BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Ellen M. Corbett, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
AB 2493 (Fuller)
As Amended April 13, 2010
Hearing Date: June 10, 2010
Fiscal: No
Urgency: No
TW:jd
SUBJECT
Conservators: Photograph of Missing Conservatee
DESCRIPTION
This bill would require that, upon establishing a
conservatorship and each year thereafter, a conservator shall
maintain a photograph of the conservatee for identification
purposes.
BACKGROUND
Hundreds of California residents suffering from Alzheimer's
disease and dementia go missing each year. In 2006, Redlands
Police responded to more than 130 reports of missing adults,
roughly once every three days. At least one-quarter of those
were immediately considered "critical missing persons" as a
result of mental or medical conditions. Many of them suffered
from "wandering syndrome" as a result of conditions such as
Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or other medical or mental
conditions. According to the Alzheimer's Association, six out
of 10 people with Alzheimer's disease will wander sometime
during the progression of the disease. If they are not found
within 24 hours, half of those could suffer serious injury or
death. (City of Redlands, Never Alone registry seeks to bring
citizens 'Safely Back Home', http://www.ci.redlands.
ca.us/police/never_alone.html, accessed May 18, 2010.)
This bill, sponsored by the County of San Bernardino, is the
result of an incident in which a conservatee wandered away from
(more)
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home and went unidentified for several months because the
conservator did not have an identifying photograph of the
conservatee. The conservatee was located in a neighboring
county. This bill would require all conservators to maintain an
annual photograph of their conservatees for use if the
conservatees become missing.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing law authorizes the establishment of a conservatorship
over an individual who is unable to provide properly for his or
her personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or
shelter. (Prob. Code Sec. 1800 et seq.)
Existing law prescribes duties of the conservator. (Prob. Code
Sec. 2350 et seq.)
This bill would add to the duties of a conservator the
requirement to maintain an annual photograph of the conservatee.
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
The author writes:
In San Bernardino an unfortunate incident occurred in which a
Conservatee from a neighboring county turned up in San
Bernardino without any identification or the ability to
identify himself. This bill would remedy this situation by
requiring conservators to take and maintain up to date
photographs of their conservatees. Had this neighboring
County had a visual record of its conservatees they may have
been able to find and identify him much quicker.
The sponsor states that this bill is necessary because
"[w]andering is a common problem for county public guardian
conservatees who suffer from Alzheimer's, dementia or a mental
disorder. Conservatees may leave their care facilities and
disappear into the adjacent community or even into other
counties. At that point, it can become very difficult to find
them. Eventually, many wandering conservatees will come to the
attention of local law enforcement, who must then try to
identify the conservatees who often cannot provide their name or
other identifying information."
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2. Conservator should have identification readily available in
the event the conservatee goes missing
A conservator is appointed by the court when an individual is
unable to tend to his or her own personal needs. These
individuals may suffer from Alzheimer's disease and/or dementia,
which increase the potential for the individual to unknowingly
wander away from home. According to the author, an individual
suffering from Alzheimer's disease or dementia may not know
their own name or address and also may be at risk of missing
life-sustaining medications. When this occurs, the conservator
should be able to supply the police with a recent photograph to
assist in locating the individual. This bill would make it
easier for police to locate the missing conservatee by requiring
conservators to obtain a photograph of the conservatee once the
conservatorship has been established and annually thereafter.
Support : None Known
Opposition : None Known
HISTORY
Source : County of San Bernardino
Related Pending Legislation : None Known
Prior Legislation : None Known
Prior Vote :
Assembly Judiciary Committee (Ayes 9, Noes 0)
Assembly Floor (Ayes 73, Noes 0)
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