Certified Professional Guardian Board (CPGB)February 11, 2008
Certified Professional Guardian Board
Meeting Minutes
February 11, 2008 Kilroy Airport Center, 18000 International Blvd., SeaTac, WA Chair Judge Marywave Van Deren Members Present Robin Balsam Dr. Ruth Craven Nancy Dapper
Judge M. Karlynn Haberly
Hank Hibbard
Michael Longyear
Lori Petersen
Judge Kimberley Prochnau Winsor Schmidt Commissioner Joseph Valente Judge Chris Wickham Suzanne Thompson Wininger Sharon York Members Absent
Gary Beagle Ree Ah Bloedow
John Jardine Visitors
Ken Curry, Your Advocates Glenda Voller, Montlake Guardianship
Staff
Chris Ruhl Lynne Alfasso Sharon Eckholm Deborah Jameson Sylvia Nelson Members of the Attorney General’s Office:
Jerry Ackerman, Sr. Counsel
Ruth Ammons, AAG
Ted Miller, AAG
Linda Moran, Sr. Asst. Atty General
Call to Order
Judge Marywave Van Deren, Board Chair, called the meeting to order. Judge Van Deren welcomed and introduced the attending guests and the members of the Attorney General’s Office. Board Business
1. Approval of December 10, 2007 Minutes
Commissioner Valente asked that the minutes be corrected to indicate he was not in attendance at the December meeting. A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the minutes as corrected for the December 10, 2007 Board meeting. The motion passed.
2. AGO Presentation
Linda Moran, Senior Assistant Attorney General, thanked the Board for inviting members of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to address the Board regarding the different services provided by the AGO. Ms. Moran explained the different role assigned to her Division, Licensing & Administrative Law, and that of Jerry Ackerman, Ruth Ammons & Ted Miller of the Government Compliance & Enforcement Division. Ms. Moran explained that she provides advice to the Board in its business and adjudicative capacity, and Ted Miller provides advice relating to grievances and prosecution of disciplinary matters before the Board.
The reason the roles are separated is to protect the impartial adjudicative role of the Board. The Board is vested with the authority and responsibility to perform both investigative and adjudicative functions. The Standards of Practice Committee (SOPC) performs the investigative function. The Board members who serve on the SOPC can not participate in the adjudication of disciplinary actions, and are prohibited from discussing a grievance or disciplinary matter with the Board. Similarly, the SOPC’s legal representative, AAG Ted Miller, may not discuss grievances with the Board, or otherwise engage in “ex parte contact” with the Board as adjudicator. Mr. Miller presents the disciplinary matter to the Board and thus may be called the “AAG Prosecutor”, and Ms. Moran, the “AAG Advisor,” provides legal advice to the Board in making its determination.
The same separation applies to members of the Board staff. Deborah Jameson, Guardian Investigator, and Sharon Eckholm, AOC Liaison to the Board, are part of the SOPC investigative team and cannot discuss any grievances or investigations with the Board or the AAG Advisor. If the staff or SOPC need any legal advice in relation to a grievance, investigation or disciplinary matter the AAG Prosecutor is consulted.
Only the AAG Advisor is allowed to join the Board in Executive Session for deliberation on the resolution of disciplinary matters. The Board will deliberate in Executive Session on any number of actions it is being asked to take in a disciplinary matter, including whether to accept a Settlement Agreement Regarding Disciplinary Action, whether to issue a Complaint, and whether to accept the recommendations of a hearing officer based on the record of an administrative hearing.
Following the discussion regarding ex parte contacts, Professor Schmidt made a motion and accepted friendly amendments from Commissioner Valente and Judge Prochnau, directing staff to put together a flowchart of the grievance process (pre-complaint) that identifies the built-in protections against ex parte contacts (i.e, separation of SOPC functions from full Board). The motion passed. Judge Prochnau followed with a motion directing staff, in consultation with the Attorney General’s Office, to provide an outline of the steps involved in an action for emergency suspension of the certification of a professional guardian. The motion passed.
