Provides impartial, trained guardians who are able to make solid decisions on behalf of the vulnerable elderly, assuring their funds are used appropriately and they are in safe living situations.
THE GUARDIANSHIP & REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE PROGRAM
What is the Volunteer Guardian Program
NewBridge recruits, trains, and supports volunteers who serve as legal guardians for older adults age 60 and over who have no family or friends available to fill that role.
Who It Serves
Older adults found legally incompetent by a court due to dementia, chronic mental illness, developmental disabilities, brain trauma, or alcohol and drug abuse.
Types of Guardianship
Guardians are matched based on the volunteer's abilities and the older adult's specific needs. There are two types.
Makes decisions about care, residence, and medical needs. Visits regularly, maintains contact with caregivers, and reports annually to the court.
Receives and manages all income and assets, pays bills for care and other needs, and submits an annual financial accounting to the court.
Representative Payee
A separate program through the Social Security Administration. Volunteers manage Social Security funds for older adults who are having difficulty managing those payments on their own.
“My job is two fold: to get word out about (these programs) to the aging community, to let people know that this program is out there to make referrals, and the other part is getting word out to the community to find volunteers, so trying to recruit. Then I interview and train volunteers and I give ongoing support to those volunteers. I (also) do one-on-one consultations.
The reason this program was started back in ‘01 or ‘02 was because here in Dane County we recognized there was a real need for trained and supported volunteers. There are corporations that get paid to do this (type of) care. There are companies that charge to be guardians for people. What happens is those payments are made through county funding. So this program is so that we could have quality people making decisions because our volunteers are assigned one-to-one.
There is an increasing demand as we see the population age. I am seeing that. I think some of the challenges I have from that is getting the word out. Because when you see a need for a guardian it’s like, “Wow, I don’t know that I could do that,” when in reality you just have to be able to have common sense, compassion and a desire to really make a difference in one person’s life.”