repay any of the money Robert Carlson withdrew via checks to his business or for other bills.

CBS News Chicago tried to contact Robert Carlson in Wisconsin, but could not find him. Neighbors told us they thought he had moved to Florida.

Solway advised others to make sure more than one person has power-of-attorney privileges. Her parents both passed away within a few weeks of each other in 2025.

Full Article & Source:
Streamwood woman says brother took more than $430,000 from elderly parents' financial accounts

TBI: Former Greene County group home caregiver facing charges related to abuse of a vulnerable adult

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The TBI said a former Support Solutions caregiver is charged with abuse of a vulnerable adult. In 2025, six employees at the same facility faced similar charges.

Source:
TBI: Former Greene County group home caregiver facing charges related to abuse of a vulnerable adult

Caregiver in Wisconsin arrested on 20 counts of abuse to disabled adult

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 05:30:00 +0000

by: Adam Rosen

BELOIT, Wis. (WFRV) – A 49-year-old caregiver in Wisconsin was arrested following an investigation into battery against a disabled adult over time.

According to the Rock County Sheriff’s Office, the initial report was on January 23, 2026, when deputies responded to the possible battery. Officials learned throughout the early phases of the investigation that there may have been multiple offenses over time.

Officials developed probable cause early in the case to arrest 49-year-old Toyo Perez of Beloit on a single count of abusing a vulnerable adult; however, upon reviewing several hours of footage and a subsequent interview, Perez was arrested on Wednesday on the following charges:

10 counts – Intentionally Subjecting an At-Risk Individual to Abuse—Causing Bodily Harm
10 counts – Intentionally Abusing/Neglecting Patient/Resident by Facility/Program Employee—Causing Bodily Harm

Perez is set for a court hearing at 3 p.m. on February 19.

Full Article & Source:
Caregiver in Wisconsin arrested on 20 counts of abuse to disabled adult

Beloit caregiver accused of abusing disabled adult, Rock Co. deputies report

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 05:00:00 +0000

A Beloit woman faces charges after she was accused of abusing an adult with disabilities on multiple occasions.

Source:
Beloit caregiver accused of abusing disabled adult, Rock Co. deputies report

Former attorney found guilty on charges in connection with financial exploitation of client

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0000

by Marissa Barrett

MANCHESTER, N.H. —

A former attorney has been found guilty of multiple felony charges for obtaining loans under false pretenses from a former client who suffered a traumatic brain injury.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office said Justin Nadeau received a $275,000 loan from the client in August 2018, then obtained a second loan in December.

Officials said Nadeau tried to conceal the loans in several ways, including fabricating documents and forging his then-wife's signature.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

Full Article & Source:
Former attorney found guilty on charges in connection with financial exploitation of client

Birmingham woman extradited to Madison County in elderly financial exploitation case

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 05:30:00 +0000

A Birmingham woman faces charges in Madison County for allegedly exploiting an elderly person by cashing a fraudulent check.

by Austin Pylant

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A Birmingham woman was extradited to Madison County after Huntsville Police say she used her role as a caregiver to an elderly person to cash a fraudulent check.

The case came to light when a family member noticed suspicious withdrawals from the victim’s account on April 11, 2024, and reported it to authorities. Investigators learned that 41-year-old Sheneika Lavonne Clay had been caring for the victim at the time.

Police say Clay duplicated a check from the victim’s checkbook, made it payable to herself, and deposited it into her own account.

Three warrants were issued charging Clay with First-Degree Financial Exploitation of the Elderly, Third-Degree Forgery – Counterfeiting, and Identity Theft.

Clay was apprehended in St. Clair County before being extradited to Madison County.

“This case is an important reminder to families to regularly monitor the finances of elderly loved ones and report suspicious activity as soon as possible,” Huntsville Police said.

Full Article & Source:
Birmingham woman extradited to Madison County in elderly financial exploitation case

New Jersey Eases Guardianship Process for Disabled Kids

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Law allows families to start guardianship earlier, closing risky gap when children turn 18.

New Jersey has passed a law making it easier for parents of children with disabilities to file for legal guardianship. The new legislation allows families to begin the guardianship process earlier, closing a gap that previously left many vulnerable adults at risk when they turned 18 and lost certain protections.

Why it matters

This new law addresses a critical issue facing families of children with disabilities in New Jersey. Previously, the guardianship process could not begin until the child turned 18, leaving a precarious period where the young adult was no longer a minor but still required significant support and decision-making assistance. The new law aims to provide more stability and security for this population.

The details

Under the new law, parents in New Jersey can now initiate the guardianship process for their children with disabilities before the child turns 18. This helps ensure a smoother transition and avoids a lapse in legal protections when the child becomes a legal adult. The change was championed by a Sussex County mother who faced anxiety navigating the previous system.

The new law went into effect on April 1, 2026.

The players

Sussex County Mom

A mother from Sussex County, New Jersey who advocated for the new law after facing challenges with the previous guardianship process for her child with a disability.

What’s next

The new law is expected to provide greater peace of mind for families of children with disabilities in New Jersey, allowing them to plan for the future and ensure their loved ones' needs are met.

The takeaway

This legislation represents an important step forward in supporting individuals with disabilities and their families in New Jersey. By streamlining the guardianship process, the state is helping to protect vulnerable adults and provide more stability during a critical life transition.

Full Article & Source:
New Jersey Eases Guardianship Process for Disabled Kids

Representative Ray Provides Testimony on Bill to Modernize Ohio Guardianship Law

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 05:30:00 +0000

COLUMBUS –State Representative Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) recently provided sponsor testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on House Bill 491, legislation to make updates to Ohio’s current guardianship laws, providing greater clarity and accountability.

Guardianship law involves transferring decision-making authority over personal, medical, and financial matters from an individual to a court-appointed guardian.

Key updates in the bill include the following:

Defines the different types of guardians and clarifies their roles;
Clarifies the termination of guardianship based on the value of the ward’s estate by requiring a receipt verifying a deposit filed with the court and court approval for the release of funds to benefit an incompetent adult; and
Establishes new reporting requirements for guardians, specifically those appointed for incompetent adults.

“House Bill 491 modernizes Ohio’s guardianship statutes, so they are clearer, more consistent, and better aligned with current practice, while still maintaining the essential protection that guardianship is meant to provide,” Ray said during sponsor testimony.

House Bill 491 awaits further consideration from the committee.

Full Article & Source:
Representative Ray Provides Testimony on Bill to Modernize Ohio Guardianship Law

Happy Easter

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 06:30:00 +0000

Meals On Wheels worker saves elderly woman from medical episode

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 05:30:00 +0000

By Dionne Anglin

FORT WORTH, Texas - A young Meals On Wheels worker in Tarrant County made a lifesaving effort last week during a routine delivery.

What we know:

19-year-old Alekzander Dzivak rescued an elderly woman in Tarrant County from a medical episode during a Meals On Wheels delivery.

The incident occurred on Tuesday, March 10, when the woman, known as Ms. Lana, suffered the episode inside her home in Fort Worth.

Ms. Lana, who is diabetic, was incapacitated in her kitchen and unable to move when Dzivak arrived with a Meals On Wheels delivery.

Despite being incapacitated, she was able to contact Dzivak through her doorbell by using her cell phone.

Dzivak was able to call 911 and get Ms. Lana lifesaving medical help. First responders came within five minutes to stabilize her.

"It’s just unbelievable."

What they're saying:

Ms. Lana also says she had not disclosed her diabetic issues to Meals On Wheels. Without Dzivak's quick thinking, the outcome could have been much worse.

"If he hadn’t come, I would’ve died. It was that far along," Ms. Lana tells FOX 4's Dionne Anglin. "He came to the door at the right moment. It’s just unbelievable."

"I was petrified because I've never been that bad before," Ms. Lana continued. "I knew I was by myself. I knew my next-door neighbor wasn’t home. There just wasn’t anyway I could get hold of anybody.

