‘I want to live at home’ | The battle of a conservatorship funded by tax dollars – ABC10.com KXTV

Garth Schutte, 40, is under a conservatorship. His family isn't allowed to know where he is or speak to him. What's funding this is your tax dollars.

SACRAMENTO, Calif Garth Schutte, 40, has been taken by the state.

His mother, Jill, and older brothers, Ian and Russell, aren't allowed to speak to or see Garth. They don't know where he lives.

That's because Garth has been placed under a limited conservatorship.

In California, a conservatorship is a legal tool approved through the probate court which takes away the rights of someone who is unable to care for themselves and gives them to another person.

While general conservatorships strip someone of their civil rights entirely, limited conservatorships have seven separate powers that can be taken and given to another person depending on the conserved persons unique needs and ability to handle certain aspects of their lives.

But Garth has not been conserved by just anyone; he is under the custody of a $12 billion state agency:The Department of Developmental Services (DDS).

DDS serves hundreds of thousands of Californians with disabilities and their families with services and support. The Schutte family shared their story with us in hopes it will shine a light for others who receive these services especially those considering conservatorship.

360,000 people could potentially be subject to this system, said Ian.

360,000 is the number of people the Department of Developmental Services serves as of our interview. In 2023, that number is expected to increase to over 400,000.

I want to help as many of those 360,000 people as I can because even it just happening to one person is awful, said Ian.

We never expected anything like this, said Jill. If I couldve predicted this... we wouldve left the state of California.

Garth has developmental disabilities; autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder, court and medical records show. For the first 39 years of his life, he relied on his mother to assist him with everyday things like showering, shaving and even using a catheter because ofa diagnosis of catatonia.

He was catheterized in the home and I was trained by three different medical staff, said Jill. Kaiser was providing all his medicine and his catheter, which was being mailed to the house. You cant buy catheters theyre prescription only.

The catheter is part of how Garths conservatorship began.

In Aug. 2020, record-breaking heat hit Sacramento. Jill noticed Garth wasn't eating or drinking quite as much and took him to the doctor.

Garth says things differently and he mentioned to one of the nurses, My mom puts a red plastic straw in my private part,'" Jill said.

Hospital staff are mandatory reporters. By law they have to report any sign of potential abuse Jill said Garth was trying to explain how he needed to be catheterized and it sent an abuse alert to Sacramento Adult Protective Services (APS) as well as Alta Regional Center the state-run facility under DDS providing services and support directly to people with disabilities as well as their families.

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When we look at California state law regarding mandated reporters, the reporters only report suspicions. Its the sheriff and police that do the investigation, said Jill. Adult Protective Services expand the investigation, not the regional center.

Yet court records show Alta Regional Center took Garth and placed him in a state-funded care facility.

Jill, Ian and Russell were not notified, despite Jill having Kaisers model of power of attorney over Garth.

For three months, no one told their family where Garth was.

We had absolutely no idea. They would not even say, is he in Sacramento? Jill said. We did not know.

This wasnt unfamiliar territory to the Schutte family.

Fifteen years prior, Garth had been taken by an Alta Regional Center employee who was helping watch Garth in Jills home. In court records, the regional center wrote Jill was unable to care for Garth, but a court investigators report later said Garth was taken in a deceptive manner.

The first time Garth was taken, it took Jill nine months and an attorney to get him back. 15 years later, in 2020, they were at a loss, which is why the Schutte family decided to get conservatorship over Garth, despite not doing so for Garths 39 years of life to help maintain his independence.

As they began the lengthy legal process, Garth was suddenly dropped off at Jills home by medical technicians after three months with no knowledge of his whereabouts.

I was shocked. I was thrilled, said Jill.

Less than 24 hours later, three Sacramento sheriffs deputies arrived saying Garth had been returned to Jill due to a clerical error.

The deputies took Garth outside and spoke with him alone. Ian recorded all 47 minutes the deputies were there; throughout the recording, Garth expressed his desire to remain at home with his mother to the deputies several times.

After Garth made his wishes clear and the deputies did a home inspection, their concern vanished.

Were glad hes got such a good home here, a deputy said.

The deputies updated Adult Protective Services and Alta Regional Center on their welfare check. Before leaving, one deputy offered the Schuttes advice: The most important thing you can do is go get that conservatorship as quickly as you can because thatll prevent them from pulling all this.

