BILL ANALYSIS AB 2493 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 6, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY Mike Feuer, Chair AB 2493 (Fuller) - As Introduced: February 19, 2010 As Proposed to Be Amended SUBJECT : CONSERVATORSHIP: PHOTOGRAPH OF CONSERVATEE KEY ISSUE : SHOULD A CONSERVATOR BE REQUIRED TO KEEP A RECENT PHOTOGRAPH OF THEIR CONSERVATEES TO HELP FIND THEM IN THE EVENT THEY BECOME LOST? FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal. SYNOPSIS This bill, sponsored by the County of San Bernardino, is the result of an unfortunate incident in which a conservatee went missing and, although located in a neighboring county, went unidentified for several months because the conservator did not have an identifying photograph of the conservatee. This bill requires all conservators to have recent photographs of their conservatees. In the event that a conservatee becomes missing, the photograph will be available to help identify and locate the lost conservatee as quickly as possible, which will hopefully speed the conservatee's safe return home. The bill has no opposition. SUMMARY: Requires a conservator to keep a photograph of each conservatee. Specifically, this bill requires a conservator of a person, u pon establishment of a conservatorship and annually thereafter, to ensure that a clear photograph of the conservatee is taken and preserved for the purposes of identifying the conservatee if he or she becomes missing . EXISTING LAW : 1)Allows the court to appoint a conservator to act on behalf of a person who is unable to adequately provide for his or her personal needs (a conservator of the person) or incapable of managing his or her property or other financial assets (a conservator of the estate). (Probate Code Section 1800 et seq. Unless otherwise noted, all further references are to AB 2493 Page 2 the Probate Code.) 2)Provides that a conservator of the person has the care, custody, and control of a conservatee, except as provided. (Section 2351.) 3)Allows the Public Guardian to be appointed for any person who requires a conservator and there is no one else who is qualified and willing to act. Requires the public guardian to apply for appointment as conservator in specified cases. (Section 2900 et seq.) COMMENTS : This bill, sponsored by the County of San Bernardino, is the result of an unfortunate incident in which a conservatee went missing and, although located in a neighboring county, went unidentified for several months because the conservator did not have an identifying photograph of the conservatee. This bill requires all conservators to have recent photographs of their conservatees and use those photographs to identify the conservatee should he or she become missing. According to the author, this bill is necessary because: Statistics show that at some point in their lives, 60 percent of individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease, a serious mental disorder or dementia wander from their homes or long-term care facilities, often without knowing their own name or address and sometimes missing life-sustaining medications. This can be a problem for conservatees of the public guardian-conservator. Conservatees may wander from their care facilities and disappear into the adjacent community or even into other counties. History of Conservatorships and Guardianships in California . California adopted its first conservatorship statute in 1957. Prior to that time, the court appointed a "guardian" for any person, child or adult, who was deemed "incompetent" to manage his or her daily affairs. After 1957, the law distinguished between a "guardianship," created for a minor, and a "conservatorship," created for an adult. There are also specific types of conservatorships for persons who are considered "gravely disabled" by reason of mental illness or chronic alcoholism and subject to confinement in a locked psychiatric facility under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act AB 2493 Page 3 (Welfare & Institutions Code sections 5330 et seq.) and for "developmentally disabled adults" (Sections 1801(d), 1828.5, and 1830). In 2006, in response to shocking reports of abuse of California's frail and elderly, the Legislature passed the Omnibus Conservatorship and Guardianship Reform Act of 2006, a landmark package of bills to overhaul California's troubled conservatorship system. That legislation was designed to remedy alarming deficiencies in California's conservatorship system and help protect the financial, physical and emotional well-being of vulnerable and dependent adults. That reform legislation also expanded the role of the Public Guardian to not only permit appointment of the Public Guardian for any person "who requires a guardian or conservator and there is no one else who is qualified and willing to act," but also to require appointment if no one else is willing to act and there is imminent threat to the health or safety of the proposed ward or conservatee. (Section 2920.) Recent, Unfortunate Case from San Bernardino County Provides Need for This Bill : This bill is the result of a recent case in San Bernardino County where police in San Bernardino County picked up an elderly man with obvious medical issues, but who did not have identification, could not identify himself and could not be identified with fingerprints. Only after this unfortunate individual had spent several months in the county's public hospital, was he finally identified as a conservatee who had been reported missing in another county. The conservator had filed a missing person's report, but had no photograph to go with the report. The sponsor believes that if the conservator had provided a photograph with the report, the conservatee would have been identified in several days and returned to his residence. This Bill, as Proposed to be Amended, Will Ensure that a Recent Photograph of a Conservatee is Available Should the Conservatee Become Missing : This bill requires all conservators to maintain recent photographs of their conservatees. In the event that a conservatee becomes missing, the photograph will be available to help identify and locate the lost conservatee as quickly as possible, which will hopefully speed the conservatee's safe return home. Proposed Amendments : The author proposes to delete the contents AB 2493 Page 4 of the bill and insert: Section 2360 is added to the Probate Code, to read: Upon the establishment of a conservatorship by the court and annually thereafter, the conservator shall ensure that a clear photograph of the conservatee is taken and preserved for the purpose of identifying the conservatee if he or she is missing. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support County of San Bernardino (sponsor) Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916) 319-2334