Monday, June 9, 2008

2002 to 2008: No Improvement

Six years ago, Ed Hatchett, who preceded Crit Luallen as Kentucky auditor, released a report showing that the state "does not effectively safeguard, monitor or manage the assets of its (adult) wards, thereby violating its fiduciary duty."

* money owed to wards or to the estates of wards was not being distributed

* expenses for one person were being paid out of funds that belonged to another

* money of some wards had been used to buy them two burial policies

Mr. Hatchett wrote: "The Cabinet for Families and Children's deficiencies clearly increase the risk of undetected fraud."

2008 Guardianship Performance Report by auditor Luallen concludes the state also "does not properly manage the personal and medical needs" of its 2,555 adult wards."

Ms. Luallen makes 43 recommendations for improving the situation. "Inadequate staffing," she said, "puts their well-being at risk." The guardianship program is "incorrectly structured." And judges, who are supposed to appoint the state as guardian only as "a last resort," have made the situation even worse by using the system as "a dumping ground" for difficult cases.

Ed Hatchett said the same in 2002. The situation hasn't changed. "That's shameful."

Full Article and Source:
Do the right thing

See also:
Wards’ Assets and Well-being at Risk

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The fraud is not going to ever go away. Not untill the courts stop handing the care of elderly and their estates to their friends and colleges. It will not stop until the guardians/conservators are made to stop charging two arms and legs, made to stop their "spend down" just to put them on Medicaid.

The problem is greed, and until the people who are supposed to be taking care of the elderly and their estates, stop thinking of their pockets and start thinking with they hearts and souls, our elderly and their familys will continue to be exploited and ABUSED by the system that is supposed to protect them and preserve them, and their estates. But instead they take life, liberty, and the prusute of happiness from them.