Dzivak might be the youngest Meals On Wheels worker in Tarrant County, having only turned 19 a few weeks ago. He's responsible for two delivery routes for one day during the week.

Thanks to his quick action, he and Ms. Lana now share a special connection.

"She was giving me the code and saying she was gonna die, and please call 911," Dzivak told Anglin. "I was nodding and shaking my head. I was trying to keep her talking to me, keep her calm. It was a very scary situation.

"I was very happy I arrived when I did, because I don’t know what would’ve happened had I shown up later," Dzivak said. "So I’m just glad I was here, and the paramedics were as close as they were."

Dzivak is now encouraging others to volunteer and make an impact. "Any impact you’re able to make is amazing. I find it so rewarding to volunteer," he tells Anglin.

Full Article & Source:
Meals On Wheels worker saves elderly woman from medical episode

Man Saves Elderly Woman From a House Fire in Cleveland While His Pitbull Saves Her Dog

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 05:00:00 +0000

by Mark McGarry

A man saved an elderly woman from a house fire — and not to be outdone, his dog saved her dog as well!

Richard Keith Taylor, his wife, Melanie, and their dog, Ace, were driving in Cleveland when they saw a house had caught fire. Richard stopped the car and charged in, rescuing an elderly woman, the Cleveland Fire Department and City of Cleveland announced online.

Cleveland Fire

The fire department soon arrived and began fighting the blaze — and that’s when pitbull mix Ace began sniffing and straining on his leash toward a boarded-up basement window.

Sure enough, firefighters entered the basement and found a small brown dog behind a closed door. Luckily, the pooch suffered no injuries from the fire or smoke.

“It’s God’s work,” the CFD quotes Richard as saying. “Just glad I was in the right place at the right time.”

Full Article & Source:
Man Saves Elderly Woman From a House Fire in Cleveland While His Pitbull Saves Her Dog

Guardianship is not a homelessness policy | OPINION

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0000

By Amelia McKeon

The federal government’s proposal to expand guardianship for homeless veterans is being framed as compassionate. It is anything but. It is a dangerous shift toward using one of the most restrictive legal tools we have as a substitute for real solutions — and it risks turning guardianship into a mechanism for forced institutionalization.

In Colorado, we already have a system designed for exactly that purpose. It is called civil commitment. And that distinction matters.

But that is not what this proposal risks creating.

Consider a different scenario — one that is already playing out in systems across the country. A man experiencing homelessness cycles in and out of emergency rooms. He has untreated mental illness and often leaves against medical advice. He is difficult to engage. Under an expanded guardianship approach, he could be deemed incapacitated and placed under guardianship — not because all alternatives were exhausted, but because the system does not have the resources to support him in the community.

Once under guardianship, the path of least resistance becomes clear: placement in an institutional setting whe

This is where Colorado offers a critical lesson.

If someone truly cannot make decisions due to mental illness and poses a risk to themselves or others, Colorado law already provides a structured, rights-protective process: a mental health hold, followed by short-term certification, and, if necessary, longer-term commitment.

Guardianship is one of the most serious interventions a court can impose. It transfers decision-making authority from an individual to another person because the court has determined that the individual cannot safely make certain decisions on their own. But even under guardianship, the person does not disappear. A guardian does not override a person’s life — they support it. They honor the individual’s preferences and values, use the least restrictive options available, and make decisions with the person, not for them.

I have worked with individuals under guardianship who refused certain medications but were open to therapy and stable housing. Instead of forcing compliance, we built a plan around what they would accept. Over time, their stability improved — not because we overrode them, but because we respected them. That is what good guardianship looks like.

Let’s be clear: guardianship itself is not the problem. The misuse of it is.

That process includes medical evaluation, legal standards, court oversight, and defined timelines. It is designed specifically for involuntary treatment and placement.

Guardianship is not.

When guardianship is used to force people into institutional care — especially in systems that have historically been costly, restrictive, and misaligned with individual preference — it stops being protective and starts being coercive. We have seen this before. Institutional systems have long prioritized placement over people, efficiency over autonomy, and liability reduction over dignity. Guardianship should never be the legal justification that makes that easier.

I have seen individuals placed in higher levels of care simply because there was nowhere else for them to go — despite clearly expressing that they wanted something different. In those moments, guardianship was not empowering. It was a legal pathway to override preference in the name of system convenience.

There is a fundamental principle in guardianship practice that every good guardian understands: you do not substitute your judgment for the person’s life — you carry it forward. That means respecting expressed wishes, even when they are complicated. It means balancing safety with autonomy, not replacing one with the other. It means avoiding unnecessary institutionalization at all costs. This is first and most important in the National Guardianship Association’s Standards of Practice.

The proposal also risks conflating homelessness with incapacity. A person can be unhoused, struggling, and still capable of making decisions about their life. I have seen individuals stabilize once given access to housing and consistent support without ever needing guardianship. What they lacked was not capacity. It was access.

If guardianship becomes the entry point to services, rather than the last resort after all else fails, we have inverted the system.

And that is what this is really about. We need improved access to supportive housing. We need support and access for behavioral health resources. We do not have enough community-based services. So instead of building those systems, we are reaching for control. Guardianship becomes the workaround.

But in a state like Colorado, where a legal pathway for involuntary care already exists, using guardianship this way is not just inappropriate — it is redundant and dangerous. It blurs legal standards, attempts to bypass safeguards, and expands a tool that was never meant to carry that weight.

If guardianship is expanded in any context, the standard must be unwavering: it must remain a true last resort, it must be individualized, it must prioritize the person’s will and preferences, and it must never be used to justify unnecessary institutionalization. Anything less is not guardianship — it is control disguised as care.

We owe veterans more than safety at any cost. We owe them dignity, autonomy, and real options — not forced ones.

Guardianship has a role to play. But it cannot — and must not — become a shortcut to manage people when we have failed to support them. Because the moment we use it that way, we are no longer protecting rights.

We are taking them.

Full Article & Source:
Guardianship is not a homelessness policy | OPINION

A New Push to Put Homeless Veterans Under Legal Guardianship

Paralyzed Veterans of America Issues Statement Following VA-DOJ Agreement Allowing Guardianship Proceedings for Veterans with Catastrophic Disabilities

V.A. Begins Drive to Put Homeless Veterans Into Guardianship

San Diego County couple accused of exploiting workers at elder care facilities

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 05:30:00 +0000

by: Wiley Jawhary

SAN DIEGO — (FOX5/KUSI) San Diego County prosecutors have filed multiple felony charges against a husband and wife accused of exploiting workers at elder care facilities in North County, authorities announced.

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office said the case involves allegations of human trafficking and wage theft tied to two residential care homes in Vista and Escondido.

Prosecutors allege Rolando and Maria Corpuz, husband and wife, forced employees to work around the clock while paying them less than $7 an hour. Authorities say the workers were responsible for caring for elderly residents, including those who were immobile or nonverbal, requiring constant supervision and assistance.

“These cases have profound impacts on workers and their families,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said during a news conference.

According to investigators, the defendants are also accused of exploiting workers’ immigration status. In one case, prosecutors say a victim was promised help obtaining legal status in exchange for withheld wages, money that was never used for that purpose.

“The cruelty didn’t stop at the clock,” a Stephan said. “The defendant preyed on her dreams for a better life.”

The investigation began after one worker came forward to report the alleged abuse. That report led authorities to identify at least two additional victims, officials said.

Rolando and Maria Corpus were arraigned in court and are now facing three counts of human trafficking and three counts of wage theft.

If convicted, the couple could face up to 19 years and four months in prison, along with fines.

Prosecutors say the investigation is ongoing and additional victims may still come forward.

Full Article & Source:
San Diego County couple accused of exploiting workers at elder care facilities

Montgomery and Chester County cases highlight flaws in Pennsylvania’s involuntary commitment law.

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0000

by Linda Stein

Montgomery and Chester County cases highlight flashpoints with Pennsylvania’s involuntary commitment law.

Is it too easy to involuntarily commit someone to a mental institution in Pennsylvania? Some people think so, but the state legislature is considering legislation to make it even easier.

