August 2001 - Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic Awarded Grant

Lansing, Michigan -- The Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic at The Thomas M. Cooley Law School has been awarded a $14,000 grant to address the proliferation of unnecessary guardianships being sought in Michigan.

Josh Ard, Research Attorney at Sixty Plus, said the state is working to decrease the high number of full guardianships.

"Guardianships are pretty severe deprivations of liberty," Ard explained, adding that there are quite often less restrictive options available to accomplish an individual's goals. "You lose a lot of rights," he continued," adding that a guardian can determine everything from where a person lives and what kind of medical treatment they will get, even to what church they can attend.

Courts are now required to offer pamphlets on alternatives to people who file guardianship petitions, but this is often too little and too late. The state's Office of Services to the Aging is interested in getting information out early to vulnerable adults, their families, and their advocates. Toward that end, they've awarded the grant to Sixty Plus to spread the word.

Ard said they will target three areas of the state -- north, southwest and southeast -- to launch an information campaign. They will work with existing community groups where they will train the trainers in the most up-to-date information on relevant law and alternatives to guardianships.

"We're training on content. What are the alternatives? It is important to find the least restrictive means," Ard explained.

"The goal is not just to have this group understand, but to give them information they can use in their work with the community."

The grant provides money for materials, transportation, speaker fees, etc.