Guardian angels make life better for disabled

Diane Ragsdale, left, looks over the award  she received from Judge Claudia Laird  for her service during the inaugural  Guardian Angel Day  reception honoring guardians,  court visitors and attorneys ad litem  who assist in cases concerning resident s with special needs Wednesday.

The smile on Erica Sanchez’s face might have been the result of the punch and cake she was served Wednesday afternoon. But the child’s happy mood also could be traced to the first Guardian Angel Day Reception.

Nearly 200 guardians, court visitors and attorneys attended the ceremony in Commissioners Court in the Alan B. Sadler Building in Conroe.
 
The reception and the guardian program were the creation of Judge Claudia Laird and her County Court of Law 2 staff.

For the past year, Laird and her staff recruited approximately 15 volunteers to visit some 450 mentally disabled patients throughout the course of a year. The state of Texas requires mentally disabled residents to undergo an examination at least once a a year, Laird said.

Laird introduced investigator Dina Hardwick for her contributions the past year.

“Whenever a red flag went up, she responded,” Laird said of Hardwick.

Attorneys ad litem is a term used in law to refer to the appointment by a court of one party to act in a lawsuit on behalf of another party — for instance, a child or an incapacitated adult — who is deemed incapable of representing him or herself.

“Life can be very hard,” Laird said. “Some of them have Downs Syndrome, or Alzheimer’s. We make certain these patients are receiving the appropriate assistance.”

An educator for many years before retiring, Guardian Angel Dorothy Woodall enjoys continuing to teach.

“I’m very blessed to be able to help,” she said.

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Guardian angels make life better for disabled

Reform Lands Maricopa County Superior Court’s Probate Court Top Honor

The National Association of Court Management has awarded Maricopa County Superior Court’s Probate Court with the 2013 Justice Achievement Award.
 
The award recognizes comprehensive reform efforts of judicial officers, administrators and court staff over the last three years, according to a news release from the Superior Court of Arizona.

“It is clear that over the past few years the Maricopa County Probate Court has experienced significant reform and innovation under the able leadership of Probate Presiding Judge Rosa Mroz,” said Superior Court Presiding Judge Norman Davis in the release.

“The process of improvement is by its nature perpetual, and the Maricopa County Superior Court has always, and will continue to strive for excellence in providing the public with the best judicial system possible,” Davis said.

The Court will accept the award at the NACM Annual Conference on July 15.

The Justice Achievement Award was established in 1988 to recognize outstanding achievement and meritorious projects that enhance the administration of justice, according to the release.

In 2010, Superior Court received a Justice Achievement Award for the re-design of its CASA website.

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Reform Lands Probate Court Top Honor

Forest Grove detective receives award for role in helping protect vulnerable elderly from abuse

A Forest Grove detective was named a recipient of the Oregon Health Care Association’s Special Service Award last month for his role in helping shape legislation to protect vulnerable elderly from fraud and abuse.

Detective Matt Smith was honored along with Clackamas County Deputy District Attorney John Wentworth and Brady Scott, director of in Bandon, said Capt. Mike Herb, Forest Grove police spokesman. The three last year were appointed to a governor’s work group that drafted legislative recommendations to further protect the elderly from abuse. The result was House Bill 4084, which Governor John Kitzhaber

The bill allows law enforcement to gain access to records that belong to elderly victims without them — or a caregiver — signing a waiver, if investigators believe abuse is occurring. That way, authorities can access records much faster, Smith said. The bill requires banks and financial institutions to turn over records upon receipt of a subpoena. Health care providers must comply without court order.

“Detective Smith contributed countless hours in attending meetings and legislative hearings at the State Capital in creating new legislation to protect seniors from becoming victims of fraud and financial abuse,” Herb said in an email. “He is definitely a crusader fighting for our vulnerable elderly population.”

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Forest Grove detective receives award for role in helping protect vulnerable elderly from abuse

Senator Lois Wolk Honored for Her Work to Protect CA Seniors

The Elder Financial Protection Network, the primary provider of elder financial abuse prevention programs in California, honored Senator Lois Wolk Thursday for her work to protect the state’s seniors throughout her tenure in the Legislature.

The group’s board of directors presented Wolk with the Donald N. Phelps Visionary Award at the 9th Annual “Call to Action 2012” in San Francisco, an event where law enforcement, consumer advocates, banking institutions, legal experts, and consumers come together to share best practices to prevent elder financial exploitation and fraud, including advances in community education and consumer protection.

“It is a great honor to be recognized by the Elder Financial Protection Network, which provides such vital services to help protect our state’s seniors,” said Wolk, D-Davis. “As our senior population continues to grow at a rapid pace, so too does the need to provide them with the information and tools they need to protect themselves. Perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned working on senior issues is that the best thing anyone can do to protect themselves is to stay informed and aware.”

