CA: Advocates Seek Oversight at Developmental Centers

Citing a stack of reports criticizing state officials for not properly overseeing facilities that care for people with developmental disabilities, advocates called on Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday to appoint an independent figure to improve safety at state-run care facilities.

In a letter delivered to the governor’s office, advocates said the Department of Developmental Services repeatedly has failed to improve operating procedures at the state’s four developmental centers.

A new, independent safety official is needed to ensure the 1,500 residents are protected from abuse, states the letter from the California Supported Living Network, the California Disability Services Association and other organizations.

The request came after a state audit released last week described how reports of abuse at developmental centers have not been properly investigated. Auditors say investigators often failed to interview alleged victims or photograph crime scenes.

Auditors cited frequent turnover within the department’s investigative arm as one reason issues raised in earlier reports have not been addressed. They recommended improving investigator training and reassessing staffing requirements at the centers.

The advocates and former residents of developmental centers who gathered at the state Capitol said they would prefer to see the facilities shut down, allowing residents to receive alternative forms of assistance. More than 99 percent of the 250,000 people who receive services through the department reside in communities, not the state-run centers.

“Ultimately the only solution to their safety is to close these institutions, but that can’t happen overnight,” said Greg deGiere, public policy director for The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration. “The people who are living there now deserve much better than California has given them.”

Full article and Source:
More Oversight Sought at Developmental Centers

See Also:
NASGA’s website: No One is Safe

Oregon NASGA Member Erna Boldt Writes to Her Congressman for Help…..

Dear Rep. Blumenauer:

Sometime in 2004/2005 Your Portland office was informed by the Oregon Justice Department, that I was not in the class of the “indigent”. That was a direct discrimination – and abuse against an elder citizen.

This has morphed into abuse under the American with Disabilities Act, ADA, Title II, in which the protection from Judicial Fundamental Attribution Error, “a type of abuse that occurs when exploitation, deception,mischaracterization, and intimidation are being used by an opponent for the strategic purpose of confusing the Trier of Fact and diminishing Ms. Boldt’s ability to function in court”, was ignored.

Not only have I been discriminated against, suffered the deprivation of my assets at my age, but this last matter has driven me to insolvency, because federal laws were not upheld in my 10 years of judicial tyranny in Oregon.

Someone needs to investigate, why federal law, including the federal Uniform trust code, and the American with Disabilities act (I was diagnosed under post stroke recovery, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, translating into legal abuse, has been denied in Clackamas Circuit Court (5th judicial district). It is the duty of the Justice Department to investigate such complaint and disregard for my Constitutional rights.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Erna Boldt

********************************************
In a message dated 3/5/2012 12:58:01 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, or03ebinbox@housemail.house.gov writes:
March 5, 2012
Erna Boldt

Ms. Boldt:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

I appreciate you bringing this issue to my attention. Since it is a legal issue, it is very difficult for me to get involved. As a Member of Congress, it would be inappropriate for me to give advice about legal matters. I don’t have jurisdiction over the legal system or civil lawsuits.

If you haven’t done so already, seeking legal counsel may be your best course of action. The office of the Oregon State Bar Association is a good resource for information on legal services and has a lawyer referral service.

Their phone number is 503-684-3763.

Thank you again for contacting me.
Sincerely, Earl Blumenauer
Member of Congress

"I Made a Small Change"

Source: Woman’s Day Magazine, May 2013

Note: Attorney Tara Wilson is the daughter of NASGA Member Diane Wilson

Jared E. Shafer Loses Guardianship; Looted Senior Citizen Returns to Claim Home and Possessions After Winning Termination in a Bitter Sweet Victory

For the first time known, a wealthy senior citizen was able to escape from the custody of Nevada court appointed “guardian” Jared E. Shafer, and recover the majority of his assets before he dies.

Because of an arcane Nevada law, many elderly people who decide to spend their golden years in one of Las Vegas’ pristine retirement communities have found themselves in financial servitude after the death of a spouse. It’s not unusual to learn of a elderly widow or widower — at their most vulnerable time — becoming a “ward” of one of our state’s licensed private “guardians” who completely takes over the senior’s person and estate while waiting for their death in order to claim his or her assets for the county, or in the worst case, themselves.

