Orange County Grand Jury • 2008-2009

The Guardian of Last Resort Summary business, which is mandated by law Method of Investigation to attend to the details

Published: October 22, 2008 12 pages

View Original PDF

⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.

⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.

Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F4

Findings and Recommendations 6 findings

The management of PA/PG

Related Recommendations (1)

Personal papers are invento- stacked against the East wall. for administering cases in ried and placed in the personal Place items to be kept into the which the Public Guardian has papers section of the PA/PG lidded boxes. Use the smallest been given medical powers un- warehouse. size appropriate. Put the items der Probate Code Section 2355.

Personnel practices at PA/ b and c, add deputies to help trative cost reductions. The ad- PG have used temporary pro- reduce caseload. ministrative costs have actually motions and selective exclusion increased without any apparent R.2: The Board of Supervisors criteria to circumvent standard improvement in decedent estate should transfer the personnel hiring procedures. processing or conservatee management functions of PA/

Related Recommendations (1)

is required from the Board of development, trials and conver- reports to senior management Supervisors and requested from sion to the replacement for required action. County Executive Office/Orange system. County Human Resources Depart-

The current ePAGES care. The agency has made PG to the OCHR. computer program is no longer ineffective decisions that have

Related Recommendations (1)

The assigned Deputy re- please leave them there). Inven- lic Guardian. moves all papers necessary to tory sorted papers on property POLICY: the administration of the estate inventory sheet as “sorted per- Letters of conservatorship and throws away all junk mail, sonal papers”. Indicating how or orders of conservatorship advertisements, etc. 2008-2009 Orange County Grand Jury issued to the public Guardian Determines if conservatee is/ mended by Supervisor before may give the Public Guard- is not adherent of a religion authorizing intrusive procedure. ian authority to give medical whose tenets and practices re- REFERENCE: County Counsel consent. Those cases that do lay on prayer alone for healing opinion 91-236 give the Public Guardian au- If yes, contact accredited Probate Code Sections 2355 and thority to give medical consent practitioner of that religion. If 2356 include the authority to consent not, contact treating doctor and OC WASTE AND RECYCLING to intrusive medical procedure request doctor’s declaration in without additional Court ap- writing that treatment is neces- (FORMERLY: COUNTY OF proval when recommended by sary. ORANGE INTEGRATED medical professional. Court After review of doctor’s decla- WASTE MANAGEMENT DE- approval should be requested, ration and conference with case PARTMENT) however, in those cases where worker to obtain additional Disposal Procedures for House- you receive conflicting medi- information, may concur with hold Generated “Sharps” Waste cal advice and cannot make a treatment and authorize proce-

Public Administrator/Pub- be responded to by the government has become top heavy which lic Guardian policies and proce- entity to which it is addressed. The complicates communication dures are outdated, confusing responses are to be submitted to with employees, increases costs and are not being adhered to as the Presiding Judge of the Superior and lowers morale and depart- written making it difficult to ef- Court. Based on the findings, the ment performance. fectively implement the PA/PG 2008-2009 Orange County Grand a) The Administrative stated mission. Jury makes the following recom- Services section consists of mendations:

Related Recommendations (1)

In accordance with the Heirs’ SCRIPTION DRUGS, SHARPS INVENTORIES OF PERSONAL wishes, or after 60 days has AND CONTAMINATED ITEMS PROPERTY elapsed the assigned Deputy PROCEDURE:

The lack of business three managers and two non-

No recommendations for this finding

Management practices Level III positions within the trative Services department. used since the separation of PA/PG are unwarranted due the Public Guardian from the

No recommendations for this finding

Additional Recommendations 3

These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.

