Dabner, Carol P. Legal Compliance in Guardianship Cases. An Exploratory Study: Investigating Denton County Probate Court Visitors' Program Success with Legal Compliance in Guardianship Cases. Doctor of Philosophy (Applied Gerontology), December 2016, 140 pp., 18 tables, references, 20 titles.
Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of the legal compliance of the Denton County Probate Court Visitor's program in the year 2013.
Rationale: Guardianship case management success is based on the presence of legal compliance of both guardians and the Court. When a guardian is legally compliant, a ward is receiving the statutorily minimum standards of care. Legal compliance equates (evidence of) the Ward receiving legally sufficient care. Research has not been vast; it has been consistent as to necessity of guardianship training, monitoring, and narrow focus of research. Evidence based research will assist in defining and developing appropriate court monitoring programs, which can add to the quality of care for elderly and disabled adults.
Methods: 1,300 guardianship cases in the probate court. Of these cases, 910 had annual reports of the person filed, which 304 were reviewed using the Legal Compliance Audit. Eight (8) factors of compliance were reviewed with three (3) being Court actions and five (5) being guardian actions.
Results: Exploratory study provides evidence based research of the necessary changes to develop the Denton County Probate Court Visitor's program. The guardians are more legal compliant than the Court.
