We will ensure that elderly Americans and people with disabilities can live in

dignity, with quality options for long-term care. We will work to expand

alternative care options and provide better assistance for those who give

care. No one should be kept in a nursing home or institution if they prefer

living in dignity elsewhere and can do so. No one should be forced into, or

kept under, a guardianship or conservatorship by any public or private entity

against their will. We will work to ensure the re-enforcement of the Civil

Rights Act of 1871 and the Writ of Habeas Corpus to protect the rights of all

Americans from guardianship abuses and appropriations.

We will ensure that the systems in place to address the abuse of the elderly

and disabled persons in nursing homes as well as in the community are

properly funded and reformed where needed to improve their impact and

effectiveness. We will work on developing a comprehensive plan for

investigating and pursuing the financial exploitation of the elderly. We will

ensure that efforts to protect our elderly involve collaboration between the

various law enforcement and protective agencies so that these crimes can be

dealt with swiftly and judiciously, thus ensuring that victims and family

members who try to help them are not denied due process.

We will work to improve the Guardianship and Conservatorship laws and

procedures in the many State Court Systems across the Country and will work

to implement an oversight system to ensure that the system cannot be used

by perpetrators to financially exploit or abuse the elderly through outrageous

and unjustified fees and appropriations.

We will encourage the implementation of the new uniform guardianship code

to ensure that all states have common guardianship laws and systems. We

will implement a guardianship support system for victims and their families

with counseling and legal aid support services for indigent wards and for their

guardians. We will work to ensure that a disabled person’s family members

and loved ones, including those identified in any pre-planning documents, will

be the first ones considered to be the guardian before any court appointed

guardian can be assigned and that any allegations that a family member is

unfit is proven in a court before that person is denied the right to be the

guardian.