Certified Professional Guardian Board (CPGB)November 5, 2007Certified Professional Guardian Board Meeting Minutes
Chair Judge Marywave Van Deren Members Absent Visitors Ken & Sylvia Curry, Your Advocates
Call to Order
Approval of October 1, 2007 Minutes A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the minutes for the October 1, 2007 Board meeting. The motion passed. Chair’s Report Judge Van Deren congratulated Kimberley Prochnau on her appointment as King County Superior Court Judge. Judge Prochnau’s formal swearing-in ceremony will be held December 10, 2007.
Elizabeth Turner was also congratulated on her appointment as Assistant General Counsel for the Washington State Bar Association.
Committee Reports
Guardian Certificate Program / Education Committee Judge Van Deren expressed her concern with the Board’s September 10 decision to move forward with the University of Washington Educational Outreach (UWEO) Guardian Certificate Program without first exploring a Request for Proposal (RFP) process or an Interagency Agreement. Senior Assistant Attorney General Linda Moran described the RFP process and the interagency agreement, and discussed how those options could be used in developing a training program.
Board Member Hank Hibbard commented that the RFP process had been used twice in the past and that the only response received by the Board was from the King County Bar Association (KCBA). Mr. Hibbard suggested that rather than issuing another RFP, the Board consider moving to a “CLE” model where an educational organization submits to the Board the training program curriculum, the Board reviews the program and determines whether the program meets the Board’s standards required for approval.
The advantages of this type of model were identified as: (1) the opportunity to offer the training program would be open to all educational organizations, including community and technical colleges; and (2) the marketplace may be the best predictor of the need for and interest in the program and therefore dictate the cost and availability. The disadvantages of this type of model were identified as: (1) the market of students for a guardian training program is not large enough to support the cost of developing more than one guardian training program (which is why many states have an agreement with a single entity to provide the initial certification training); (2) creating standards for evaluating program proposals will require the development of specific curriculum components with specific outcomes, which is a detailed and time consuming process; and (3) this may result in the Board approving programs that may not necessarily be of equal quality in all subject areas.
Several Board members expressed concern that by changing the process for developing the training program now, all the efforts UWEO has expended in developing the certificate program will be wasted. The UWEO is committed to delivering a product in the fall of 2008, which the Board does not have the time or ability to do; and the same opportunity with UWEO may not be there in the future.
Board member Winsor Schmidt made the following motion:
To reaffirm the decision the Board made in September and to continue to work with the University of Washington to develop a proposal for a guardian certificate program to be accomplished through the vehicle of an interagency agreement.
The motion was properly seconded and the Board continued discussing the pros and cons of going forward with UWEO. It was mentioned that the cost of the certificate program may be a barrier to entry, particularly in the less densely populated counties. Several Board members responded that the Board has discussed the cost issue extensively and ultimately decided the cost was equivalent to, or less than, the entry costs of other professions. Professor Schmidt’s motion was repeated by staff for clarity and the motion was unanimously approved.*
Some of the Board members participating on the UWEO Curriculum Advisory Group, which assists in developing the curriculum for the Guardian Certificate Program, asked for clarification from the Board as to whether they represent the interests of the Board. Judge Van Deren indicated that the UWEO denied her request to make Board appointments to the Curriculum Advisory Group. The Advisory Group members were selected by UWEO. The Board discussed whether a Board member’s participation on the Advisory Group might create a conflict of interest with future issues that come before the Board. The Board did not resolve this issue.
After further discussion, Judge Chris Wickham made the following motion: To designate a committee to work with the University of Washington to work toward a proposal that would result in an interagency agreement. Ideally, the Committee would be ready to bring a recommended interagency agreement to the Board for a vote in December. The Committee will be composed of the Board’s Education Committee, Judge Marywave Van Deren and retired Board member Judge Vicki Hogan, if she is willing to volunteer her time. The motion was properly seconded. During discussion of this motion, Board member Hank Hibbard proposed an amendment to the motion to allow the Chair to appoint the members of the committee rather than designating the members of the Education Committee. The amendment was defeated. Judge Wickham’s motion was approved unanimously.*
Staff was directed to work with Bill Anderson of UWEO and the Attorney General’s Office to assist the newly created committee in drafting an interagency agreement for consideration by the Board. A special meeting of the Board is scheduled for December 10, 2007, with the intent that the newly created committee will recommend a proposed interagency agreement to the Board for vote.
Ethics Committee
A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the draft Declaration of Required Errors & Omissions Insurance – Regulation 117. The motion passed.
Executive Session
The Board convened in Executive Session at approximately 12:20 p.m.
Open Session The Board reconvened in Open Session at approximately 1:55 p.m.
Applications Committee
Following is the list of applicants who were reviewed for certification as professional guardians and the disposition of their applications. A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the application of Gedeon-Gaude, Ruthann. Suzanne Thompson Wininger abstained. Motion approved.
Review Panel CPGB 2007-012: The recommendation of the Review Panel was to dismiss the grievance with a letter to the certified professional guardian explaining the concept of conflict of interest. A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the Review Panel’s recommendation. Ree Ah Bloedow abstained. The motion passed.
Proposed Standard of Practice 401.18: The Board considered the proposed regulation, written comments previously filed, and a re-draft of the proposed regulation provided by Tom O’Brien. After discussing the merits of the proposed rule, a motion was made and properly seconded to defer consideration of proposed Standard of Practice 401.18 to the next regularly scheduled meeting on January 14, 2008. The motion passed.
The Committee’s next meeting will be at 8:15 a.m. prior to the Board meeting on December 10, 2007.
Judge Van Deren adjourned the meeting at approximately 2:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Board Approved: December 10, 2007 * The Chair does not vote unless it will change the result. Roberts Rules of Order Revised (1915), Art. X, 58:5.
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