TransparencyConservatorship Policy
Read Alta’s draft: Conservatorship Policy.
Public comment can be provided via email to Lisa West, Executive Secretary, through October 31, 2022.
PURPOSE: This policy is intended to provide Alta California Regional Center (ACRC) board members, employees, individuals served and their families, community partners, and members of the broader community with information about ACRC perspective, policy, and process regarding conservatorships of individuals with developmental disabilities.
LEGAL BACKGROUND: Individuals with developmental disabilities have the same legal rights and responsibilities guaranteed all other individuals by the U.S. Constitution and laws and the Constitution and laws of the State of California. (WIC section 4502(a).)
Among those rights are the right to receive treatment and services in the least restrictive environment, and to make choices in their lives, including, but not limited to, where and with whom they live, their relationships with people in their community, the way they spend their time, including education, employment, and leisure, the pursuit of their personal future, and program planning and implementation. (WIC 4502(b)(1) and (10).)
In California, adults with disabilities are presumed competent and to have the capacity to make decisions regarding their day-to-day health, safety, welfare, and social and financial affairs, unless otherwise determined through legal proceedings. (Probate Code section 810(a); WIC section 21000(a).) A person who has a mental or physical disorder may still be capable of contracting, conveying, marrying, making medical decisions, executing wills or trusts, and performing other actions. (Probate Code section 810(b).) All adults, to the best of their ability and with supports they choose, should be able to be informed about, and participate in, the management of their affairs. (WIC section 21000(b).)