Sen. Keaveny Report

The Missouri Legislature began their session earlier this month and Senator Keaveny has filed several pieces of legislation.

For the 2013 legislative session, one of the pieces of legislation that Senator Keaveny is sponsoring is  SB 99, which would make the position of the City of St. Louis Public Administrator an appointed position, rather than an elected one.

St. Louis Public Administrator Gerard Nester

Currently, citizens of St. Louis, St. Charles, and Jackson counties appoint their public administrators. Under SB 99, the City of St. Louis Public Administrator would be appointed by a majority of the circuit and associate circuit court judges of the 22nd Judicial Circuit.

The Office of the Public Administrator was created to serve on behalf of citizens of St. Louis who are brought before the Probate Division of the St. Louis Circuit Court. The public administrator would serve in instances when no one else was qualified and willing to serve — this includes serving as guardian for incapacitated individuals.

The City of St. Louis Public Administrator has a heavier caseload and fewer resources than comparable offices in Missouri. Senate Bill 99 would, along with efforts by the Board of Alderman, develop positions for social workers and administrative assistants to handle a caseload of an estimated 425 guardianship files; work that is currently handled on a part-time basis by a few staff. Jackson County, for example, has 18 staff positions to care for 930 cases, while St. Louis County has nine staffers caring for 400 clients.

Senator Keaveny believes that the modest changes initiated by his  bill would improve the level of care provided to elderly, mentally ill, and developmentally disabled residents under the guardianship of the public administrator’s office

Short URL: http://stlouiscore.com/?p=191706

Posted by Harry Kennedy on 9:17 AM. Filed under Feature Story, Missouri State Legislature, Saint Louis City. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.