Around 2:30 p.m. on March 11, around 20 law enforcement officers, including police and Montgomery County detectives, walked through the sliding glass doors of the Staybridge Suites in Royersford with guns drawn. Hotel guest Sean Connolly was at the front desk to get a new key for his room because his key stopped working.

“Get down on your knees!” the officers yelled, and he complied.

Connolly noticed the officers’ body cameras were not on, and they did not show him a warrant when he asked.

When he asked why he was being arrested, they mentioned his social media posts.

What followed his arrest was a trip into Pennsylvania’s mental health system. He was involuntarily committed through a 302 process. Connolly, 47, and his estranged wife, Lisa, are divorcing. Her request for a protection-from-abuse order (PFA) appears to have precipitated the involuntary commitment (302) action against Connolly.

It accused him of being “mentally unstable,” believing “people are after him.” The form said he owned two guns.

Lisa Connolly declined to comment for this article.

Connolly, a general contractor and former Montgomery County sheriff’s officer who served in the Army and National Guard, was staying at hotels while he looked for a new place to live.

“My background is in electronic security investigations and legal research,” he said.

Connolly also claims he is a “protected federal witness and whistleblower” for the Securities and Exchange Commission. A spokesman for the SEC declined to comment.

Officers transported him to Building 50 at the site of the closed state mental hospital in Norristown. They took his belt, shoes, crucifix, and rosary. They’d already taken his wallet and cell phone, he said. Connolly told his captors that he’d reported “public corruption” in Montgomery County and that he’d uncovered child sex abuse.

He also looked into the election process in Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester counties. The same Montgomery County lawyer, John Marlatt, is solicitor for the 302 process and also for the Board of Elections.

Megan Alt, a county spokeswoman, did not respond when asked to comment.

When Connolly saw the 302 (commitment) papers, he claimed officials “cherry-picked stuff out of previous emails that I cc’d with federal agencies, the FBI, the DOJ, the SEC” for the warrant. Connolly was admitted to Brooke Glen Behavioral Health Hospital in Fort Washington, where he declined treatment, including psychotropic medicines. He continued to insist that he was sane.

Connolly has websites excoriating Gov. Josh Shapiro and home builder Toll Brothers, which he’s sued. Asked about the apparently antisemitic content on his Shapiro site, Connolly denied that it was meant to be antisemitic.

“I’m not antisemitic,” he said. “I’m not racist. I have Jewish family members, blood family members,” he said. “Jesus was Jewish.”

Under Pennsylvania law, a 302 allows someone to be involuntarily committed to a mental hospital for 120 hours (five days), which is then followed by a 303 hearing, which Connolly was given. However, he said it was with no notice and without his lawyer present. Connolly refused to attend the hearing. The 303 hearing can extend the commitment for another 20 days.

However, Lisa Connolly testified at the 303 hearing that Connolly was dangerous and said he sent multiple text messages to her and their daughters. One said that she was “possessed by the devil.” Also, she said Connolly came to the house she shares with their twin 18-year-old daughters, even though he was not permitted to be there. But she also admitted he’d never physically harmed her.

In another 302 case, Leslie Morgan, a Radnor businesswoman, said in May 2022, a 302 was used to remove her 90-year-old mother, who weighed less than 100 pounds and had never been violent, from the Chester County home that she shared with her husband of more than four decades.

Before that, Orphans Court Judge Katherine B.L. Platt, now retired, had issued an opinion finding that Morgan’s two siblings had allegedly conspired to take control of her parents’ wealth and home. The siblings were never charged criminally, but Platt found that they had wielded undue influence over their parents, who were cognitively incapacitated, and that any documents that her parents signed, such as one transferring the deed to their house, were moot.

“My mother was 302’d and never even had a speeding ticket or a DUI,” said Morgan. “I will never forgive the monsters that further abused my parents and especially using the 302 as a weapon to remove my mother and then try to capture my dad — I stopped that one — so that my siblings could potentially sell the house or whatever their plan was, since they had not returned ownership,” said Morgan.

“My mother was removed to a nearby hospital. (She was) in the ER for six days with no room. She just had a curtain. Within 72 hours, she was medically compliant,” said Morgan.

“I would have cared for her, no problem. Why the cloak of darkness?” asked Morgan.

Without notifying Morgan, her mother’s court-appointed guardian committed the elderly woman to a psychiatric ward and later a memory care unit, she said.

“They gave my mother so much medication that it measured out for a 6-foot-four-inch man. She was 5-feet. She was near comatose. Her legs swelled up so fiercely that her fragile, elderly skin broke apart, and she developed deep wounds.

“I was shattered, my father missed her beyond words. We all did,” said Morgan. “My father lost weight. He faded faster. They would not allow him to visit on a regular basis with me or a helper.”

Her father has also subsequently passed away.

Platt had signed a petition to assign a lawyer to recover the funds. However, the final probate settlement remains pending in Orphans Court, so Morgan was limited in what she could disclose.

Asked to comment about the 302 system, Bruce L. Castor Jr., a former Montgomery County district attorney, county commissioner, and state attorney general, was blunt.

“Taking someone’s liberty, and property like guns, should require some judicial review first. I don’t like the idea of people being locked up on the say-so of another, perhaps biased person, without a judge of some level (who is) able to weed out the obviously unmerited filings,” said Castor.

The Pennsylvania state House held a committee hearing last year on modernizing the 302 law, which dates to 1976. Majority Whip Rep. Michael Schlossberg (D-Lehigh) said the goal is to make the 302 process easier by changing the wording from “clear and present danger” to “predictable psychological deterioration.” Minnesota and Arizona use this standard, he said.

Broad + Liberty asked whether the legislators planned to make sure that 302s are not misused.

“Respectfully, two cases is not indicative of a system that is ripe for abuse,” Schlossberg said. “Now, that does not mean that we should hand out 302s as a first resort. It’s a last resort for a slew of reasons, including the disruption to the individual’s life, employment, autonomy, and trust in the mental health system.”

“Clearly, these cases should not happen, and when they do, anyone who intentionally violates the clear intent of the law should be prosecuted, and we should always look for ways to improve how this system operates,” he added. “One of the things that my proposed revisions do is ensure that: AOT (assisted outpatient treatment) is incorporated into the 302 process.”

Connolly’s lawyer, Rene Mazer, filed motions in Common Pleas Court and a writ of habeas corpus in federal court on his behalf. In court papers, she said authorities violated the 302 rules, that he was being “held under a purported state court commitment that was imposed without the procedural safeguards required by the Due Process Clause.”

No doctor came to examine him until after Mazer filed the habeas corpus petition on March 17, Mazer said. In court filings, Mazer stated the staff pressured Connolly, who insists that he is sane, to take psychotropic medications.

After a hearing, Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Saltz ruled March 25 that Connolly should be released.

“I believe powerful people would like to silence and discredit Sean,” said Mazer, when asked why this happened.

While Connolly is happy to be free, he said what happened to him was “very traumatizing.”

“I was essentially a political prisoner,” Connolly said. “I exposed bad people by telling the truth.”

Michael Bootier, the lawyer for Brooke Glen, said the hospital “cannot comment on individual patients,” but noted that it is a judge or a court officer, not the hospital, that determines involuntary commitments.

“Brooke Glen remains committed to providing high-quality care to teens and adults with complex mental health needs.”

Linda Stein is a Philadelphia-area journalist.

Full Article & Source:
Montgomery and Chester County cases highlight flaws in Pennsylvania’s involuntary commitment law.

