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Conservatorship training and support available

Conservatorship training and support available, free

Probate Court receives national & state AARP awards

(Chester, Clinton, Deep River, Essex, Haddam, Killingworth, Lyme, Old Saybrook, Westbrook) The Saybrook District Probate Court announced a series of initiatives now in place to provide support and oversight of conservators. The Probate Court Administrator developed standards of practice and free online interactive training for conservators, and began random audits of conservator accounts in an effort to ensure that the more than 22,000 vulnerable individuals who are conserved statewide are receiving proper care.

“To serve as a conservator is truly an awesome responsibility,” said Judge Jeannine Lewis. “A conservator takes on a critically important responsibility in a time of great need. We owe it to conservators and conserved persons to provide the best possible training, support and oversight.”

A conservator is a person appointed by the Probate Court to oversee the finances or personal care of an adult whom the court determines to be incapa¬ble of managing his or her affairs. This often occurs when an elderly person has dementia, but it can also happen for a person with mental illness, substance abuse disorder or intellectual disability. The conservator helps the conserved person make decisions about housing, finances, medical care and other basic needs. The majority of conservators are family members with no experience in this area. However, often a person does not have a willing or able relative to take on this role. The Probate Courts then rely on professionals such as attorneys and social workers to shoulder the responsibility for little or no pay.

Pursuant to Public Act 17-7, An Act Concerning Conservator Accountability, which was sponsored by the Probate Courts, conservators now have formal written standards of practice to follow. The standards were derived from national materials, but tailored to Connecticut by judges, attorneys and professionals in the field of elder justice. Judge Lewis served on the Conservatorship Guidelines Committee which drafted the Connecticut standards. The standards now provide a clear statement of duties, criteria for decision-making and ethical guidelines for all conservators.

Another support for those assuming oversight for a family member is the new online training for conservators developed in partnership with the Elder Justice Coalition and the State Justice Institute. Found on the Probate Court website at www.ctprobate.gov, the training program provides an in-depth overview of the responsibilities of a conservator and provides many resources to help the conservator acquire services and protect the person under their care. All new conservators are encouraged to complete the training program within 30 days of appointment. There is a version for family members and one for professional conservators. A Spanish-language version is also available.

The third leg of the conservatorship initiative is random financial audits of conservator accounts. Accounting firms engaged by the Probate Court Administrator’s Office have begun conducting financial reviews of randomly selected cases to ensure they are properly managed. At present, Connecticut conservators manage an estimated $350 million in assets of conserved persons.

Key Connecticut Conservatorship Facts:

 Connecticut has 22,000 active conservatorship cases safeguarding more than $350 million in assets

 The number of individuals with a conservator has grown 23% over the past five years

 In the past year, 5,000 new conservatorships were approved

 Probate Courts have seen an 83% increase in indigent conservatorship cases in the past five years

In November, the Connecticut AARP presented its National Capitol Caregiver Award to the Connecticut Probate Courts for their work in the conservatorship arena.