This year’s Office of Public Guardian Annual report case data reaffirms the previous years’ data regarding the complexity of wards and protected persons served by the office.

The timeframe for data is December 2016 to November 2017, unless indicated as aggregate data.

As of November 30, 2017 the office had an aggregate of 237 Open cases- 205 Full, 5 Limited and 27 Temporary. The 264 wards had 657 identified categories involving complex issues including cognitive impairment, mental health diagnoses, developmental disabilities, substance/alcohol abuse, medical conditions, history of criminal justice involvement, and/or history of Mental Health Board commitments.

Respecting the privacy of the vulnerable adults served by the Office of Public Guardian, the office does not normally share information regarding specific wards and protected persons. However, this report contains the untold stories of some of the wards and protected persons. The stories shared are memorials to those who passed away this year. Except for one individual whose family gave permission to use his name, all other names are pseudonyms.

The Office of Public Guardian serves many people who led very different lives than what they currently are experiencing; individuals who were bookkeepers, lawyers, U.S. veterans, meatpackers, pastors, students, teachers, nurses, homemakers, beauticians, salespersons, as well as past foster children, and adults with developmental disabilities.

These vulnerable adults who find themselves incapacitated are our Nebraska neighbors.

Read the stories of the Navy Veteran who left her estate to the San Diego Zoo, the lawyer stricken with dementia, the developmentally disabled woman in need of medication, the meat packer with a work-related brain injury, and a Nebraska senior citizen who needed a more stimulating living environment following psychiatric care. 

The full 115-page report can be found on the Judicial Branch Website: Office of Public Guardian Implementation and Data Report 2017