Duckworth, Sanders, Fetterman Introduce Legislation to Establish Guardianship Bill of Rights to Protect Veterans and Americans with Disabilities

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The Senators’ legislation comes after the VA announced an effort that could push hundreds of Veterans into exploitative legal guardianships and deny our heroes the proper care they’ve earned

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced legislation that would establish a Guardianship Bill of Rights to help protect Veterans from being forced into harmful arrangements and thrown into institutions as part of a new policy announced by the Trump Administration. Specifically, the Trump Administration’s recent policy agreement allows the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to grant U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) attorneys the authority to initiate and participate in state court guardianship proceedings on behalf of the VA. This policy threatens to rip away agency from hundreds of Veterans and unnecessarily force them into institutions after the Trump Administration has repeatedly gutted the VA and made it harder for them to access the care they need and have earned through their service. In addition to Duckworth, the Guardianship Bill of Rights Act of 2026 is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and John Fetterman (D-PA).

“Guardianships frequently result in abuse and exploitation—it is downright abhorrent that the Trump Administration has created a legal backdoor to force Veterans into such arrangements that would strip them of their autonomy and see them institutionalized,” said Duckworth. “Our heroes deserve so much better than a President who guts the VA, slashes essential services and now tries to shove them into institutions. This legislation would codify a list of legal rights to protect Americans with disabilities and anyone who has a guardian or conservator, including Veterans who are threatened by this Administration’s latest shameful effort to abandon them.”

“We have a responsibility to ensure that those living under a guardianship aren’t ever stripped of their rights, and we need a guardianship system that respects the voices of our veterans, seniors, and those with disabilities,” said Senator Fetterman. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing the Guardianship Bill of Rights Act, which protects those living under a guardianship from fraud, exploitation, and abuse and makes sure their dignity always comes first.”

While guardians are obligated to protect the person they serve, this legal tool is largely overused and frequently results in vulnerable people—especially those with disabilities—being abused, defrauded or stripped of their agency. Despite less restrictive alternatives, like supported decisionmaking, being widely available, guardianship is commonly used as the first course of action instead of a last resort—resulting in too many Americans being unnecessarily institutionalized when they could better thrive in their homes and communities. Shamefully, the Trump Administration has been working to steer Veterans and people with disabilities into institutions instead of promoting alternatives that better protect their civil rights.

The Senators’ Guardianship Bill of Rights Act of 2026 would help protect the rights of Veterans and Americans with disabilities in protective agreements by:

Creating a Council to develop a Guardianship Bill of Rights regarding the fundamental civil rights of individuals being considered for, or living under, protective arrangements;
Establishing standards for protective arrangements, including transitioning from such arrangements to supportive decisionmaking and other alternative arrangements; and
Establishing a Protection and Advocacy Program, for oversight and monitoring of State and local guardianships, conservatorships and other protective arrangements.

The full text of the legislation is available on Senator Duckworth’s website.

Full Article & Source:
Duckworth, Sanders, Fetterman Introduce Legislation to Establish Guardianship Bill of Rights to Protect Veterans and Americans with Disabilities

A New Push to Put Homeless Veterans Under Legal Guardianship

Paralyzed Veterans of America Issues Statement Following VA-DOJ Agreement Allowing Guardianship Proceedings for Veterans with Catastrophic Disabilities

V.A. Begins Drive to Put Homeless Veterans Into Guardianship

VA-DOJ Memorandum of Understanding on Guardianship Threatens to Strip Rights from Homeless Veterans

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0000

By Alayna Calabro, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst

The U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Justice (DOJ) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on March 11 that could strip veterans, particularly those experiencing homelessness, of the right to make their own health care decisions. Veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness are among the targeted population. NLIHC strongly opposes the VA-DOJ initiative.

The agreement allows VA attorneys to initiate and participate in guardianship or conservatorship proceedings in state courts against veterans. According to a DOJ website, “guardianship results in the removal of an individual’s legal rights and restricts their rights to make their own decisions…Guardianship should be limited to situations where there are no other reasonable ways to meet the individuals’ needs.”

The unprecedented agreement between VA and DOJ creates a pathway for stripping veterans experiencing homelessness of their autonomy rather than addressing the root causes of homelessness. The initiative comes amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to withdraw federal support for needed homelessness solutions and force people experiencing homelessness into jails and other institutions.

Pairing rental assistance with voluntary supportive services has been instrumental in reducing veteran homelessness by 11% since 2020 and by more than 55% since 2010. Despite this progress, the Trump administration has worked to slash funding for permanent housing and mandate treatment programs for people experiencing homelessness, putting veterans and others at risk of housing instability, forced institutionalization, and homelessness. Guardianship and involuntary treatment are not solutions to homelessness; instead, policymakers should expand access to affordable housing, health care, and community-based services.

Read the MOU here.

Full Article & Source:
VA-DOJ Memorandum of Understanding on Guardianship Threatens to Strip Rights from Homeless Veterans

Mon County woman charged with financial exploitation of an elderly person

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 05:30:00 +0000

By WDTV News Staff

MORGANTOWN, W.Va (WDTV) - A Morgantown woman has been charged with financial exploitation after police find that she accumulated over $500,00.00 in assets from an elderly person.

Brittany Miller, 37, has been charged with financial exploitation of an elderly person, according to the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office.

Reports state that Miller gained financial access to the victim’s funds, after personally creating and filing a Statutory Power of Attorney document around February 2023 in Monongalia County and elsewhere.

She then created a pattern of repeated withdrawals, checks to cash, and debit card use that was inconsistent with the victim’s needs, abilities, and location. This led the victim’s financial institution to freeze accounts for suspected elder abuse.

There were 24 personal checks made out to Miller beginning in February of 2023 to December of 2025; a personal check to purchase ownership of a property in Vienna, WV: three debit card transactions for boudoir photography sessions; seven debit card transactions for jeep upgrades; three debit card transactions for cosmetic procedures; and a single cash payment for cosmetic porcelain ceramic teeth.

There was an accumulated financial loss for the victim estimated to be greater than $500,00.00, causing Adult Protective Services (APS) to take protective action against the suspected abuse.

According to detectives, Miller exerted influence over the victim due to her age, cognitive impairment, and dependency, using her fiduciary authority to control finances, change wills, and act for personal gain. No credible evidence or information had been found to support “good faith” or otherwise lawful use of the victims’ funds.

Miller’s bond was set at $40,000 and was posted on March 24.

Full Article & Source:
Mon County woman charged with financial exploitation of an elderly person

Judge begins to unwind conflicts in Ventura County conservatorship cases

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

by Byrhonda Lyons

David Esquibias is an attorney who owns Townsgate In-Home Services, which received $2.7 million from his wife’s clients. Photo by David Buchan

For years, a fiduciary in Ventura County has been directing her clients’ money to her husband’s law firm and health care company, all with the court’s approval. A newly appointed judge has begun to unwind the arrangements weeks after a CalMatters’ investigation exposed the conflicts of interest.

Ventura County Probate Judge Gilbert Romero ruled that Angelique Friend violated court rules in three cases when she hired her husband, David Esquibias, as her attorney, and her clients paid the bill. The judge ordered her to stop hiring Esquibias as her attorney and Townsgate In-Home Services, Esquibias’ company. Romero blocked Esquibias from collecting attorney’s fees in the three cases.

“Here, the conservator hiring her spouse as her attorney and paying his fees from the estate reasonably could create the appearance of a conflict of interest and be perceived as self-serving,” Romero wrote in a ruling.

The judge also suspended Friend as the trustee in a fourth case after beneficiaries of the Mettler Trust argued that she breached her fiduciary duties by paying Townsgate $1.1 million from the trust from 2021 to 2025. They are asking the court to force Friend to reimburse the estate.

Friend argued that she disclosed her connection to Townsgate and that she has no ownership interest in the company. A hearing for the case is scheduled for July.

Romero started a March 23 hearing by establishing a timeline of Friend and Esquibias’ relationship and when it was formally disclosed. The more questions he asked, the more testy Esquibias became. The attorney called the judge’s line of questioning “rather sickening.”

“I am helpless to protect her,” Esquibias said of his wife. “I should tell the court, ‘Do not question my client.’”

Romero responded, “Doesn’t that go to the conflict?”

In one case, Friend became the conservator over Brenna Clark’s estate in 2014, court records show, and Esquibias represented Friend before they married. They never formally disclosed their dating relationship on the record, only orally, Esquibias told the court.