The Schutte family took it to heart and moved forward with the legal conservatorship process.

By petitioning the probate court for conservatorship, several things are instigated, including the court appointing an attorney for the potential conserved person.

The court appointed attorney Dewey Harpainter to represent Garth. Harpainters office is in Auburn.

As Garths attorney, Harpainter is legally required to advocate and represent what Garth wants. Jill says Harpainter refused to meet in person with Garth.

At one point I said, If youd like I can drive Garth up to Auburn. I will sit in the car so you can have private questioning with him,' Jill said. He denied that at least five times.

When the Schutte family attorney brought this up in court and requested a new attorney be appointed for Garth, the judge refused, Jill said and court records show.

At the time of our interview with the Schutte family in early June 2022, Harpainter had yet to meet with Garth.

That changed less than a month later after we reached out for an interview. Court records show Harpainter eventually met in person with Garth after we began investigating. The meeting took place just six days after our initial interview request to Harpainter.

Harpainter did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.

When a conservatorship is requested the court also appoints an investigator to interview the conservatee, assess the family dynamic, and write a report that goes directly to the judge.

The court investigator called me and we talked over many, many things, said Jill. I (also) encouraged him to talk to Garth privately.

After the investigator spoke with Garth in a one-on-one phone call, he wrote that Garth expressed a very strong desire to remain at home and told the investigator, (I) dont wanna go to a group home. I would like to live at home.

Criminal background checks were done on Jill and Russell who were petitioning for shared conservatorship custody. The investigators report also went through Adult Protective Services records and past abuse referrals, which were deemed inconclusive.

It means they didnt have evidence to confirm or deny Garth was abused, APS told us.

The court investigator recommended to the judge that his family care for Garth, and the conservatorship should be granted.

But the state regional center, Alta, told the judge a different story it claimed a number of allegations of abuse by the family from medical professionals in their written assessment of Garth.

Jill said shes had years of experience with Garth as well as a 22-year career as a disability expert for the California State of Rehabilitation and that, at no time did any doctor or professional advise me that anything being done was abusive.

The assessment also alleged Jill locked Garth in a windowless room, which Jill admits to, for Garths own protection. Because of his OCD, Garth often tries to break through the window glass in his room so he can pick up litter at all times of the day and night.

I mentioned that to a doctor the doctor said, Can you put a plywood or something based on the size of the window? Jill recalled.

She did, but not before she said she consulted with the fire department about it.

Its always putting Garth first, Jill said. His needs and wants but above his needs and wants... his safety.

The assessment also said Garth spoke directly to Roseville police after a lieutenant contacted Garth and the regional center following the Schutte's filing a missing persons report when Garth was taken in 2020. The assessment said Garth told the lieutenant he didn't want to return to his mothers house as well as recounted physical and sexual abuse by his mother and brother.

We reached out to the Roseville Police Department. They said they have no records of the call and therefore couldnt confirm it.

The regional center told the judge just because APS reports of abuse were inconclusive, it does not mean the claims are unfounded and that Jill and Russell would be inappropriate conservators.

Instead, they recommended the Department of Developmental Services be appointed as conservator. They also said DDS should ask for a power the family didnt: control over who Garth sees.

Ultimately, the judge listened to the regional center. He gave temporary conservatorship of Garth to DDS... not to the family as recommended by the court investigator.

With the conservatorship appointed, DDS decided Garth should move out of his mothers home and into one of their care facilities what they call a vendor.

After 39 years of living with Garth, Jill moved Garth into the new facility.

We did not want him to see our tears as we drove away, Jill recalled.

But the DDS care home struggled with Garth.

Because they couldnt help him sleep and he couldnt sleep - they call 911, Jill said she learned.

Court records show Garth had been hospitalized for 43 out of 88 days after being moved to care homes and under the care of DDS, meaning between November 2021 and February 2022 Garth spent about half his time at that point in emergency rooms rather than the care home.

Because Garth is under the conservatorship of DDS, taxpayers are footing the pricey ambulance rides and hospital stays.

One of the caretakers had so much trouble she actually asked for help from the family Garth had just been taken away from.

She would call (us asking), Can we come help her? Jill said. She actually wanted us to spend the night there.

