One of the most significant problems in raising awareness of guardianship abuses has been a lack of data and media interest.

As a service to our members and for laypeople to garner a better understanding of the scope, impact and methodology of guardianship abuse nationwide. NASGA has enhanced its website and social media channels by opening them up for members to upload case evidence and court documents, tell their own stories through short videos and answer a survey that will be invaluable in data collection.

Each of these new programs are essential to raising awareness academically, politically and in the media.

Court Documents and Case Evidence.

NASGA has gained exclusive access to court documents and evidence collected by the research team for the August 23, 2019 expose of Michigan’s Oakland County Probate Court, The Fortress.

They are uploaded here:

Guardian Accounts: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hG6JeIazZApCy4eXxPSALt0Te-2lBEOn?usp=sharing

Guardian Annual Reports: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YFITx3cRQpG-ruHAs6CXB2GRpCOey3XC?usp=sharing

Ward letters to court: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1c75Nb7Qd_7AwzeDj2YXCYgBe3dzLUzXP?usp=sharing

Guardian petitions: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NbooX-MRla5RyoTlRYPKpxFxxwQlEFPH?usp=sharing

Guardian Real Estate: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vs12VbAY9ULd2pRkp0W6cKFQVYRSgA3p?usp=sharing

Unlicensed Group Homes: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Vet1TzWO-aX3O8ur_3q1uLJ7fiuPz1co?usp=sharing

Each of the documents has been redacted from identifying information and any sensitive medical records and includes a brief summary and commentary to help readers navigate through them.

We welcome our members to submit their own court documents and case-evidence for upload to the website.

This will not only help visitors gain a clear understanding of the way a judge and appointed guardian has functioned in your case but will be a real advantage to journalists and media outlets seeking cases or a particular case to cover.

Court documents can be submitted via email to gretchenrachelhammond@gmail.com. Please include a brief summary of your case. If the documents are too large for emails, Gretchen will talk you through uploading them to a Google Drive.

In order to protect family members/friends submitting the documents from any retaliatory court action and to respect the protected individual’s privacy, it is imperative that all records are thoroughly redacted before you submit them

This means that you must black-out any and all:
 Last names
 Addresses (city and state can stay in).
 Phone numbers (personal or the number of a nursing facility)
 Case numbers
 Social security numbers.
 Bank account numbers and account balances
 Medical information

If you have any questions concerning what should be removed, NASGA will respond to them promptly.

You can redact your documents using a PDF editor or a thick, black magic marker before scanning the documents to your computer and emailing them over. Make sure there are no other documents under the page you are marking.

NASGA will verify that necessary information has been redacted before uploading them to the website. All documents sent to NASGA are done so in complete confidentiality. Only those that members are comfortable sharing will be uploaded following a redaction review.

Share Your Story.

NASGA has opened up its YouTube channel for members to share videos of their own stories. Each video will be highlighted both on the website and social media and will also be accessible to the media.

If you are using an iPhone or Android device to record your story, please be sure to keep it horizontal rather than vertical (preferred by media outlets) and avoid shaking the camera. This can be achieved with a stand or by placing the camera against on and against a hard surface elevated to face level. Use the zoom feature to go back and forth rather than physically moving the camera.

Please keep your videos under 15 minutes in length and remember to keep it simple. You can tell the story yourselves, through an interview with your loved one or a combination. Try to stick to the following elements:
 How the guardianship occurred and to whom (first names only).
 City and State the guardianship is in.
 Events which took/have taken place during the guardianship.
 Current status of the case.

Do not submit recordings of court procedures taken without the express permission of your probate/family court. Similarly, do not submit recordings inside nursing facilities which show any identifying information or the address of the facility or the faces of any employees.

Once your video is completed, email gretchenrachelhammond@gmail.com and she will help you upload it to Google Drive.

NASGA will review all submissions before inclusion on the channel.