Romero said that was a problem, even though the previous judge allowed it. That judge, Roger Lund, was reassigned last fall, weeks after CalMatters began asking questions about the arrangement.

“As soon as you and Mrs. Friend started a dating relationship, that was a violation of the rule of court,” Romero said. “I think your services should have been terminated at that point.”

Esquibias expressed shock that his work relationship with Friend had now become an issue after years of the court’s approval.

“It was something that was actually celebrated in this very courtroom by colleagues … who attended my wedding,” Esquibias said. Indeed, retired Judge Glen M. Reiser signed their marriage license in 2019.

The judge also considered disallowing Townsgate’s payments in one case, but he gave Friend a chance to show that Townsgate’s hiring was in the best interest of her client. The judge is scheduled to rehear that case on May 4.

The CalMatters investigation found that Lund approved Friend and Esquibias’s arrangement for years, even as family members complained. Court records show the couple brought in about $3 million from 2019 to 2025 from clients in the six cases CalMatters reviewed; $2.7 million went to Townsgate, even though court rules and the California Professional Fiduciary Bureau’s code of conduct generally prohibit such conflicts.

Nearly three weeks after the story ran, in a rare move, Romero brought his own motion to reconsider the attorney’s fees and Townsgate costs he’d recently approved. Romero noted that he could only review approvals that he’d signed, and he couldn’t do anything about the years of approvals that came before him.

“I have an obligation to correct myself,” Romero said.

In an email, Friend said “these relationships were disclosed from the outset, repeatedly presented to the court, and previously approved.”

“While I respect the new judge’s ruling and have taken immediate steps to comply going forward, including retaining new counsel and replacing the care provider company,” she wrote, “I disagree with applying that new view retroactively to arrangements that were fully disclosed and previously approved.”

She said they are “evaluating the next legal steps to formally dispute the retroactive rulings.”

Full Article & Source:
Judge begins to unwind conflicts in Ventura County conservatorship cases

California Fiduciary Accused of Stealing from Alzheimer's Patient's Trust

Justice Department officials launch elder abuse forensic training

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 05:30:00 +0000

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — U.S. Attorneys Matthew L. Harvey and Moore Capito, in partnership with Modell Consulting, launched a two-day training session this week at the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services facility to bolster the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative.

U.S. attorneys Matthew L. Harvey and Moore Capito launched the initiative.

The program, titled West Virginia SAFE (Safe and Accessible Forensic Interviewing with Elders), provides specialized training for law enforcement, prosecutors, and social workers on communicating with older crime victims. Led by Karen Hill, Ed.D., LCPA, the curriculum focuses on forensic interviewing techniques that account for age-related cognitive decline, dementia, Alzheimer’s, language capacity, and cultural backgrounds.

"Those who target older Americans for financial gain should be on notice: We will use every tool available to investigate and prosecute these crimes," Harvey said. "By investing in this training, we are standing up for our seniors and making clear that exploitation of the elderly will not be tolerated in our communities."

The initiative arrives as federal officials increase efforts to combat the physical and financial exploitation of seniors across the state.

"Elder abuse is a coward’s crime — preying on those least able to fight back," Capito said. "That’s why this training matters — it sharpens our ability to spot it, stop it, and hold offenders accountable. We will not overlook it, we will not excuse it — we will prosecute it, every time."

Participants in the session are eligible for professional education credits. The West Virginia State Bar is providing legal education credits, while the West Virginia Division Law Enforcement Professional Standards Program is providing law enforcement credits. Social work credits are provided by Crittenton Services Inc. of Wheeling.

AARP served as a limited sponsor for the event. For further information regarding the DOJ Elder Justice Initiative, the public may contact Elder Justice Coordinators Kimberley Crockett or Jonathan Storage at their respective U.S. Attorney’s Offices.

Full Article & Source:
Justice Department officials launch elder abuse forensic training

Hospital discharge law concerns advocates

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 06:30:00 +0000

by Sarah Volpenhein

A bill passed by the Wisconsin Legislature will make it easier for hospitals to discharge certain patients deemed incapacitated to nursing homes, freeing up hospital beds that might otherwise be tied up for weeks.

The bill, which Gov. Tony Evers signed into law on March 20, has the support of hospital systems that complain of long, costly delays in discharging patients who can no longer make medical decisions for themselves and haven’t designated someone to act on their behalf. At present, they remain in the hospital while awaiting court proceedings to appoint a guardian.

“This legislation will help ensure patients can move more quickly to the most appropriate setting for their recovery, while also improving hospital capacity for those who need hospital care,” said Kyle O’Brien, president and chief executive of the Wisconsin Hospital Association, a trade group representing hospitals.

The legislation was opposed by disability and aging rights advocates, who say it circumvents the guardianship process, designed to protect the rights of vulnerable individuals, and could result in patients becoming confined to institutions against their will.

“The guardianship process is complex for a reason,” Lisa Hassenstab, public policy manager at Disability Rights Wisconsin, said during a November hearing on the bill. “That reason is due process.”

The Senate voted 28-5 in favor of the legislation on March 17 during what could be the body’s last floor session for the year.

The bill passed the Assembly in February with bipartisan support, following an amendment adding price transparency requirements for hospitals.

Health systems engaged in heavy lobbying for bill

The legislation received a major push from Wisconsin health systems, hospitals and industry trade groups, which collectively spent more than 400 hours lobbying in favor of the bill, according to reports made to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.

Wisconsin hospitals spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year housing patients who no longer need hospital care and are awaiting discharge or transfer to nursing homes or other facilities. While the reasons behind

discharge delays are many, the bill addresses only the guardianship issue.

It does not address other underlying causes, such as limited bed availability at nursing homes or the lack of medical facilities accepting complex patients.

Up until now, if physicians deemed a patient no longer able to make medical decisions for themselves and they did not have a power of attorney, the hospital could not discharge the patient to a nursing home until a guardianship petition was filed with a court, even when family members agreed to the transfer. Those proceedings could take weeks or months, hospital officials said.

The patient may be someone who had a stroke, suffered a traumatic brain injury, or has dementia or another agerelated disease and lacks the ability to manage their own health care, whether temporarily or permanently.

The new law removes the requirement to file for guardianship and allows a family member, called a patient representative, to agree to the patient’s admission to a nursing home, make health care decisions for them and approve health-related spending.

Disability advocates argue the legislation removes protections like court oversight that come with the guardianship process while also granting a lot of the same authority as a guardian. They say the legislation does not require that the patient be notified of the representative’s appointment or of their rights to ask for a reevaluation of their mental capacity. Nor does it require the representative to consider the wishes of the patient, they say.

The legislation, they said, also lacks protections against an abuser or estranged relative assuming the role.

“Oftentimes the person who is an abuser is the person who is really keeping an eye on the person in the hospital,” said Tami Jackson, public policy analyst and legislative liaison with the WisconVon sin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities. “Somebody who gets picked under this bill ends up with a whole lot of authority.”

Under the new law, the patient or another family member may object to the nursing home placement, if aware.

Anyone may ask a court to review the patient representative’s actions or may request a reevaluation of the patient’s capacity.

Extended hospital stays can contribute to overcrowding

While promoting the bill, health systems argued that patients may miss out on crucial rehabilitation or other health care while waiting in the hospital for discharge. By remaining in the hospital, they also are at increased risk of hospital-acquired infections or falls especially dangerous for elderly patients.

From January to October 2025, Mayo Clinic Health System counted about 35 patients with extended stays at its northwest Wisconsin hospitals, Gina

Ruden, a Mayo senior nurse administrator, said at a November hearing on the bill. At Mayo’s Eau Claire hospital, that added up to patients spending a collective 1,200 days in the hospital because of guardianship delays, she said.

The extended stays contribute to hospital overcrowding. Mayo Clinic has seen an influx of patients, Von Ruden said, ever since the abrupt closure in 2024 of two area hospitals by Hospital Sisters Health System, a competing health system.