Jill shared text messages between her and the care home facilitator with us. Here are a few, including the facilitator addressing the regional centers abuse allegations:

Garth no longer lives at this care home. Jill said he has moved residences five times in six months. With each move, Jills involvement in Garths life has been drastically cut by DDS, claiming Jill and Ian are triggering Garth. Jill believes whats triggering is the memory of the home Garth had with her.

As of mid-July 2022, Jill hadnt seen or spoken with Garth for 12 weeks. Visitation, including phone calls, between Garth and his family, has been severed... especially between Jill and Russel, the two who tried to get co-conservatorship.

We have not been (to his care home). We are not allowed to go there. We are not allowed to know the exact address, said Jill. We have not seen him or heard from him.

Its not for a lack of trying; Jill has repeatedly requested visitation with Garths regional center service coordinator, who is acting as his conservator in making decisions for Garth on behalf of DDS.

We cant provide you a date when you will be able to call or visit Garth, his service coordinator wrote in an email to Jill. She also said, Garth has not expressed any interest in having contact with you at this time.

Jill said shell respect his wishes, but wants to hear them from Garth himself.

Because we will follow the instructions, said Jill. [The regional center] could not do that.

We also reached out to Garths service coordinator asking to speak with Garth. Alta Regional Centers legal manager responded with the same message: Garth has expressed no interest in speaking with you.

We asked if Garth was informed that an investigative reporter wanted to speak with him and if we could ask him directly. We never got a response.

We were, however, able to speak with Garth directly during a visitation with his brother Russell.

Since DDS got conservatorship, Russell has laid low in hopes of continuing to remain in contact with Garth, unlike other family members who've lost all visitation. As of June 2022 he hadn't seen Garth for six months. Russell requested visitation and was approved. He, his wife Elizabeth, and their kids met at a local park while a care home worker supervised.

About halfway through their visit, we were able to speak with Garth.

I terribly miss my mom, Garth said.

When asked who he would like to live with, he told us his family, specifically his mom.

Garth also expressed the same desire weeks later directly to a judge.

On July 27, 2022, the Department of Developmental Services temporary conservatorship over Garth expired. The agency wanted to renew it and a court hearing was held in Sacramentos probate court.

Judge Gevercer granted us permission to film, despite DDSs repeated objections.

During the 40-minute hearing, the judge gave time for all to speak including Garth himself, who until this point has rarely had a voice in court.

I want to live with my mom, Garth said to the judge.

The judge told Garth to talk to his court-appointed attorney, Harpainter, about his desires. He also ordered DDS and the Schuttes to meet and hopefully reach an agreement over Garths current situation.

In the meantime, he extended DDSs conservatorship over Garth until the next hearing in December.

We requested an on-camera interview with the Department of Developmental Services for seven months. They declined all requests for interviews.

Prior to releasing our investigation, we sent them a three-page letter outlining our findings and asking 15 questions related to allegations of failed practices, including a 2022 state audit that found numerous failures for the last 10 years.

They refused to answer our questions and sent us a written statement (available in full at the bottom of this article) about how their priority was to keep their clients safe and a short video (below) of Director Nancy Bergmann reading the written statement. Neither answered any of our questions.

So, we attempted to talk to DDS attorney Meredith Nixon following the hearing. She also refused saying, no comment.

Two days prior to our investigation airing, the Department of Developmental Services announced immediate "actions to support" the individuals they conserve in a three-page press release. The release named three items DDS will do to improve the system for those in "conservatorships where DDS is the court-appointed conservator." They include forming a panel of experts to conduct a review of DDS' conservatorship program, forming a "working group" from multiple state departments to review their conservatorships, and "enhance oversight and review."

However, the press release didn't include direct actions or steps, like budgeting nor an exact time frame of when these items will take place. We reached out again asking for an interview so we could ask about the specifics of their new plan. They declined.

Jill had retired to care and spend more time with Garth. Following the hearing, she decided to return to work at an organization assisting people with autism, like Garth, so she can continue paying for the costly legal fees in hopes of gaining care for Garth.

The Schutte family plans to continue fighting in hopes of getting Garth home. They also hope in sharing their story, they shed a light on limited conservatorships and the system around it for others - as well as taxpayers.

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'I want to live at home' | The battle of a conservatorship funded by tax dollars - ABC10.com KXTV