 

This is possible because in Nevada a person who is handicapped or elderly and has a sizable estate can be forced into guardianship unless there’s a qualified relative living in the same state that can care for their needs. Too often, as in the case of Guadalupe Olvera, the nearest relative lives in another state, and under Nevada law, is prohibited from becoming a guardian after the death of a care giving spouse. Mr. Olvera suffered the consequences of this law when it was discovered by strangers in the Clark County Family Court system that he had over a half million dollars cash in his trust account, and a fully paid for 3,000 square foot Sun City Anthem home worth another half million.

On the outside, Olvera looked ripe for the picking, a rich old man with severe physical disabilities, and no relatives in sight. The only problem? WW2 hero Guadalupe Olvera was not ready to die, and he had a tough as nails, loving family five hundred miles away who wanted him to come home to spend his final days in Central California, not cooped up in a big empty house in a cold, strange town waiting for Jared Shafer to see fit to end his “temporary guardianship.”

Full Article and Source:
Jared E. Shafer Loses Guardianship. Looted Senior Citizen Returns To Claim Home And Possessions After Winning Termination In A Bitter Sweet Victory

See Also:
NASGA: Lupe Olvera, Nevada/California Victim

Dorothy Wilson Begged for Her Freedom but Didn’t Live to See It

Dorothy Wilson was tricked by her court-appointed guardian and dumped in a facility aginst her will and her daughter’s will.  Dorothy cried and begged to go home; but sadly Dorothy died suddenly before her daughter was able to free her.

Source:
NASGA Member Diane Wilson’s Mom, Dorothy Wilson, Tricked and Dumped in a Facility Begs to Go Home

Ginger Franklin’s Car Towed and Sold While in Conservator, Jeanan Mills Stuart’s ‘Care’

For months, Ginger Franklin has been trying to find out what happened to the 2001 Nissan Altima she owned before she was placed in an emergency conservatorship.

At first she was told her car had been repossessed and sold by the bank holding a note on the vehicle.

The Tennessean was given the same answer when it first questioned Franklin’s conservator, Jeanan Mills Stuart, about the whereabouts of the car in February.

Stuart said Franklin was “upside down” on the car with an outstanding loan exceeding its value. She referred questions to the attorney who had handled Franklin’s bankruptcy.

The attorney, Maria Salas, however, told The Tennessean there was no loan on the car and the vehicle was never brought into the bankruptcy case. 

New records obtained by The Tennessean show that Franklin’s car, after being turned over to Stuart, was towed away from the garage where Stuart’s office is located on Franklin Pike after a caller said it had been abandoned.

West Nashville Wrecker Service declined to say who requested the car be towed in April 2009. It sent a legal notice by certified mail to Franklin, telling her that if she did not pay storage and towing fees, her car would be sold.

Franklin never got the notice because she was in a conservatorship handled by Stuart. Records show Herbert Mills, Jeanan Stuart’s father, received the notice and signed a receipt for it, in effect, authorizing the wrecker service to sell the car in an auction.

“I had nothing to do with the car other than leave it in the parking lot at my office where I had parked it after getting the low offer on it from the dealer. I had driven it from the dealer to my office and felt it was dangerous to drive the car any further because of the shaking of the vehicle when I drove it,” Stuart wrote.

Full Article and Source:
Client’s Car Towed, Sold While  in Lawyer’s Care

See Also:
Ginger Franklin, Tennessee Victim

Tennessee Public Guardian, Jeanan Mills Stuart’s Fees Exceed $1.8 Million

TN:  Conservator Jeanan Mills Stuart and Judge Randy Kennedy

Jeanan Stuart Response to Questions

Tennessee Public Guardian, Jeanan Mills Stuart’s, Fees Exceed $1.8 Million

The Davidson County public guardian, whose fees are under review by a local probate judge, has double-billed clients, billed more than 24 hours in a day and earned more than $270,000 in thousands of small, individual charges for tasks such as listening to a voice mail.

The Tennessean first raised questions  about Jeanan Mills Stuart’s fees when it found she was charging her legal rates of $200 to $225 per hour for nonlegal tasks, such as taking her wards on shopping trips and sorting their clothes before a move into an assisted-living center.

A new data analysis by The Tennessean of all of her billings between 2008 — when she was first appointed by the Metro Council — and February 2013 shows she has turned in fee requests with mistakes, such as double-billings, and more than 24-hour days, all of which have been approved by the judge overseeing the conservator cases.

