Statements
Mission
Guardianship & Trusts Corporation of Tennessee (GTC) serves clients who, by reason of developmental disability, mental illness or other impairment of intellect, are unable to make informed and rational decisions about financial, medical and/or other matters. GTC empowers our clients to live in the least restrictive environment possible by providing financial management and other personal services as authorized by the courts and fiduciary documents for persons who may be facing declining physical and mental health and limitations such as poor living conditions, dwindling finances and social isolation.
Background
Guardianship and Trusts Corp. provides court-ordered conservator services for individuals with disabilities in Davidson County or in one of eight nearby counties in middle Tennessee. After a hearing in which the court finds that a person lacks the capacity for decision-making and self-care due to disabilities of age or other vulnerabilities, the court appoints GTC to serve as guardian of the person, conservator of the person's property, or both. GTC's role is to assess and coordinate living arrangements, health care, insurance, finances, and legal representation if necessary. The goal is to assist the client in managing his or her affairs in the way that he or she would if able, maintaining the person in the least restrictive setting while maximizing the person's financial resources. Begun as a project of The Arc Tennessee in 1979, GTC was separately incorporated in 1980. GTC holds a Certificate of Banking Authority granted in 1983 by the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions, which conducts regular audits of clients' accounts. We are the only non-profit trust company in the state and the only non-profit conservator in middle Tennessee serving indigent clients at no cost. Over the past three decades GTC has served as conservator for many abused, neglected and exploited individuals whose conditions were brought to the court's attention by Tennessee Adult Protective Services. The court approves payment of fees for our services. Self-paying clients make up the bulk of our revenue stream, and GTC solicits charitable donations to pay for the services rendered to indigent clients.
Impact
ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2018 GTC became the court-appointed conservator for two additional wards in 2017. Adult Protective Services (APS) had identified one of these individuals and asked the Seventh Circuit Court of Davidson County Probate Division to assign Guardianship and Trusts Corp. (GTC) as the guardian and conservator due to abuse, exploitation or neglect. These individuals required immediate and intensive intervention, and all three have improved significantly since coming under our care:
Client #1: An elderly gentleman who had been estranged from his family and had been living with his daughter after showing up at her home without notice weeks earlier. We were contacted by an attorney for a local nursing home that had accepted the resident. The daughter no longer wished to have him in her home and she had essentially 'dumped' him at the nursing home. He has dementia and was unable to take care of his finances or his personal care decisions. We agreed to serve as his conservator if no family member was willing to serve. When all family members declined, we were appointed conservator of the property and of the person. We have been able to stabilize his living arrangement at the nursing facility. GTC has been working with attorneys in New Jersey to determine the status of real property ownership in that state. Also we are currently seeking approval for TennCare support to assist with his expenses.
Client #2: We serve as the guardian for a veteran who has a long term mental disability. As a result of his condition, he committed a crime that resulted in his incarceration in a federal facility where he could receive appropriate treatment. He is now paroled back into the community, and we are working to keep him in a stable living arrangement in order to satisfactorily meet the conditions of his parole. He had one incident that resulted in being charged with a parole violation and subsequent court hearing. GTC retained legal representation for the ward and testified in his court hearings to enable him to continue on probation and not be returned to prison. We continue to work to stabilize his living arrangements in a group home and to deal with his medical issues.
Client #3: This is another client that was a placement from the Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute. He has great difficulty in maintaining his behavior outside institutionalization. GTC has attempted several living arrangements for the ward, and now he seems to be in a situation that is working for him. However, his behavior did result in a criminal charge against him, and we have had to retain counsel to represent him in this matter. At the same time, he has continuing medical issues due to his weight and breathing problems. This has resulted in frequent emergency hospital admissions that require considerable staff time for each admission. In general, his situation has improved, but he requires constant monitoring. Additionally, through the assistance of funds from the Frist Technology Grant, GTC was able to purchase and install updated software for client account management as well as new software for corporate account management. The Frist grant also provided an opportunity to purchase an office cell phone for our guardian on call, replacing the outmoded pager system previously in use.
GOAL AND OBJECTIVE FOR 2018-2019 :GTC's goal is to continue to provide emergency conservatorship services referred to us by Adult Protective Services. Private conservatorship services may also be accepted from attorneys seeking a conservator on behalf of a family member or other interested party. When the office of the Tennessee Public Guardian ceased its function in 2013, a transfer of numerous cases were delegated to area attorneys and to GTC at that time. As the persons under guardianship advanced in age, their needs for social services and elder benefits increased. Many of the attorneys assigned as conser
Needs
GTC has listed the following areas of needed funding support:
- High Impact Area- Restricted funds to pay court-ordered fees ($3,000 for the first year of conservatorship for an indigent ward, & then $2,000 annually )
- High Impact Area- Guardianship training/certification for new employees and continuing education resources for current employees- $1,000 per staff member.
- Moderate Impact Area- Financial operating supplies, specifically a check printer and blank check paper, an annual supply of magnetic ink.
- Moderate Impact Area-4 executive style desks for employees office space
CEO Statement
GTC is a unique organization. For more than 35 years, the agency has operated as the only non-profit trust company in the state, and one of few in the country. In its daily operations, GTC provides financial and personal fiduciary services as attorney in fact, guardian, conservator, and trustee to persons with mental and physical disabilities of all ages. Professional staff members come from various backgrounds, and four are Registered Guardians with the National Guardianship Foundation. GTC's board of directors make their skills available to us: we can consult with a physician, nurse, social worker, attorneys, trust officers, and others in the financial industry as needed so that GTC can provide dependable and cost-efficient services of extremely high quality.
Board Chair Statement
The Executive, Clinical Issues, Trusts, & Personnel Committees work to give our staff resources and tools that enable them to provide the critical services our clients need, while helping raise the funds necessary to continue serving the community. GTC has grown each year due to the staff's increasing productivity, aggressive solicitation of new sources of funding, and growing caseloads. Our revenue stream includes trust management fees and court-approved conservatorship fees collected from self-paying clients. GTC supports services to indigent client by soliciting funds from multiple sources including private gifts, corporate donations, foundation grants, the United Way, and other giving campaigns. GTC revenues have consistently increased over the years. The talents of our diverse staff and the contributions of our volunteer board yield a competitive advantage for continued financial stability in the future. GTC's guardian/conservator program provides a safety net for those in our community who may have very limited resources but require significant service and care. GTC manages individual and pooled trusts to benefit individuals with special needs. The Supplemental Needs Trusts program protects investments while also retaining benefits. GTC has excelled in providing these services through active participation of the volunteer board and the ever-increasing skills and expertise of our staff. With continued education, cross-training, and on-the-job experience, GTC staff members provide top-notch service for the financial, medical, social, and legal needs of our clients.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Mental Health & Crisis Intervention - Support NEC |
| Secondary Category: | Human Services - Senior Centers/Services |
| Tertiary Category: | Public & Societal Benefit - |
Areas Served
Guardianship & Trusts serve Davidson County and contiguous counties. As trustee, GTC serves beneficiaries throughout the state.
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Montgomery |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
