adult protective service" APS "Guardian Program corruption in washington state 2.
2,976 views · Published 16 April 2011 · 2:58 · Indexed 21 September 2026
Channel: justices1989 · 2011 · People & Blogs
SEATTLE— Thousands of vulnerable adults in our state are being cared for by a guardian who is not a family member. In some cases, they're protecting that person from people, possibly family members, who have exploited them. Some families say the guardians have used their position to isolate seniors and then take their money. For adults that cannot take care of themselves, they serve an important purpose: managing their money, making healthcare decisions and protecting them from people who might exploit them. But some friends and families say guardians appointed to take care of their loved ones are not doing their jobs. Steven Bradley's family looked to a guardian to solve a problem they were having with an outsider who was conning his father out of money. They didn't realize what the guardianship would mean. "They're pretty much in total control," Bradley said. "We were made aware of the rights my father would lose, but we weren't really made aware of the rights we would lose as a family," he said. In the months after the guardian began working with their father, family members say they were cut off, and they weren't allowed to visit his father after he had surgery. Attorney Cheryl Mitchell said that when someone is appointed as a guardian it can be difficult to have them removed. "The person who is alleged to be incapacitated receives a list of rights that they can lose and those include the right to vote, the right to marry and basically the right to make your own decisions," Mitchell said. Mitchell said there are many guardians trying to serve the needs of the people they've been appointed to help, but she's seen cases where others use the position to make money. "Guardians may treat the ward as if they're a 3-year-old," she said. "They say what time you go to bed, what time you get up, if you wear new clothes." As the Bradley family learned, guardianship can be very expensive. "In three years time it cost us $747,000 dollars," Bradley said. Bradley's father passed away in October, and he's been working with Sen. Jim Kastama to try and change state law and prevent this from happening to other people. "Maybe we can do something about protecting other people from being hurt the way we were," Bradley said. "If we can do that, maybe it would be worth it."