In all, Stuart has billed for more than $1.8 million in fees since January 2008, when she took on her role, according to The Tennessean’s data analysis. As public guardian, she handles the affairs of people who are found by the Davidson County probate court to be mentally or physically unable to make their own decisions. Her wards have no control or say in what she does for them. The primary oversight of her fees is Davidson County Probate Judge David Randy Kennedy, who can approve or reject them.

Full Article and Source:
Davidson County Public Guardian’s Fees Exceed $1.8 Million

See Also:
NASGA: Ginger Franklin, Tennessee Victim

‘Private Guardian’ Jared E. Shafer Accused by Guardianship Commissioner of "Bleeding Money" From 93-Year Old War Hero

“I’m really trying to put an end to this. I get that Mr. Olvera is bleeding money, and I don’t want it to continue” – Guardianship Commissioner Jon Norheim

Just Google or Bing the name “Guardian Jared E. Shafer,” and a very troubling scenario will unfold. Contained within the dozens of links are the untold stories of mostly wealthy Clark County, Nevada residents who have allegedly been “bleeding money” under the color of law simply because they are elderly or frail. A decade ago, I began reporting stories of wealthy senior citizens being exploited by a group of – what I consider to be – officially sanctioned leeches. World War II hero Guadalupe Olvera and his wife Carmela in 2003 moved from California to Del Webb Sun city Anthem in Henderson, Nevada. The couple was wooed by fancy brochures and promotional videos into purchasing a new 3000 square foot home for $436,524.00 cash where they lived until Carmela’s death in 2009 following a 63 year marriage.

Because of an obscure Nevada law, Guadalupe, who was 90 at the time of his wife’s death, was not allowed to handle his own affairs or let his only child Rebecca Schultz become his legal guardian to tend to his move back to California and the sale of his Sun City house. Based on Mr. Olvera’s physical disabilities, under Nevada law, a “local guardian” was required to handle his temporary financial affairs because his daughter was not qualified since she lived in another state. Enter Jared Shafer of  Professional Fiduciary Services of Nevada, Inc. (PFSN, Inc.). Shafer, who is in private practice, was recommended by a staff member in the office of Clark County Guardianship Commissioner Jon Norheim, even though public officials are not legally allowed to make such recommendations.

Unfortunately, Schultz failed to do research on Shafer’s background before agreeing to hire PFSN, Inc. because she assumed the county’s referral would be trustworthy. Jared Shafer has not responded to numerous requests for his side of this story. Shafer’s “guardianship” was to only last a few weeks, time enough to settle Olvera’s financial affairs and list his house with a realtor. However, weeks turned into months, and Olvera became lonely for his daughter, granddaughter, and great granddaughter and wanted desperately to move back to California where he had lived most of his life.

 In the meantime, Shafer as guardian was given exclusive control of Olvera’s finances. It was soon discovered he was “bleeding money” from Olvera’s trust account at Wells Fargo while Olvera was retained in Henderson against his will. Upon learning of Shafer’s withdrawals from his trust, Olvera became infuriated, and In September 2010, directed his daughter to move him back to California and sever his contract with PFSN, Inc. Prior to Olvera’s directions to move him back to California, Rebecca and her friend Ruth Carney (a Nevada resident) had followed legal protocol and filed Motions at their own expense with the court to terminate Shafer’s guardianship, and that Schultz and Carney be appointed co-guardians, but their efforts were thwarted by the court.

Full Article and Source:
American Mafia/Inside Vegas: “Private Guardian” Jared E. Shafer Accused by Guardianship Commissioner of “Bleeding Money” From 93-Year Old War Hero

See Also:
NASGA: Lupe Olvera, Nevada Victim

Former Public Guardian

Elder Abuse Judgment

A few weeks ago, the Judge who presided over the heartbreaking elder abuse case of Dorothy Wilson died of what was reported to be a heart attack. While I am almost certain that the stress and knowledge of his own wrongdoing came into play, it is not up to me to disparage him after the fact. However, as was evident when he ruled on this side of the divide, my spiritual perception of how he passed comes across to me quite differently than reported.

