State short on funds, guardians for vulnerable adults, panel told
By Associated Press
Published June 28, 2003
TAMPA - The state is creating legal problems by not providing guardians for about 5,000 developmentally disabled adults who aren't competent to make their own decisions, a panel charged with reforming the guardianship system was told Friday.
Considered the most vulnerable among the state's nearly 40,000 developmentally disabled residents, these individuals are in a legal limbo - the state has recognized they aren't able to exercise their own rights, but no one else can do it for them.
The Department of Children and Families, which is responsible for their care, says the problem stems from both a lack of money and a shortage of people willing to become guardians.
The 11-member panel is hoping by the end of next month to have suggestions for Gov. Jeb Bush on how to remedy the problem. The group held the first of two meetings in Tampa this week and plans similar meetings throughout the state.
The group will meet again July 11 in Orlando.
Bush appointed the committee this month following controversy in the case of a 22-year-old Orlando woman who suffers from autism and cerebral palsy and is pregnant as a result of rape.
The woman, identified in court only as J.D.S., has been in state care since she was 3 years old and has no known family. DCF served as her guardian until her 18th birthday and should have had a guardian appointed for her then, but never did.
Bush attempted to have a guardian appointed for the woman and a separate one for the fetus, but was denied by a circuit court judge who this week ruled the pregnancy should be carried to term.
DCF told the panel there are nearly 38,000 developmentally disabled adults in Florida, with nearly 57 percent of them considered legally competent to make major decisions. About half of those people still live with their families. The problem for most families, panelists said, is they can't afford the $3,000 to $4,000 in attorney fees and court costs to be declared their grown child's guardian.
For those who have no family willing to take on that responsibility, professional guardians are an option. But there are not enough people willing to work for the small monthly stipend public guardians are paid.
Among the group's recommendations for the governor likely will be potential solutions for paying for legal fees or professional guardian stipends, chairwoman Jennifer Flynn said.
