,i #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dede ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #bj1 #bjba,mr4 ,crist 7for himself and ,ms4 ,mace7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to protect the rights of legally incompetent adults who are the subject of a legal guardianship or conservatorship4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,freedom and ,right to ,emancipate from ,exploitation 7,,free7 ,act4 #b4 ,grants to ,states for ,state-employed caseworkers and legal guardians and conservators for legally incompetent adults 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary may make grants to eligible ,states1 in accordance with this section1 for the provision of ,state-employed caseworkers1 legal guardians1 and conservators for legally incompetent adults4 7b7 ,eligibility ,a ,state is eligible for a grant under this section if the ,secretary determines that-- 7#a7 the ,state maintains an up-to-date database of all legal guardianships and conservatorships that have been established for legally incompetent adults under ,state law2 7#b7 ,state law requires a caseworker who is a ,state employee to be appointed for each individual who is the subject of such a guardianship or conservatorship1 and to be empowered1 notwithstanding any objection of the legal guardian of1 or conservator for1 the individual1 to communicate with the individual1 and to assist the individual in petitioning a court to replace the legal guardian or conservator1 as the case may be1 with a legal guardian or conservator who is such an employee2 7#c7 ,state law guarantees that1 notwithstanding any such guardianship or conservatorship1 such an individual retains the right to communicate with such a caseworker1 and to petition a court as described in paragraph 7#b72 and 7#d7 ,state law requires any ,state employee referred to in paragraph 7#b7 to meet such financial disclosure requirements as the ,state may establish4 7c7 ,grant amounts 7#a7 ,in general ,the amount of the grant to be made to a ,state under this section is the ,state share of the amount made available to carry out this section4 7#b7 ,state share ,for purposes of paragraph 7#a71 the ,state share is the total number of legally incompetent adults in the ,state who are under a legal guardianship or conservatorship divided by the total number of such adults in all ,states4 7d7 ,use of grant ,a ,state to which a grant is made under this section shall use the grant only to pay the salaries of ,state employees who are serving as caseworkers for1 legal guardians of1 or conservators for legally incompetent adults1 and to cover related administrative expenses4 7e7 ,annual reports ,within #ij days after the end of any fiscal year in which a grant is made to a ,state under this section1 the ,state shall submit to the ,congress a written report that specifies-- 7#a7 how the funds were used2 7#b7 the number of adults under legal guardianship or conservatorship in the ,state as of the end of the fiscal year2 7#c7 the number of petitions described in subsection 7b77#b7 that were submitted to the courts of the ,state in the fiscal year2 7#d7 the ratio of the number of individuals under legal guardianship or conservatorship in the ,state during the fiscal year to the number of ,state-employed legal guardians of1 or conservators for1 the individuals2 and 7#e7 the number of individuals in the ,state who were emancipated from a legal guardianship or conservatorship during the fiscal year4 7f7 ,limitations on authorization of appropriations 7#a7 ,in general ,for grants under this section1 there are authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary not more than #bfj1jjj1jjj1 of which-- 7,a7 #afj1jjj1jjj shall be for ,states to hire caseworkers for legally incompetent adults pursuant to this section2 and 7,b7 #ajj1jjj1jjj shall be for ,states to hire legal guardians of1 or conservators for1 legally incompetent adults pursuant to this section4 7#b7 ,availability ,the amounts made available under paragraph 7#a7 are authorized to remain available until expended4 7g7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,adult ,the term adult means a person who has attained #ah years of age and is not in foster care under the responsibility of a ,state4 7#b7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services4 7#c7 ,state ,the term ,state means the #ej ,states of the ,united ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 ,guam1 the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands1 and ,american ,samoa4 #c4 ,protection of rights of legally incompetent adults who are the subject of a legal guardianship or conservatorship 7a7 ,findings ,the ,congress finds as follows3 7#a7 ,in a ,november #ae1 #bjai article1 entitled ,guardian stole more than #ejj1jjj from elderly ,pinellas man1 the ,tampa ,bay ,times reported on a private guardian who allegedly stole over #ejj1jjj from a ward over #aa months4 7#b7 ,in an ,august #b1 #bjai article1 entitled ,florida professional guardian ,rebecca ,fierle3 ,devoted or dangerous8 the ,orlando ,sentinel reported on severe cases of alleged adult guardianship fraud and abuse perpetrated by a private guardian1 including physical neglect1 deliberate isolation of wards from their families1 financial exploitation1 and using do not resuscitate orders without permission4 7#c7 ,private guardians are at risk for financial conflicts of interest1 because a ward's assets1 which they usually control1 are used to pay the guardian for their services4 7#d7 ,many persons declared incapacitated by a judge and assigned to a private guardian have not even appeared in court4 7#e7 ,a person deemed incapacitated lacks the legal authority to petition to have their guardian removed or replaced if they believe they are being victimized4 7#f7 ,pop icon ,britney ,spears has unsuccessfully petitioned the judicial system to remove her father as her conservator for years4 7#g7 ,despite the fact that ,ms4 ,spears has been a successful working artist for the past decade1 her repeated requests to have her conservatorship removed have been denied4 7#h7 ,the #adth ,amendment to the ,constitution of the ,united ,states protects ,united ,states citizens and residents from being deprived of life1 liberty1 or property1 without due process of law4 7#i7 ,the allegations in the ,orlando ,sentinel and ,tampa ,bay ,times1 along with the inability of ,britney ,spears to free herself from her father's control1 indicate that ,state guardianship and conservatorship systems can deprive a ,united ,states citizen or resident of liberty and property without due process4 7#aj7 ,in order to restore due process guaranteed by the #adth ,amendment to the ,constitution of the ,united ,states1 the ,federal government must guarantee that a ,united ,states citizen or resident placed under guardianship or conservatorship retains the right to petition to have their private guardian or conservator replaced with a ,state guardian who is free from any financial conflict of interest4 7b7 ,establishment of right ,an individual who is the subject of a legal guardianship or conservatorship established under ,state law has the right to-- 7#a7 communicate with a caseworker referred to in section #b7;b77#b71 notwithstanding any objection of the legal guardian of1 or conservator for1 the individual2 and 7#b7 petition a court to replace any person who is a legal guardian of1 or conservator for1 the individual and who is not an employee of the ,state with a legal guardian or conservator1 as the case may be1 who is an employee of the ,state or who the individual has designated in a notarized document signed by the individual to act as such1 notwithstanding the terms of the guardianship or conservatorship1 as the case may be1 and in any proceeding on such a petition1 the petitioner shall not be required to prove wrongdoing or malfeasance by the legal guardian or conservator1 as the case may be1 as a condition of having the petition granted4 7c7 ,private right of action ,an individual who is the subject of a legal guardianship or conservatorship established under ,state law may bring an action in any ,united ,states district court to enforce any right provided by subsection 7b74 ,the court may provide the petitioner in such an action with such relief as the court deems appropriate4