When overcrowded, the Mayo hospital in Eau Claire has to board patients in the emergency department, Von Ruden said, where they may spend the rest of their hospital visit if no bed becomes available on an inpatient floor.

“They might be in a hallway in the emergency department or even in the ambulance bay when things get real tight,” Von Ruden said.

The bill has a three-year sunset provision, which allows legislators to check if the bill is working as intended before renewing it.

Full Article & Source:
Hospital discharge law concerns advocates

Washington courts rarely discipline guardians ad litem accused of misconduct in custody cases

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Minimal oversight of these court evaluators makes it difficult for parents to challenge flawed reports without risking damage to their cases

By Kelsey Turner

Stephanie Maya thought the facts were on her side in the custody case for her 3-year-old son.

She’d recently escaped an abusive relationship with her ex-boyfriend, the father of her son. He had been arrested for physically assaulting and strangling her, an experience that Maya says happened repeatedly throughout their relationship, often while he was drunk and often in front of their toddler.

The guardian ad litem — court appointed in May 2024 to represent the best interests of her son and investigate issues that could impact his safety, like domestic violence — knew about the dad’s pending domestic violence charges and court orders prohibiting him from contacting Maya.

So Maya was shocked when the guardian ad litem, Meredith Gerhart, submitted a report that portrayed Maya as a potentially criminal abuser. Gerhart, a well-respected attorney in Thurston County, a community on the southern tip of the Puget Sound, wrote that Maya had three “prior offenses involving domestic violence” based on a list provided to her by Maya’s ex-boyfriend. Yet a background check would have confirmed that Maya was the one who reported those assaults to law enforcement — as a victim and witness.

“The fact that I was trying to do something good, and she used that against me to try to paint me as this criminal, as an abuser, was very upsetting,” said Maya, 34. “She never once even asked me if any of that was true.”

The report, which Maya says includes many other false claims from her ex-boyfriend stated like facts, had a near immediate impact on her custody case. A court commissioner ordered that the child spend weekends with his dad — who, until that point, was only allowed supervised visits — and said the report “clearly establishes” that Maya was causing conflict in the co-parenting relationship, a finding that can lead to restrictions on parenting time. Gerhart, who’s still working as a guardian ad litem in Thurston County, said she cannot comment for this article because the case is active.

It took nearly a year and the help of a lawyer for a court review board to formally reprimand Gerhart for failing to make “any effort” to substantiate the claims of Maya’s ex, who pleaded guilty in February 2026 to assaulting Maya and interfering with her attempt to call 911. It’s a rare instance of a parent successfully proving that an investigation of a guardian ad litem — a neutral third-party court investigator also referred to as a GAL — was unfairly biased, although parents and attorneys say they see biased reports all the time.

Guardians ad litem have been appointed in over 7,100 Washington family law cases since 2020, according to data from the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts. Although they don’t have a direct say in custody outcomes, their conclusions and recommendations can hold significant weight in court.

But despite courts’ frequent reliance on these professionals — and the sometimes tens of thousands of dollars that parents must pay for them — there’s little independent oversight of the role, leaving many parents without a meaningful way to hold them accountable for inaccurate, biased or shoddy investigations that shape custody cases.

The decision to remove guardians ad litem or their reports from a case is up to the judge, yet judges have limited insight into how investigations are conducted. Even in instances when court committees or judges found that a guardian ad litem conducted a biased investigation, or stepped outside the scope of their role, discipline rarely extended beyond a reprimand and orders for additional training, according to InvestigateWest’s review of grievances and removals of guardians ad litem in Washington.

While those court investigators may go on to work with more families, some parents are left fighting the consequences of questionable reports for years. Parents say their kids have been placed in homes with potentially abusive adults, and some have even lost custody to their abusers.

Other than a state-mandated three-and-a-half-day training, Washington’s guardians ad litem — like those in other states — have few standardized qualifications, and they have no managers or statewide agencies vetting their work. Some started their careers over a decade ago, when there were even fewer training requirements.

Advocates and researchers across the nation — from Washington to Idaho to Georgia to New Hampshire — have called on their legislatures to require more training and accountability for guardians ad litem as their use in family court and influence in custody cases has grown in recent decades. Washington state legislators acknowledged the need to address this insufficient oversight in a work session in December that discussed gaps in the oversight system and impacts of biased investigations on parents.

State Rep. Jamila Taylor, chair of the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee who led the session, noted a “strong interest” for guardian ad litem reform within the family law community.

“We probably do need to have a commission or some sort of review of the GAL statute and how we can navigate these issues around a very unregulated practice,” Taylor said in the session.

This minimal oversight makes it difficult for parents to challenge flawed reports without risking damage to their own cases — and, in some cases, even their chances of retaining custody of their children.

“Complaining about the way a GAL is going about something can be a dangerous space, because the court can feel like you’re distracting from the main issue,” said Jeffrey Keddie, a managing attorney at the Northwest Justice Project, a nonprofit legal aid program, who helps lead the state’s guardian ad litem trainings. “It’s about likability half the time, and if you become less likable, that can be very problematic.”

Their lack of understanding of issues like domestic violence can harm children for life, said Dawn Sydney, a family law attorney and former guardian ad litem in King County. “There has to be some system set up where there’s some accountability for these people.”

Discipline is rare, and limited

In Washington, the only avenue for parents to formally complain about a guardian ad litem is through the same superior court where their family law case is taking place. While most large counties have review committees made up of judges or other court officials to handle complaints, in King County — the state’s most populous county that appoints among the most guardians ad litem — grievances are reviewed by just one judge.

InvestigateWest requested complaints from six counties with the highest number of guardian ad litem appointments in Washington family law cases, and reviewed other complaints and court filings by parents alleging misconduct. While they flag common concerns with reports, such as one-sided investigations, incorrect or misleading information, and missed deadlines that delay cases for months, many parents and attorneys say they hesitate to file grievances because they fear it will do more harm than good.

“I don’t have faith that most GALs can separate their anger at a complaint being lodged at them from their neutrality as a GAL,” said Jennifer Summerville, Maya’s attorney.

In 2024 and 2025, a total of 31 grievances were filed against guardians ad litem across King, Snohomish, Pierce, Thurston, Cowlitz and Clark counties, according to each superior court’s administrations. Just four were found to have merit and are publicly available, including Maya’s. However, at least in some cases, grievances are dismissed without any evaluation of their merit.

Those four founded complaints offer a window into how guardians ad litem face limited discipline and continue holding influence in cases, despite the deficiencies:

Thurston County’s review board found that Gerhart’s report and investigation “do not show independence, objectivity, or the appearance of fairness.” Apart from a requirement to correct the report regarding Maya’s criminal history, the report remains part of Maya’s case, meaning it could still influence the custody outcome.
After a father called a Clark County guardian ad litem to raise concerns about her investigation, the court investigator became hostile and told him, “If that comes out in court I will take you to the wall,” according to the father’s notes from their phone call. A judge removed the court investigator from the case, and a court committee admonished her to remain respectful. She still works as a guardian ad litem, and her report remains part of the case.
Only one grievance resulted in removal from a county registry — meaning a guardian ad litem can no longer work in that county, the most severe discipline a court can impose. But a Thurston County judge reversed the removal after the guardian ad litem appealed the decision. A review committee found that he repeatedly inserted personal commentary and humor in his reports and acted outside of his role, such as creating his own “trauma scale” and facilitating a meeting between a domestic violence victim and perpetrator. He’s currently suspended but can be reinstated after completing a corrective action plan.
A Snohomish County guardian ad litem who was reassigned to a case in 2021 to conduct a quick follow-up investigation dropped out of contact with the court and could not be reached by the mom or her attorney for over a year. The court investigator resigned before the grievance was filed, limiting any sanctions the court could impose.

Parents aren’t notified about guardians ad litem’s disciplinary history when they’re appointed to a case, according to judicial officers. To get that disciplinary history, a person would need to file public records requests with the court where a guardian ad litem has worked. While many counties require guardians ad litem to disclose past grievances or case removals on their applications to continue working in the county, only Pierce County publishes those applications online.

