The relationship between guardian certification requirements and guardian sanctioning: A research issue in elder law and policy

Behavioral Sciences and the Law

Volumn 25, Issue 5, 2007, Pages 641-653

  Schmidt, Winsor C ^a,b   Akinci, Fevzi ^a   Wagner, Sarah A ^c  

^a WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b Department of Health Policy and Administration ^*  (United States)

^c Providence Health and Services   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; CERTIFICATION; CHI SQUARE TEST; CONTROLLED STUDY; EDUCATIONAL STATUS; ELDERLY CARE; HEALTH CARE PERSONNEL; HEALTH CARE POLICY; HEALTH SERVICE; HUMAN; LAW; STUDENT T TEST;

AGED; CERTIFICATION; CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES; HUMANS; LEGAL GUARDIANS; POLICY MAKING; WASHINGTON;

EID: 35948945746     PISSN: 07353936     EISSN: 10990798     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/bsl.782     Document Type: Article

References (76)

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2. P. TEASTER, E. WOOD, N. KARP, S. LAWRENCE, W. SCHMIDT & M. MENDIONDO, WARDS OF THE STATE: A NATIONAL STUDY OF PUBLIC GUARDIANSHIP (April 2005) at 4, 98 [hereinafter Wards of the State].
3. See, e.g., R. Peters, W. Schmidt & K. Miller, Guardianship of the Elderly in Tallahassee, Florida, 25 THE GERONTOLOGIST 532, 535 (Oct. 1985) [hereinafter Guardianship in Tallahassee].
4. F. BAYLES & S. MCCARTNEY, GUARDIANS OF THE ELDERLY: AN AILING SYSTEM (1987) [hereinafter An Ailing System].
5. GAO, GUARDIANSHIPS: LITTLE PROGRESS IN ENSURING PROTECTION FOR INCAPACITATED ELDERLY PEOPLE, GAO-06-1086T (September 6, 2006) (statement of Barbara D. Bovbjerg, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security) at 6 [hereinafter Little Progress].
6. See E. WOOD, STATE-LEVEL ADULT GUARDIANSHIP DATA: AN EXPLORATORY SURVEY (August 2006).
7. R. Fields, E. Larrubia & J. Leonard, Guardians for Profit: When a Family Matter Turns Into a Business, LOS ANGELES TIMES (November 13, 2005).
8. See also, e.g., M. O'Hagan & C. Phillips, A Millionaire's Guardian: Many Hats, Many Questions, SEATTLE TIMES (December 4, 2006);
9. M. O'Hagan & C. Phillips, Missing Money Points Up Flaws in State Oversight of Guardians, SEATTLE TIMES (December 3, 2006);
10. C. Phillips, M. O'Hagan & J. Mayo, Secrecy Hides Cozy Ties in Guardianship Cases, SEATTLE TIMES (December 4, 2006).
11. G. ALEXANDER & T. LEWIN, THE AGED AND THE NEED FOR SURROGATE MANAGEMENT (1972).
12. Id.
13. Dade County Grand Jury, Final Report of the Grand Jury, Miami: Office of the State Attorney (1982).
14. See also W. Schmidt, The Evolution of a Public Guardianship Program, 12 J. PSYCHIATRY & L. 349 (Fall 1984).
15. Guardianship in Tallahassee, supra note 3.
16. Connecticut Probate Administration, Report on Guardianship Accounting (1985) (unpublished) at 12.
17. See also W. Schmidt, Recommended Judicial Practices in Guardianship Proceedings for the Elderly, 61 FLA. B. J. 35, 38 (May 1987).
18. An Ailing System, supra note 4. See also L. Frolik, Abusive Guardians and the Need for Judicial Supervision, 130 TR. & EST. 41 (1991).
19. National Guardianship Association, National Guardianship Foundation (2004). See also M. QUINN, GUARDIANSHIPS OF ADULTS: ACHIEVING JUSTICE, AUTONOMY, AND SAFETY (2005) at 168-170.
20. Application Process for Registered Guardian Certification, http://www.nationalguardianshipcertification.org/ In a 1981 national study of public guardianship, public guardians tended to be either social workers or attorneys, W. SCHMIDT, K. MILLER, W. BELL, & E. NEW, PUBLIC GUARDIANSHIP AND THE ELDERLY 169 (1981) [hereinafter Public Guardianship]. In a 2005 national study of public guardianship three out of four (75%) of the independent state office models of public guardianship had public guardians with at least a bachelor's degree or master's degree, 26 out of 36 (72%) of the responding division of a social service agency models of public guardianship had public guardians with at least a bachelor's degree or master's degree, and five out of six (83%) of the responding county model models of public guardianship had public guardians with at least a bachelor's degree or master's degree. Wards of the State, supra note 2 at 73, 81, 89.
21. Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. section 159.0595 (2006).
22. Wards of the State, supra note 2 at 7, 118.
23. Email from Sally Hurme, AARP Financial Security, Washington, DC (December 4, 2006).
24. Texas Gov't Code section 111.042 (2006).
25. Alaska Stat. section 8.26.010 (2006).
26. Little Progress, supra note 5, at 6. Public guardians reportedly must now be registered in Georgia and New Jersey. Id.
27. Arizona Revised Statute section 14-5651 (2006).
28. Rev. Code Wash. § 11.88.008 (2006). Wash. GR 23 (2006).
29. Quinn, supra note 13, at 170. Cf. Fla. Stat. Section 744.1085 (2006) (register annually with Statewide Public Guardianship Office; mandatory competency examination); Little Progress, supra note 5, at 6 (California court system established education requirement for guardians and 15-hour-per-year continuing education requirement for private professional guardians). Kentucky identifies certification of guardians as a significant need. Wards of the State, supra note 2, at 113.
30. American Bar Association, Commission on Legal Problem of the Elderly, and Commission on the Mentally Disabled, Guardianship: An Agenda for Reform (1989).
31. Wingspan - The Second National Guardianship Conference Recommendations, 31 STETSON L. REV. 595, 604 (2002).
32. Little Progress, supra note 5, at 10.
33. Quinn, supra note 13, at 170.
34. Wingspan, supra note 25, at 597.
35. R. BONNIE & R. WALLACE EDS., ELDER MISTREATMENT: ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION IN AN AGING AMERICA (2003) at 1, 7.
36. Little Progress, supra note 5, at 9.
37. Washington Courts, General Rule 23(d)(1)(iv).
38. See Certified Professional Guardian Board, Disciplinary Regulations 514.1.4.
39. See Certified Professional Guardian Board, Standards of Practice.
40. Wash. Rev. Code section 11.88.008; Washington Courts, General Rule 23.
41. See generally, e.g., Schmidt, Recommended Judicial Practices in Guardianship Proceedings for the Elderly, 61 FLA. B. J. 35 (May 1987).
42. Certified Professional Guardian Board, Minutes (July 11, 2005).
43. Certified Professional Guardian Board, Minutes (July 10, 2006).
44. L. SHI, HEALTH SERVICE RESEARCH METHODS (1997) at 389.
45. Two cases were excluded from the analysis because they represent deceased individuals.
46. Washington Courts, General Rule 23(d)(1)(iv); Certified Professional Guardian Board, Disciplinary Regulations 514.1.4.
47. All nursing degrees except RNs are included in this group.
48. R. Bovbjerg & K. Petronis, The Relationship Between Physicians' Malpractice Claims History and Later Claims: Does the Past Predict the Future? 272 J. AM. MED. ASS'N 1421 (1994);
49. F. Sloan, P. Mergenhagen, W. Burfield, R. Bovbjerg & M. Hassan, Medical Malpractice Experience of Physicians: Predictable or Haphazard? 262 J. AM. MED. ASS'N 3291 (1989).
50. See also G. Hickson, et al., Patient Complaints and Malpractice Risk, 287 J. AM. MED. ASS'N 2951 (2002);
51. W. Schmidt, A. Heckert, & A. Mercer, Factors Associated with Medical Malpractice: Results from a Pilot Study, 7 J. CONTEMP. HEALTH L. & POL'Y 157 (1991).
52. See J. Morrison & P. Wickersham, Physicians Disciplined by a State Medical Boards, 279 J. AM. MED. ASS'N 1889 (1998). See also Mich. C.L.A. section 333.16231 (requires medical board to investigate physicians who experience "3 or more malpractice settlements, awards, or judgments . . . in a period of 5 consecutive years or 1 or more malpractice settlements, awards, or judgments . . . totaling more than $200,000.00 in a period of 5 consecutive years").
