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Chairman Treasurer Board Member |
In 1982, the State of Idaho enacted legislation that provides for volunteer guardians for the disabled otherwise impaired adults. Idaho law provides that a volunteer Board of Community Guardian may be established in each county to serve as Guardians and/or Conservators.
The Valley County Board of Community Guardian consists of 7 board members who act as an administrative department of the county. They set policies for accepting referrals and the recruiting, screening, and training of volunteer guardians.
The main focus of the program is to assist those who have been deemed by the courts as legally incapacitated, have very limited funds and no family member who is able or willing to help.
The function of the Board of Community Guardian is to recruit, train, and oversee the duties of guardians. When people are disabled (by age-related causes, mental illness, developmental disabilities, or other causes) they may require the appointment of another person to make decisions on their behalf and see to their well being. This need often arises in emergency situations, as where a person has no place to live or seems incapable of caring for their basic needs. The need also arises in cases of abuse or neglect by the person’s family members or others.
Guardians are appointed by the courts and are given an extraordinary responsibility – that of making some of life’s basic decisions for another person. Such authority is granted only upon a careful examination of the person’s need and the motivations, qualification, and abilities of the guardian.
Guardians shall encourage maximum self-reliance and independence of the incapacitated person; and will make decisions based on the incapacitated person’s actual mental and adaptive limitations. Guardians make reports directly to the court annually on all wards and more often if requested. Guardianship must be limited, by length of time and scope of the guardian’s powers, to that time and those areas of decisions that a person is incapable of deciding for themselves.