AAG Ted Miller was invited to walk through the steps involved in issuing a formal Complaint against a certified professional guardian or agency. Ms. Eckholm provided the Board with a flowchart of the Complaint process.
In the Matter of Sheila R. Brashear, CPG #4729 and Charge D’Affaires Guardian Associates, Inc., CPG Agency #5129. AAG Ruth Ammons presented for the Board’s consideration a Disciplinary Settlement Agreement in resolution of the matter. Ms. Ammons presented the facts and circumstances in the case, explaining the public policy supporting acceptance of the settlement agreement in resolution of the matter, and answered the Board’s questions.
Executive Session
The Board met in Executive Session at approximately 11:15 a.m.
Open Session
The Board reconvened in Open Session at approximately 11:45 a.m. In the Matter of Sheila R. Brashear, CPG #4729 and Charge D’Affaires Guardian Associates, Inc., CPG Agency #5129. A motion was made and property seconded to accept the Disciplinary Settlement Agreement in resolution of this matter.
3. Presentation of Washington Association of Professional Guardians (WAPG)
Ken Curry, Interim WAPG President, was invited to address the Board regarding the recent reorganization of WAPG. Mr. Curry indicated that on November 5, 2007, several CPGs met and decided to restart WAPG, naming interim officers (Kenneth Curry, President; Mimi Hudson, Vice President; Glenda Voller, Secretary; Bill Jaback, Treasurer) who have agreed to serve for approximately six months until the Association’s annual meeting in Spring. Since that time the interim officers have incorporated with the State and made application to the previous WAPG officers for release of any funds they retained.
On December 10, 2007, the Association met again and approved several committees around issues on which three or more CPGs agreed to work:
Mr. Curry answered the Board members’ questions and thanked the Board for the opportunity to present this information.
4. E & O Status Report Ms. Eckholm reported (as of 02-07-08) the number of CPGs and CPGAs who filed declarations in compliance with E & O Insurance Regulation 117:
187 of 266 CPGs
33 of 41 CPGAs
The Board directed Ms. Eckholm to send out letters of E & O Insurance compliance and non-compliance to all CPGs and CPGAs and directed that the non-compliance letters include notice that failure to comply may result in decertification. The Board also directed Ms. Eckholm to send a notice to the Superior Courts of all the CPGs and CPGAs who are not in compliance with the E & O Insurance requirement and that those guardians or agencies may be subject to decertification.
Judge Van Deren sought volunteers for serving on the Financial Responsibility Committee to review the petitions for waiver filed under Regulation 117.8. Robin Balsam, Hank Hibbard and Commissioner Valente volunteered and were appointed to the Committee.
5. Committee Reports
(a) Education Committee - Guardian Certificate Program
The Board was provided the final draft of the Interagency Agreement with the University of Washington Educational Outreach (UWEO) to develop the Guardianship Certificate Program for guardian mandatory initial training. Ms. Eckholm updated the Board on a last minute request for additional language by UWEO in Section C (underlined):
… (ii) in the event enrollment does not reach a minimum of ten fee-paying students in any Program instruction cycle or thirty fee-paying students in any given year, UWEO reserves the right to terminate this Interagency Agreement and the Guardianship Certificate Program …
Judge Van Deren informed the Board that she met with Ms. Eckholm and discussed the responsibilities of the Education Committee under the agreement and that the Committee will be provided the Board’s expectations of the Committee in the development of the Certificate Program and keeping the Board informed of the Program’s progress.
Board members restated concerns that the classroom instruction will occur in the Seattle area and that the length and cost of the Program may be prohibitive to guardian applicants outside the Puget Sound area.