If a guardian ad litem is barred from working in a county due to a grievance, the county’s superior court must notify the Administrative Office of the Courts, which will then share that information to courts across the state. But this is rare. The office said it hasn’t been notified of any such removals in the last five years.

The mom in Snohomish County, Katie Buss, spent two years trying to get a $2,500 refund for a report that was never written after the court investigator disappeared from the case. But she estimates that the guardian ad litem cost her closer to $8,000, between the cost of removing her from the case, an initial report that was later thrown out and attorney fees for the 15 months they could not reach her. Buss also spent another $1,575 for a new guardian ad litem.

Because the court investigator had resigned, the only sanction the court could impose was a promise not to reinstate her if she ever applied again. It couldn’t help Buss recoup the lost money.

“I did everything the system asked of me,” Buss told InvestigateWest. “I followed court orders, participated in evaluations, and relied on the processes that were supposed to protect my child. Instead, the system failed to provide meaningful accountability.”

Risks to filing a complaint

On Christmas Eve 2024, Maya logged into Zoom for a court hearing to review Gerhart’s guardian ad litem report. She listened as Thurston County Superior Court Commissioner Nathan Kortokrax praised Gerhart’s “thorough” work. While some judicial officers may balk at a 50-page report, Kortokrax said he actually appreciated it. He even read it twice.

With Gerhart seated in the courtroom and no attorney representing her at the time, Maya stayed quiet.

“Right then and there, I was like, ‘I will not have a voice tonight,’” she said. “I was just so scared to speak up against her.”

Due in part to parents’ fear of retaliation by the guardian ad litem or the court, only a couple dozen formal grievances have been filed across Washington’s most populous counties since 2024, despite guardians ad litem having served on hundreds of cases.

For parents who are already facing reputational attacks in the family law arena, convincing the court that a well-known guardian ad litem is not trustworthy can seem like an insurmountable task.

“If that guardian ad litem has the respect of the court, you’re going to have to really prove that they did a lot wrong to get them removed from a case,” said Keddie, the Northwest Justice Project attorney. “It’s near impossible.”

Some parents also worry that a guardian ad litem’s collegial relationships with judicial officers and attorneys make courts less willing to hold them accountable. Like Gerhart, who has been chair of the Thurston County Bar Association’s family law section since 2019, many guardians ad litem are respected attorneys or social workers. Some even work as temporary judicial officers.

Alicia Burton, a Pierce County Superior Court judge who chairs the county’s guardian ad litem grievance committee, said that as a family law judge, she didn’t hesitate to call out biased behavior. But Burton acknowledges that making such accusations can be intimidating even for judicial officers.

“It’s a hard thing to do as a judge, to tell a well-respected guardian ad litem who’s been in Pierce County for years, to say, ‘I thought your investigation was one-sided,’” Burton said.

In heated custody battles involving allegations of abuse, judges face the challenge of sorting through many competing accusations. Parents accuse each other of lying, abusers claim to be victims, and both parents may have histories that raise concerns about the children’s safety. These dynamics can make it difficult for judges to discern whether a parent’s complaint against a guardian ad litem is valid or just an expression of their personal dissatisfaction with how a report portrays them.

Superior Court Judge Aimée Sutton, who oversees King County’s family court and handles such grievances, said she’s received only a couple of complaints in the last two years and decided neither had merit.

“We all, in this line of work, have to deal with people complaining about us. It happens to lawyers all the time, it happens to judges every day,” Sutton said, adding that complaints are often from parents unhappy with the outcome of a report or ruling.

For many parents, however, the possibility of retaliation feels real — and they don’t always trust that the court will protect them. This is the risk that a Clark County dad weighed when he tried to remove a guardian ad litem in 2024.

Leslie, who asked to go by his first name, questioned the guardian ad litem in his custody case for relying heavily on a previous ex-girlfriend for information that he said was inaccurate. Leslie had been arrested 15 years before for allegedly assaulting that ex-girlfriend during an argument, a history that Leslie says he had disclosed to the guardian ad litem. That charge was also dismissed.

The guardian ad litem, Robin Jones, threatened to take him “to the wall” if he brought his concerns about Jones to the court, according to Leslie’s notes from their phone call. He took that to mean that Jones would do “everything in her power” to try to minimize his time with his child, he said.

In the weeks after their phone call, according to Leslie’s complaint, Jones contacted two of Leslie’s workplace supervisors and shared some of these claims about his previous relationship, as well as medical information about his gender transition surgery without his permission. One of Leslie’s supervisors said in a court declaration that the conversation with Jones “did not sit well” and that she was “very surprised with the lack of confidentiality for such sensitive information.”

Leslie felt that it was an intentional effort by Jones to sabotage his employment and wanted her off his case. His lawyer wasn’t supportive of removing Jones and withdrew, so he hired another to help him file the motion. A judge approved the removal in October 2024, finding that Jones had disclosed information to third parties without Leslie’s consent. Jones declined to comment due to the active case, and her responses to Leslie’s grievance are not publicly available.

But her report remains part of the court record, and even though a court advisory committee found merit to his claim that Jones threatened him, the only discipline was an admonishment for Jones to “remain respectful and courteous.” The committee did not find merit to his allegation that Jones disseminated false information to third parties and found insufficient evidence supporting that she disclosed confidential medical information to third parties.

Leslie, whose case is still pending, felt like he had to put a lot on the line to get any form of accountability.

“It is so dangerous because you are putting recommendations for your time with your children at risk by taking those steps,” he said.

Few guardrails

As courts entrust them to represent what’s best for the children, even some guardians ad litem say they feel unsupported or unprepared for complex cases.

Dawn Sydney, a family law attorney in King County, became a guardian ad litem in 2017. After serving on around a dozen cases, she stopped taking assignments because she felt uncomfortable with the power she held over families and the prospect of getting it wrong.

It’s time consuming to write a thorough report, Sydney said, especially for guardians ad litem who, like her, often have other jobs as attorneys or social workers. Conducting more in-depth investigations also means charging parents potentially exorbitant fees, as private rates can reach up to $300 per hour.

“My rates for GAL cases are lower than my attorney hourly rate, and yet as much as I’d like to say, ‘I don't charge for that,’ I do have a practice, I have staff, I have a mortgage that I have to pay,” Sydney said.

She thinks these challenges, along with insufficient training, mean many court investigators “just don’t do great jobs.”

Although she’s no longer taking cases as a guardian ad litem, Sydney continues seeing the consequences of shoddy investigations as a lawyer representing domestic violence survivors. In 2020, while representing a mom in King County, she successfully removed a guardian ad litem from a case who admitted to altering the mom’s form consenting to the release of medical information and falsely attributing a quote to a therapist. The resulting discipline for the guardian ad litem, Meera Shin, was no more than a “slap on the hand,” Sydney said.

“I would lose my license for that. A doctor would lose their license for that,” Sydney said.

Shin continued working as a guardian ad litem in Snohomish County for several years and is still on King County’s registry. The removal process, meanwhile, cost Sydney’s client thousands of dollars.

Shin said her errors were not in bad faith — she thought she had the mom’s permission to access the medical records, and she altered the release to speed up the paperwork process. She admits it was a mistake and agrees with the judge’s decision to remove her, she told InvestigateWest. It was the first big family law case that she’d been assigned to, and she felt largely unprepared for its complexity.

“If they did not remove me, and if I did not have this experience, I wouldn’t have known,” she said.

Yet in the court order discharging Shin, the judge said it was “far from clear” whether Shin “understands the gravity of what she did.” Six years later, Shin, who has a Ph.D. in child development and family studies, said she still doesn’t feel confident in the role and plans to leave the profession once her current cases wrap up. She thinks more ongoing training could have helped her find more success.