53. See generally J. MONAHAN & L. WALKER, SOCIAL SCIENCE IN LAW: CASES AND MATERIALS (4th ed. 1998) at 357-547 (contexts for determining future facts in bail, parole, capital punishment, tort liability; present facts regarding illegal weapons, illegal automobiles, illegal aliens, and illegal drugs; and past facts regarding defendants, victims, and witnesses);
54. L. Walker & J. Monahan, Social Frameworks: A New Use of Social Science in Law, 73 VA. L. REV. 559 (1987).
55. Bovbjerg & Petronis, supra note 42; Sloan, Mergenhagen, Burfield, Bovbjerg & Hassan, supra note 42. See also Hickson et al., supra note 42; Schmidt, Heckert, & Mercer, supra note 42.
56. See generally Monahan & Walker, supra note 44; Walker & Monahan, supra note 44.
57. W. Schmidt, K. Miller, R. Peters & D. Loewenstein, A Descriptive Analysis of Professional and Volunteer Programs for the Delivery of Guardianship Services, 8 PROB. L. J. 125, 141-145 (1988);
58. P. Teaster, W. Schmidt, H. Abramson & R. Almeida, Staff Service and Volunteer Staff Service Models for Public Guardianship and 'Alternatives' Services: Who Is Served and With What Outcomes?, 5 (2) J. ETHICS, L. & AGING 131, 137-145 (Fall/Winter 1999).
59. See requirements supra at text accompanying note 31.
60. See discussion supra at text accompanying notes 6-12 and 24-28.
61. See M. BLENKNER, M. BLOOM, M. NIELSEN & R. WEBER, FINAL REPORT: PROTECTIVE SERVICES FOR OLDER PEOPLE, FINDINGS FROM THE BENJAMIN ROSE INSTITUTE STUDY (1974);
62. R. Berger & I. Piliavin, The Effect of Casework: A Research Note, 21 SOC. WORK 205 (1976);
63. M. Blenkner, A Research and Demonstration Project of Protective Services, 52 SOC. CASEWORK 483 (1971);
64. M. Lachs, C. Williams, S. O'Brien & K. Pillemer, Adult Protective Service Use and Nursing Home Placement, 42 (6) THE GERONTOLOGIST 734, 734 (2002).
65. See generally W. SCHMIDT ED., GUARDIANSHIP: COURT OF LAST RESORT FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED (1995); Public Guardianship, supra note 14.
66. OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT, CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY: LOSING A MILLION MINDS: CONFRONTING THE TRAGEDY OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND OTHER DEMENTIAS (1987).
67. Wards of the State, supra note 2, at 1.
68. See Public Guardianship, supra note 14, at 174, 193 (1981) ("No office of public guardian shall assume responsibility for any wards beyond a ratio of thirty wards per professional staff member.");
69. W. SCHMIDT, P. TEASTER, H. ABRAMSON & R. ALMEIDA, SECOND YEAR EVALUATION OF THE VIRGINIA GUARDIAN OF LAST RESORT AND GUARDIANSHIP ALTERNATIVES DEMONSTRATION PROJECT (July 1997) at 23 ("The ward to guardian ratio should be 20:1.")
70. See also W. Bell, W. Schmidt & K. Miller, Public Guardianship and the Elderly: Findings from a National Study, 21 THE GERONTOLOGIST 194, 201 (April 1981).
71. Cf., e.g., L. Aiken et al., Hospital Nurse Staffing and Patient Mortality, Nurse Burnout, and Job Dissatisfaction, 288 (16) J. AM. MED. ASS'N 1987 (2002);
72. R. Amaravadi, et al., ICU Nurse-to-Patient Ratio Is Associated with Complications and Resource Use After Esophagectomy, 26 INTENSIVE CARE MED. 1857 (2000);
73. B. Mark, et al., A Longitudinal Examination of Hospital Registered Nurse Staffing and Quality of Care, 39 (2) HEALTH SERVICES RES. 279 (2004);
74. J. Needleman, et al., Nurse Staffing in Hospitah: Is There a Business Case for Quality?, 25 (1) HEALTH AFF. 204 (2006);
75. J. Needleman, et al., Nurse-Staffing Levels and the Quality of Care in Hospitals, 346 (22) NEW ENG. J. MED. 1715 (2002);
76. J. Needleman & P. Buerhaus, Nurse Staffing and Patient Safety: Current Knowledge and Implications for Action, 15 (4) INT'L J. FOR QUALITY HEALTH CARE 275 (2003).