Missouri guardianship law could change, public can comment through October
After four year of reviewing current laws and proposing changes, a task force has finished a draft revision to Missouri’s guardianship law.
The changes to the law are aimed at better protecting Missouri’s 30,000 wards deemed incapable to make decisions for themselves and another 23,000 minors whose parents were found unable to make choices for them.
The public can view and comment on the 108-page document through October by visiting MO-WINGS.org. The website also gives information about the MO-WINGS task force (Missouri’s Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders) and a calender of scheduled Mo-Wings presentations throughout Missouri.
According to the website, Missouri’s present guardianship law went into effect 32 years ago. The number of adult guardianship cases supervised by probate courts has increased by nearly 30 percent over the past decade, the website says. That number is expected to increase as baby boomers and people with disabilities live longer with increased risk of developing Alzheimer's or other dementias.
Among the changes to the law, the proposed legislation would give some wards more say in decision making, if a judge agrees it is appropriate.
Christopher Cross, advocate and court-appointed guardian in Springfield, hopes the public will look closely at the draft and at what he considers potentially dangerous changes to the law. According to Cross, the legislation will make it harder for guardians to do their jobs, especially pertaining to high-risk forensic clients like his — those with mental illness or developmental disabilities and a criminal history.
Cross specifically points to pages 62 through 65 of the draft, portions that Cross says lessens guardians’ ability to protect their wards.
“I have a high-risk forensic client with severe disabilities, behavior disorders and an extensive criminal history,” Cross said. “With his history, if the legislation existed it would create a situation where I would not have the ability to help him in effective ways.”
Attempts to reach MO-WINGS task force members Reginald Bull and Delores Sparks on Friday were unsuccessful.