In Maya’s case, Gerhart defended her investigation by pointing to a disclaimer that she includes in all her reports, which states: “The content of this report assumes that all information provided and reported to the GAL is true and correct.” Gerhart didn’t see a need to correct the false information about Maya’s criminal history because it was the father’s statement, not hers, and the father later clarified his claims directly with the court.

The review board disagreed. In a November letter of reprimand, they concluded that her report “appeared to be written from the perspective” of Maya’s ex-partner and that Gerhart is still obligated to make reasonable efforts to be informed about the case. The board required her to correct the report regarding Maya’s criminal history, stop using the disclaimer and complete at least two hours of guardian ad litem training.

It was a bittersweet outcome for Maya, who’s still waiting for her more-than-two-year custody case to go to trial. Several other statements that Maya had flagged in the report, which remains a part of the case, also were not corrected.

But for parents like Maya, the impact of guardian ad litem misconduct runs deeper than the words themselves. Gerhart’s report plunged Maya into a deep depression as she confronted the possibility of losing time with her son.

“I started to believe that I was a bad person,” Maya said. “That maybe I wasn’t good enough for my child. That maybe I was the problem.”

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Washington courts rarely discipline guardians ad litem accused of misconduct in custody cases

Former police officer accused of threatening judge, court officials has competency restored

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

by MARY ANN GREIER

LISBON –A visiting judge Friday found that a former East Palestine police officer accused of allegedly making threats against a judge, the prosecutor’s office and three others had his competency restored, but now must be evaluated regarding his sanity at the time of the offenses.

Matthew Elser, 45, Market Street, Columbiana, appeared for the hearing via video from Heartland Behavioral Healthcare in Massillon, with retired Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Edward O’Farrell presiding in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court.

Elser’s appointed defense attorney, Rhys Cartwright-Jones, was present in the courtroom, along with attorney Edward A. Czopur, who was assigned as special prosecutor for the case.

In October, Elser was ordered hospitalized at Heartland after O’Farrell found he was not competent to stand trial, noting that he was not capable of understanding the nature and objective of the legal proceedings against him and not capable of assisting in his defense of the criminal charges.

At that time, O’Farrell also found a reasonable probability that the defendant could be restored to competency to stand trial within the six-month time period allow by law. At the time, he said the time period was one year, but corrected that entry this week.

O’Farrell explained that the court received a competency restoration report on Wednesday. He said it was the opinion of the examiner that Elser was currently capable of understanding the nature and objective of the legal proceedings against him and was capable of assisting in his defense.

Both attorneys stipulated to the finding that Elser was now competent.

O’Farrell ordered the sanity evaluation be conducted and ruled that Elser will remain at Heartland as a condition of his $100,000 cash or surety bond. The judge explained to Elser what was happening.

O’Farrell was assigned by the Ohio Supreme Court to handle the case due to conflicts cited by Common Pleas Court Judges Scott Washam and Megan Bickerton. The Columbiana County Prosecutor’s Office also cited a conflict, resulting in Czopur’s appointment as special prosecutor.

Charges against Elser include one count third-degree felony intimidation, four counts of third-degree felony retaliation, one count third-degree felony intimidation of an attorney, victim or witness in a criminal case, and misdemeanors of five counts telecommunications harassment, five counts aggravated menacing, and one count unlawful restraint.

According to the indictment, the unlawful restraint charge dates back to Oct. 10, 2024 when Elser allegedly restrained a woman of her liberty at a house in Columbiana. An affidavit filed in county Municipal Court regarding the incident alleged he was drunk and throwing the woman’s phone, restricting her from getting up off of the couch by standing over her. He also allegedly grabbed her phone and threw it, breaking a window, and in order to escape she had to allegedly slap him. When she tried to regain control of her phone, he wouldn’t give it back and she fled to a neighbor’s house to call police.

He was charged with the unlawful restraint in county Municipal Court and while that case was pending, on June 24, 2025, the victim in the case came to the police station in Columbiana to report receiving multiple unwanted phone calls from Elser. The police affidavit noted that “the victim states that in these messages the defendant threatened to kill her, her family members, and the judge and prosecutor of his case.” At that time, one count of misdemeanor telecommunications harassment was filed. The judge in question was county Municipal Court Judge Tim McNicol. The indictment was served on Elser in July 2025 with those charges plus additional charges.

County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino confirmed that Elser previously worked as a police officer for the East Palestine Police Department and briefly with the Perry Township Police Department.

Most of the charges stem from June 24, 2025 although there were two charges from June 25, 2025 and the one from Oct. 10, 2024. Besides allegedly knowingly causing McNicol to believe he would be harmed, Elser also allegedly knowingly caused the Columbiana County Prosecutor’s Office to believe he would cause harm to the county Prosecutor’s Office or property of the county Prosecutor’s Office. He also allegedly threatened the victim from the first case and two others.

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Former police officer accused of threatening judge, court officials has competency restored

Church Point caretaker accused of using elderly person’s card at Lafayette Parish jail

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 05:30:00 +0000

by: Scott Yoshonis

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — A Church Point woman has been arrested and accused of using the bank card of the elderly person under her care to buy things at the Lafayette Parish jail, authorities said.

Paris Chavis, 39, of Church Point, is charged with one count of exploitation of the elderly or persons with infirmities and 19 counts of identity theft.

Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives said Chavis, who was employed as the victim’s caretaker, used the victim’s bank card to make 19 purchases through an inmate communications service at the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center.

Chavis was booked into the jail and released on $5,000 bond, online records show.

No other information was released. The investigation remains ongoing.

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Church Point caretaker accused of using elderly person’s card at Lafayette Parish jail

New program expands independence for New Yorkers with disabilities

noreply@blogger.com (NASGA) — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

by Corey James

New strides are being made to help New Yorkers with disabilities live more independently and make more of their own choices.

For Keith Knox, that starts with something as simple as checking the mail. The routine walk to his mailbox is easy. Reading what is inside is not.

“I’m visually impaired,” Knox said in an interview. Once a month, he brings his mail to the Capital District Center for Independence, where staff read it with him, help him fill out food stamp and Medicaid forms, and navigate paperwork that has become harder to see as his vision declines.

Knox has hydrocephalus, a condition that can cause blurry, impaired vision. As his sight worsened over the years, he turned to the center for help staying in his own home.

“They call me frequently to check on me,” he said. “I told them I needed housing, and then they referred me.”

Beyond regular check-ins with Knox, the Capital District Center for Independence serves people of all ages with all types of disabilities from across the region and partners with organizations around New York state.

“People with disabilities are people first,” said Laurel Kelley, executive director of the center. “So everyone wants to live in the community. I mean, I think it’s a human need.”

Kelley said the organization follows the independent living philosophy, the idea that people with disabilities should have the same rights and choices as anyone else about where and how they live.

That push for independence is increasingly reflected in state policy. On Tuesday, the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities and AIM Services, a nonprofit that supports people with developmental and other disabilities across New York, announced a new supported decision-making program.

Supported decision-making allows a person with a disability to choose trusted supporters to help them understand options and communicate decisions, instead of handing that authority to a court-appointed guardian. Advocates say it is a less restrictive alternative to guardianship and keeps control in the hands of the person.

“I do my own cooking, do my own meds,” said Dwight Joyner, who receives services through AIM. “When my meds get low, I can call people. I can call the pharmacy [and] tell them I’m low on meds, low on pills [and] low on insulin.”

Christopher Lyons, chief executive officer of AIM Services, said the model is designed to replace “draconian” forms of control.

“This replaces the draconian control of guardianship with the opportunity for people to learn from their choices, with support from those who they identify to impart meaning in their lives, on their terms,” Lyons said. “That’s what supported decision-making is designed to do.”

OPWDD Commissioner Willow Baer said the state’s goal is to expand tools that let people direct their own lives.

“We are putting the right tools in the hands of people with disabilities to make sure they can direct their own decisions about their own lives,” Baer said.

As more programs like this roll out, advocates say the goal is simple: treat everyone equally, and keep supporting independence for people with disabilities, no matter the label.

Full Article & Source:
New program expands independence for New Yorkers with disabilities