Oklahoma attorneys are invited to invest in innovation — innovation to secure the legal rights of vulnerable adult citizens and keep them safe. All you need to do to invest in innovative new programs formed to help protect this segment of aging adults from abuse, neglect and exploitation is to become a Fellow of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation. OBF provides start-up funding to new organizations dedicated to helping keep our aging population safe through legal avenues. Your help is needed to continue the work.

Every year the incidence rates for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia rise, and more individuals with cognitive disabilities live their lives in communities rather than institutional settings; the need to guard them from abuse, neglect and exploitation has become a critical issue. Oklahoma aging advocate Rowena Scott-Johnson recognized this need and created an innovative new solution called Oklahoma Advocates for Vulnerable Adults or OCAAVA. Working with the DHS Aging Services Division, Ms. Scott-Johnson advocated passage of a bill which created the program. In spite of the legislative mandate, no start-up funding was provided by the legislature.

After ‘languishing on the books’ for some time, the OCAAVA program is off and running. All that was missing was funding to enable theprogram to properly begin — for coordinators to be hired, volunteers to be recruited and trained. Collaboration between a variety of agencies, organizations and concerned advocates was key to the establishment of OCAAVA as a nonprofit. Funding to get the first local program started was provided by a grant from the Oklahoma Bar Foundation and the vision has become reality — Oklahoma’s vulnerable adults have become safer and better served.

A case for innovation presented by Judge Larry A. Jones: As a judge who handles adult guardianships and who is very familiar with the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program for minors, I was anxious to see the OCAAVA vision become reality. In making decisions affecting vulnerable adults (as well as children) we judges can never have too much information. We often need all the information we can get, but it needs to be the right information. We need to know what is really going on concerning vulnerable adults. Certainly, the attorneys are often present and can provide information, but it is information that is filtered by their client’s wishes - whether that client is a petitioner seeking guardianship over a vulnerable adult, or is the vulnerable adult themself. Consequently, information is often presented in the manner best suited to serve the client’s desires and not necessarily what may be in the vulnerable adult’s best interests. This is where OCAAVA can prove to be an invaluable resource for the court.

My first OCAAVA appointment did not fit the usual scenario. An elderly person was an ‘heir-at-law’ to a decedent in a probate case. There was a will, but this particular elderly person was not among the named devisees or legatees of the will. Information was provided that this person was probably incapable of understanding anything about the probate procedures or even to be able to acknowledge notice. No one seemed certain about this person’s exact condition, her competence or desire to object to the probate proceedings. In addition, this person did not live in the immediate area, but a few counties away. The usual sources the court might turn to, such as the local public defender, were not practical due to the time and distance involved. A private attorney might have been appointed as guardian ad litems but this could have taken resources away from the elderly person or at the very least taxed the willingness of a pro bono attorney, and perhaps for no good reason.

The court was able to turn to the OCAAVA program. The work of the OCAAVA volunteer exceeded my expectations. The report received was very thorough and went beyond the primary (to me) issue of the probate case as the volunteer saw a need for a guardian to be appointed and other needed social services to be explored to assist this vulnerable adult and the nursing care provider. Though these matters were outside my jurisdiction, steps were begun to have these services made available through the county where the person resided.

The OCAAVA result? I got the information I needed to proceed with the probate case and the vulnerable adult may now receive valuable services to assist in their supervision, care and welfare. I urge other judges to utilize this valuable resource. In fact, I’m certain OCAAVA will serve as a model for the entire nation. It is of no cost to the court or the vulnerable adult, yet the benefit to ourvulnerable citizens will prove to be priceless.

How OCAAVA Works: The OCAAVA Association supervises local program sites based on judicial districts and three judicial districts already have agreements in place and judges are beginning to actively appoint cases to OCAAVA volunteers. The innovative new program is the only such program in the nation and we hope to see it replicated. The program is young without expansive financial resources and your assistance is needed to continue expansion so more can be served.

A booklet of OCAAVA volunteer contact information has been compiled with skills and interests included so judges considering an appointment can select an individual who might bring added skills to the table for the benefit of the vulnerable adult. Many of the volunteers are retired professionals — among them are attorneys, gerontologists, a certified financial planner, a social worker, a long-term care ombudsman and there is always room for more. Volunteer Sue Moore states, “I think we, as a culture, are judged by the way we treat the most vulnerable of our society. Adults who cannot care for themselves are some of the most vulnerable and deserve legal protections. I am glad to contribute my time to that effort of OCAAVA.”