Today, the same cast of characters who were intermingled in destroying the final years of Dorothy are still damaging people. Mary Giordano, of Franchina and Giordano in Garden City, New York was the law guardian for Mrs. Wilson. Her attorney, David Smith, also handled elder care cases in the same vile manner that she did. In one case I am aware that there has been the assumption of theft, threats against both children who were vying for their mother’s rights, the callous disregard and pleas from the family for normal visitation and so forth. It is alleged that Mr. Smith was even ludicrous enough to have security prevent this woman’s children from having access to her in the nursing home he stuck her in. Incidentally, this home has the poorest grade of all the nursing facilities in the county. I am sure that this officer of the court thinks he knows who I am referring to, but he should remember that his past might be coming back to haunt him too, as many people like to reach out comfortably to me.

It has been quite some time since I felt compelled to write another article about elder abuse. Today, seemed to be the fitting point as I was reminded of just how sick and greedy the people who perpetrate these horrors are. I was also given a flashback to a conversation I had with Dorothy that reminded me of the depth of depression she was in because Judge Asarch determined her life not worthy enough of being happy. He allowed for Mary Giordano to give her what turned out to be a death sentence by legally or illegally kidnapping her, depending on whether you are abiding by State or Federal statutes.

If I were to turn a blind-eye toward the thievery and corruption like the politicians, lawyers, judges and others who have seats of power have done, than I am condoning the acts of horrible treatment. All human beings can feed the evil side of their conscious, or their loving, protective side. Generally, we are blessed with a society that instinctually lives in the latter zone. In my opinion, it is people such as Mary Giordano, David Smith and their cohorts who think demonizing and demoralizing those who have pure hearts is a good thing. Just as I am able to see checkbooks shrinking and partnerships turning ugly and on the verge of collapse, I can also see patterns where the universe has decided it is time to tip the scales back in favor of loving souls. This means that on some level a sort of karmic energy is set in motion that will level the playing field.

Full Article and Source:
Elder Abuse Judgment

Terri Schiavo’s Brother, Bobby Schindler, Working to Help Others

By now, eight years later, the details and debate over his sister’s situation – her diagnosis, her prognosis, her wishes, her autopsy – are no longer that important to Bobby Schindler.
For him, one thought dominates. Terri Schiavo deserved to live.

Schindler now heads a growing foundation to help others in similar situations. Every year since her death, they’ve held a “Terri’s Day” of remembrance.

This year, the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network has moved from Florida to the Philadelphia area, where both the Schindler and Schiavo families are from, and the event has grown.

At 5 p.m. Friday, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput will celebrate a Mass dedicated to Terri Schiavo at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul. Sarah Palin will speak afterward at a fund-raising dinner at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. A ticket is $150, and 350 have been sold; $25,000 gets you a visit with Palin, but no takers so far, Schindler said.

Terri Schiavo died March 31, 2005, after 15 years in what doctors termed a persistent vegetative state. Her case was marked by an excruciating public family battle that traversed the courts, prompted an unprecedented session of Congress, drew the attention of the Vatican, and inspired countless Americans to complete “living wills” spelling out what care they did – or did not – want in the event of severe injury or illness.

Her husband, Michael, said she would not have wanted to live this way. Her parents and siblings said she would have chosen life, no matter what.

It is a decision that daily is facing many families, although rarely in such a public arena. Mostly, it’s in a hospital conference room with a box of tissues on the table.

Schindler, 48, a former math and science teacher in Florida, thinks many patients are being warehoused. Last year, the foundation established a Center for Disability in the Public Square – a data-gathering and information-sharing network. In his office, he has a sketch of a rehab facility he would like the foundation to build, although he concedes it is likely a long way off.

The foundation, begun in 2000, has seen its revenue grow steadily, from less than $20,000 in 2005 to nearly $700,000 in 2011.

That year, contributions were bolstered by a $100,000 prize from the Gerard Health Foundation, a pro-life philanthropy in Natick, Mass., that praised the Schiavo network for helping 1,000 families, and giving them “safe haven amidst the pressure of the so-called ‘right to die’ movement.”

 

One of them is Sara Harvey, of Horseheads, N.Y., just north of the Pennsylvania line. She has been battling officials over her husband, Gary, who has been in a persistent vegetative state for nearly seven years, after falling down steps and suffering a traumatic brain injury.

A judge had named the county Gary Harvey’s guardian in 2007, and in 2009, officials planned to remove his feeding tube. Sara Harvey contacted Schindler, who has petitioned the court to name him a legal guardian.

No decision has been made, but Sara Harvey credits Schindler with saving her husband’s life so far.  “Bobby’s like an angel over my husband.”

Full Article and Source:
Terri Schiavo’s Brother Working to Help Others