Ms. Eckholm informed the Board that the provision in the agreement for offering the Program on the eastside of the mountains was inadvertently not included in the draft the Board received. In Section E(3), Program Parameters and Content, the following language is included:
UWEO shall not be required to provide classroom courses outside of the Seattle WA metropolitan area unless enrollment in year one (total enrollment for Programs 1 & 2) exceeds 50 enrollees, in which case UWEO will conduct at least one Program on the east side of the mountains in year two (either Program 3 or 4).
In response to the concern of accessibility to those outside the Puget Sound area, Board members reiterated that the goal of developing the Certificate Program was to raise the bar on the level of initial training and that once the Program is developed and on its feet accessibility concerns may be addressed.
A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the Interagency Agreement with UWEO to develop the Guardianship Certificate Program for guardian mandatory initial training, including the two amendments: (1) allowing UWEO to terminate if there are not 30 enrollees in any given year; and (2) requiring UWEO to provide a Program on the east side of the mountains if enrollment exceeds 50 in year one. The motion passed. Commissioner Valente and Lori Peterson opposed the motion. The Chair did not vote.
The Board discussed whether a currently certified professional guardian will be eligible for continuing education credits for completing the Certificate Program. All agreed those credits should be awarded and directed the Education Committee to determine CE credits for completion of the Program.
Staff asked for direction in notifying prospective applicants about the change in the mandatory training. Ms. Eckholm was directed to work with Applications Chair Robin Balsam in drafting a notice for the website informing applicants of the specifics of the Certificate Program and that applicants may wish to wait until enrollment in the Program before submitting an application for certification.
Judge Van Deren asked the Education Committee to evaluate whether the CPG Manual will need further updates in addition to those anticipated by the UWEO Guardianship Curriculum Advisory Group, and to update the Board on its progress in that effort.
(b) Rules Committee
Proposed Amended Disciplinary Regulations, chapter 500 A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the Proposed Amended Disciplinary Regulations as drafted. The Motion passed.
Proposed New Administrative Regulations, chapter 000 A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the Proposed New Administrative Regulations as drafted. The Motion passed.
(c) Standards of Practice Committee
Judge Prochnau reported on the status of pending grievances.
(d) Applications Committee
The 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 Sarah J. Flohr. Sharon York abstained. Motion approved. A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the application of Gordon C. Ellison-Oslin. Motion approved.
A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the application of Heather Dretsch. Motion approved.
A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the application of Diana M. Yarno. Motion approved.
A motion was made and properly seconded to disapprove the application of Teresa M. Shea. Michael Longyear, Commissioner Valente and Dr. Ruth Craven abstained. Motion approved.
A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the application of Melissa J. Schafer. Michael Longyear abstained. Motion approved.
A motion was made and properly seconded to defer the application of Kathy Rasmussen pending further explanation of her employment history. Motion approved.
A motion was made and properly seconded to defer the application of Bifford S. Crane to the next Board meeting. Motion approved.
A motion was made and properly seconded to approve inactive status for Joshua H. Gortler. Motion approved.
A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the voluntary surrender of certification for the following guardians: Ruben Casteneda, James Degel, Janet L. Miner, Eunice L. Powell and Elizabeth Turner. Motion approved.
Regarding the appeal of the denial of application of Stacey M. Cronk, a motion was made and properly seconded to reject the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommendation of the Appeals Panel and to deny the application for certification of Stacey M. Cronk. Michael Longyear abstained. Motion approved.
Regarding the appeal of the denial of application of Teresa Howard, a motion was made and properly seconded to adopt the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommendation of the Appeals Panel to grant the application and approve certification of Teresa Howard. Michael Longyear abstained. Motion approved.
Regarding the appeal of the denial of application of Helen R. Reed, a motion was made and properly seconded to adopt the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommendation of the Appeals Panel to grant the application and approve certification of Helen R. Reed. Michael Longyear abstained. Motion approved.
Adjourn
Judge Van Deren adjourned the meeting at approximately 1:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Judge Van Deren
Board Approved: March 10, 2008
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