On Tuesday, September 28, 2021, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution hosted disability rights experts at a hearing tomorrow on “Toxic Conservatorships: The Need for Reform.” Morgan K. Whitlatch, Legal Director at Quality Trust, testified on the need for increased due process protections, the dismantling of the pipelines to overbroad and undue guardianship and conservatorship, and the advancement of supported decision-making.
The hearing also included testimony of Nick Clouse. Nick worked with Indiana Disability Rights, a former 2018 NRC-SDM state grantee, to successfully get his guardianship terminated nearly a decade after his traumatic brain injury. He testified about his experience with an overly restrictive guardianship, saying: “I could make medical appointments for my daughter but was not allowed to make them for myself.”
Video clips of other people with disabilities impacted by guardianship or who use supported decision-making were also shown at the hearing. Those videos and more can be found here. Do you want to share a written statement or video for possible posting? Please email them to jhjp@dcqualitytrust.org.
View the testimonies and Videos