Supported Decision Making OR Guardianship
Guardianship has a place, although toxic Guardians do not
Britney Spears highlights much of what can go wrong with guardianship, but her case should not be held up as the reason no one should ever have a legal guardian. Before I go further, I want to disclose I am my son's legal guardian of the person so I have an inherent bias toward guardianship. I acknowledge it's not a perfect tool, more of a sledgehammer than a scalpel. But it is a tool and deserves to be considered.
That being said, I feel we need to do a much better job vetting and training potential guardians. When I became my son's guardian I had to do online training, that's it. I believe at a minimum there should be the following for ANYONE who is petitioning to become a legal guardian. A background check, some type of psychological evaluation, and a trial basis where a case manager does random spot checks over a period of 3 - 6 months to see how things are going.
After the initial 3 - 6 months there should be a randomized spot check at least once every year. As my son's guardian, I'm required to submit an annual report to the courts, but I don't think it's enough. I recognize we don't have the infrastructure for this right now. But perhaps putting things like this in place would help dissuade those who are seeking guardianship for the wrong reasons.
Although I'm my son's guardian, I do the best I can to let him have control over his life - even when I feel his choices are bad for him. For example, he has decided he no longer wants to brush his teeth or go to the dentist. I guess I could try to force him, but then I would be taking away his autonomy. And I'm sure there are people in this country without disabilities who have chosen not to practice good dental hygiene.
When I applied to be his guardian he told the attorney appointed to represent him that he agreed. He wanted me to be his guardian. It's my hope that he'll be willing and able to represent himself before I die because I don't want to leave him in the hands of the state.
However, right now I'm hopeful the guardianship will protect him should he have a violent outburst at someone other than myself. He's physically assaulted me a few times, although I haven't called the police. I don't trust the system and I don't want to see his mental health get worse. If he does assault someone else, and they press charges, it's my hope that since a Maryland Court has found him to be "incompetent" he won't be required to stand trial or spend time in jail/prison.
