In advance of the 34th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Disability Rights Nebraska announced today that it has concluded a year-long investigation into Nebraska’s guardianship system.
“Over 10,000 Nebraskans are currently under guardianship. We have walked the halls of decrepit and unsanitary facilities where people with disabilities have been placed by uncaring guardians. We have scrutinized thousands of legal documents filed by guardians making money from vulnerable adults. We have interviewed guardians, lawyers, court personnel and people living under guardianship to learn what is actually happening across the state. Just because a person has a disability does not mean they need a guardian,” said Legal Services Director Dianne DeLair.
Disability Rights Nebraska CEO Tania Diaz said, “The goal of guardianship is to provide support and care for someone with the least restrictive alternative possible. State law requires guardianships to be limited unless special circumstances show a full guardianship is needed. Unfortunately, the vast majority of judges are granting full guardianships with no showing of need. We are not supporting people with disabilities through guardianship: we are condemning them to live under the orders of for-profit guardians with a financial motivation to keep the person dependent.”
The report gives concrete examples of Nebraskans whose for-profit guardians place them in unsafe congregate facilities and then never visit them to ensure their wellbeing:
*Eddie, whose guardian moved him over a hundred miles away from friends and family to an assisted living facility with bed bugs, no air conditioning, and frequent plumbing issues resulting in no hot water.
*Virginie, whose lawyer guardian is only 7.5 miles away from her facility but has not visited in years. The lawyer files annual reports that inform the court he has not visited, and the court approves each report.
*Iris, a veteran’s widow with dementia whose guardian sold her house and moved her to a nursing home away from friends and neighbors. The guardian’s annual reports admit they do not visit Iris in person to check on her wellbeing. The guardian is also paying themselves three times more out of Iris’ funds than they charge other clients.
The report documents serious fiscal concerns with Nebraska’s guardianship system, including:
- Lawyers charging clients their legal fees for non-legal work, such as $225 an hour for a lawyer mailing the client’s rent check or calling a pharmacy to refill a prescription.
- Guardians with a debit card that allows them to charge up to $500 in the client’s money with no accounting.
- Guardians being paid thousands of dollars each year for their services without itemized explanation of their time spent for each client.
“We understand that judges and county court personnel simply lack the time or resources to do a line-by-line review of every guardianship case,” said CEO Tania Diaz. “However, many red flag expenses we saw in our review of selected court files should set off alarms. Sister states have hired independent auditors to review guardianship filings. These programs have been so successful that they have recovered more in assets than the program cost. States like Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas and Utah have reformed their guardianship systems to end abuse and neglect of people under guardianship.”
“The ADA has played a crucial role in changing societal attitudes towards disability, promoting acceptance, and understanding, and challenging stereotypes and prejudices,” said Legal Services Director Dianne DeLair. “Nebraska needs the commonsense reforms that have been introduced in other states. It is essential that Nebraskans under guardianship have their rights, dignity and safety protected.”
You can read the full report on our website: Guarding from the Guardians
We will be advocating for new laws, more education of judges, guardians, and lawyers, and for more use of supported decision making instead of full guardianships. The report is just the beginning—not the end—of the work to be done to protect Nebraskans with disabilities under guardianship.