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Wolk Honored for Work to Protect CA’s Seniors

Martin Sheen Wins 2012 Spirit of Life Award

A pro-life organization is honoring veteran actor Martin Sheen for his outspoken opposition to assisted suicide and abortion. Sheen will receive the 2012 Spirit of Life Award at the second annual Life Fest Film Festival in Los Angeles, scheduled for May 5-6.

Festival spokesman Derrick Jones tells OneNewsNow Sheen has made some solid pro-life statements in the past. And in 2008, he even served as a spokesman for Washington state’s Coalition Against Assisted Suicide.

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Terri Schiavo Hope and Life Network: Actor, Martin Sheen Wins 2012 Spirit of Life Award

CT Lawyer Honored for His Pro Bono Work

A city attorney was honored for his pro-bono work representing the elderly, mentally handicapped and families in need in probate court cases.

Stephen Keogh, a partner in the law firm Keogh, Burkhart & Vetter, took home the first “Glenn R. Knierim Pro Bono Award” at the Probate Assembly’s annual meeting in Hartford.

“It’s really quite an honor,” he said. “Every probate court judge can name at least 12 lawyers who can take home this award.”

Probate Assembly President-Judge Daniel Caruso said the assembly created the award to honor the probate lawyers who go above and beyond their duties to accommodate their clients. The award is named after the longest-serving probate court administrator.

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Norwalk Lawyer Honored for His Pro Bono Work

Jefferson Award Winner – 90 Year-Old Lilyann Brannon

She’s been a one-woman human services agency for three decades. No task is too big or small, even though Jefferson Award winner Lilyann Brannon is now 90-years-old.

When Michele Blamires was pregnant and living under a San Jose bridge years ago, it was Brannon who brought her family food and diapers. And when Michele cleaned up from a drug addiction, it was Brannon who helped her find a home and job.

“She does so much,” Blamires said admiringly. “If it’s in her willpower, she’ll do it. She’ll find a way.”

From her San Jose living room, Brannon runs the nonprofit Tending the Flock. With her husband retired from Lockheed and she from Apple, Brannon devotes her life to helping the poor and neglected who fall through the cracks. She’s a one-woman charitable agency who can serve up food one minute, and snap through a web of bureaucracy the next.

“When you get to know people, you can’t turn your back and walk away,” Brannon explained.

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Jefferson Award Winner Tends To Needs Of South Bay’s Poor

Law Student Pro Bono Award Winner

Salima Burke, a member of the class of 2012 at the University of Virginia School of Law, is the winner of the 2012 Oliver White Hill Law Student Pro Bono Award.

The award, named for a late Virginia civil rights litigator, recognizes a law student’s commitment to uncompensated or minimally compensated pro bono work and other public service. It is bestowed by the VSB Committee on Access to Legal Services.

While a full-time law student, Ms. Burke still contributed more than 480 hours of pro bono work. She has volunteered with the Musawah Islamic Law Project, Piedmont Court Appointed Special Advocates, Catholic Charities Community Services’ Department of Immigration Services, the Language Access Court Monitoring Project at the Legal Aid Justice Center, Wills for Seniors, and the Elder Advocacy and Housing Clinics at the Legal Aid Justice Center.

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Bedford Resident Named Law Student Pro Bono Award Winner

Congratulations Marie-Therese Connolly!

On Tuesday, Marie-Therese Connolly, who for years has been trying to place elder abuse in the national spotlight, is being awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, the $500,000, “no strings attached,” so-called “genius” grant given annually to a couple dozen artists, thinkers, social advocates and historians.

“I was shocked that the problem is so invisible,” she said in an interview Monday. “There is so much opportunity for change, and I can’t think of another issue that affects so many people and where less is being done.”

In issuing the award, the foundation said Connolly, a 54-year-old District resident and a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, has “devoted her career to laying bare the many forms of elder abuse: physical and psychological, as well as financial exploitation and wrongful deprivation of rights.”

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MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant Goes to D.C. Activist Who Fights Elder Abuse

Reporter Jeff Prince Wins Award for Series on Guardianship

“Blown away” is a pretty good description of how Static’s colleagues at Fort Worth Weekly feel about the rag’s showing in a couple of recent journalism contests, one statewide, one national.

In the statewide Lone Star Awards competition sponsored by the Houston Press Club, the Weekly ruled the “newspapers under 100,000 circulation” division, bringing home five first places, including Print Journalist of the Year for staffer Jeff Prince.

Note: In the politics/government category, Jeff Prince won a second place for his look at the guardianship system.

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Gloat? Us?

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Rethinking Guardianship

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