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Bill Would Boost Elder Oversight

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Florida Senate
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, has filed a bill to reform the system aimed at regulating court-appointed guardians of the elderly, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

The bill, SB 1226, will create the Office of Public and Professional Guardians to certify and supervise the court-appointed guardians.

Guardians now are required to file annual financial reports, but the amount of oversight varies county to county, according to the Herald-Tribune. There is rarely additional monitoring once the guardianship is in place and there is no formal process for wards or their families to complain about unsatisfactory guardianships, the Herald-Tribune reports.

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.