LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska’s courts are adding new safeguards to the state guardianship system after an audit uncovered lax oversight and suspected fraud in programs designed to protect the elderly and disabled, the state’s chief Supreme Court justice said Friday.
Chief Justice Michael Heavican told lawmakers in his State of the Judiciary message Friday that the courts are developing an internal audit system for guardianship cases to notify judges when a guardian has been removed from a case for cause.
“It is crucial that we all continue to work together to create improved safeguards to protect those who might easily be harmed,” Heavican said. “We all have a responsibility to keep those individuals and their assets safe.”
A state audit released in November found mismanagement of state payment programs to legal guardians for the blind, elderly and disabled. Auditors uncovered one suspected fraud case involving Judith Widener, a Bayard woman who once served as a guardian to more than 600 people throughout Nebraska.
Widener is accused of collecting payments that were intended for her court-appointed wards, even though some were dead or no longer in her care, according to a sworn statement filed by the Nebraska State Patrol. Widener has filed a plea of abatement, challenging technical aspects of the case against her. She has declined interview requests.
Heavican said the courts also will start requiring guardians to submit a list of their other active cases to a judge before they are appointed to new ones. The county courts also are offering new training to employees to help spot fraud cases, Heavican said. They also are requiring that the state-government payers receive copies of reports filed by guardians or conservators whenever they ask to be appointed to a new case.
Heavican said the appointments - which require a judge’s approval - were initiated by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Veterans Administration, family members, medical professionals and nursing homes. He said the courts are still working with lawyers, senators, service providers and other members of the Supreme Court’s new Commission on Guardianships and Conservatorships.
“In spite of efforts by the commission, our courts and this Legislature, ensuring the protection of incapacitated adults continues to be a challenge,” he said.
Heavican also touched on sentencing alternatives in Nebraska, including a specialized substance-abuse supervision program for felons. A review of the probation program in 2012 found that 91 percent of participants who completed the course remained crime-free one year later. Last year, 82 percent were employed after finishing the program - up from 77 percent the year before.
But Heavican said the program is 20 percent over its capacity of 336 probationers statewide. Without additional resources, he said, the program will not be able to accept more participants.
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