R4

The County Internal Audit Guardian. Based on the results from the Board of Supervisors and Department should conduct of this review and the Grand requested from the County Execu- an in-depth review of OCHR Jury report, they should recon- tive Office and the Orange County personnel records to determine sider whether separating the Health Care Agency. if additional instances of ques- PA/PG from the Health Care tionable pension practices exist Required Responses Agency and turning it into a in agencies other than the PA/ separate stand-alone County The California Penal Code PG office. The audit report and department has been cost and specifies the required permis- any resulting County responses performance improvement sible responses to the findings and will be forwarded to the Grand effective. If not, the Board recommendations contained in the Jury for information. of Supervisors should return report. The specific sections are Public Guardian to the HCA or
R8

When the term of the cur- developed. Appropriate train- (b) of Section 933, as to each rent PA expires in two years, ing based on these documents grand jury finding, the respond- the Board of Supervisors should be given and that action ing person or entity shall indi- should consider moving the documented. cate one of the following: Public Administrator function (1) The respondent agrees into the same department that
R10

During the inventory all sends a memo to personal prop- 3. Property Services Staff will items listed on the inventory erty Services advising whether count and list the number of sheet are tagged or labeled with to ship, destroy or release to a unopened and opened syringes the identifying number on the specified agent. on the inventory sheet in the Property Inventory Sheet and 6. A deputy assigned to a Public presence of the witness. The the identifying code letters. The Guardian case will not release estimated value will be NV- importance of accurate tagging Personal Paper to heirs or No Value. Unopened syringes can not be over emphasized as other family members during are left in their packages and they are used to trace the chain the lifetime of the case, unless placed in a standard inven- of custody from the decedent/ written and informed consent is tory box. Opened syringes are conservatee’s residence to the obtained from the conservatee placed in a sharps container. If warehouse and ultimately to and only if there is no will de- the sharps container becomes buyers and heirs. tailing disposition of personal full, a plastic soda bottle or Policy and Procedure 4.6 property. similar appropriate container MAINTAINING WAREHOUSE Policy and Procedure 4.10 will be used to temporarily store the sharps. Sharps will be AND IMPOUND SECURITY ACCESS/USE OF PA/PG PA- removed form the temporary PRACTICE PERS ROOM, BUILDING “B” container and put in a designat- To establish a uniform proce- (Remember this Policy has ed sharps container upon return dure for access and security been deleted according to the note to the warehouse. of the PA/PG warehouse and attached to it directing the reader Policy and Procedure No.8.9 impound area. to 4.6) PA papers are to the right, PG PUBLIC GUARDIAN AUTHOR- Policy and Procedure No. 4.8 papers are to the left. Unsorted ITY IN INTRUSIVE MEDICAL DISPOSITION OF PERSONAL papers are on the racks labeled PROCEDURE PAPERS “unsorted PA papers”. Empty PURPOSE: PROCEDURE: boxes for sorting into are To establish a uniform policy

Agency Responses 1

Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.

Public Administrator / Public Guardian 07/02/09, 554K

July 02, 2009 • 3 responses View Details ▾

PDF

3 responses to findings and recommendations

In addition to the laws incompatibility of offices set forth in the Political Re- when a board member

Response: Unknown

Score: 0

r1 ex officio Public Guardian comprise the PNPG department. The administrative functions that serve both areas are combined and performed by the same support staff. The California Probate Code defines what the PA shall do to safeguard trust funds and further defines that the PG shall safeguard trust funds in the same manner as the PA trust funds, requiring the two functions to operate in a similar manner. As the elected Public Administrator and ex officio Public Guardian, the PNPG cannot be forced to rely upon other County departments to provide essential services. This is clearly mandated in ...

Response: Unknown

Score: 0

r 2 employees' retirement is calculated on their highest combined earning for three years. Every promotion potentially contributes to an employee's pension. When an employee is promoted, their salary is increased. Thus, it will contribute to their retirement calculation rate in some way. F.5 "Public Administrator/Public Guardian polices and procedures are outdated, confusing and are not being adhered to as written making it difficult to effectively implement the PNPG stated mission. " PAIPG's Response The PNPG wholly disagrees with this finding. Policies and procedures should be reviewed const...

The TOC should insure

Response: Unknown

Score: 0

r 9/80, saving many commute miles per month in compliance with Air Quality Management District (AQMD) rules. The entire fleet of passenger car vehicles assigned to PNPG have been replaced with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered cars assisting the County of Orange in compliance with AQMD regulations. T ~ ~ ~ CcaNrs Gqu alify for Diamond Lane privileges for single occupants and the CNG is much less costly than gasoline. I PNPG has stepped up its collection rate from the California Controller's Office for unclaimed property for the client estates. Currently there is a stock claim pending for $1...