Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Guardianship Reform topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lawmakers consider reviving Montana 'WINGS' guardianship stakeholder group to improve oversight
Summary
House Bill 765 would reestablish the Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders (WINGS) to study and recommend reforms to Montana's guardianship system; proponents cited lack of licensing, audits, and follow‑up for guardians as drivers.
Representative Brian Clos (House District 65) told the Senate Public Health Committee he brought House Bill 765 to reestablish the WINGS working group, a multidisciplinary panel first authorized in 2015 to examine guardianship law and practice. Representative Brian Clos said the statutory authorization and funding lapsed and the pandemic further disrupted the group's work, leaving a gap in oversight and stakeholder coordination.
"The guardian system we set up in the state is really a product of the nineteenth century," Clos said, adding that Montana lacks licensing, standardized training, auditing, or consistent oversight for guardians. Testimony from AARP Montana and other proponents supported the bill's aim to convene stakeholders — judges, guardians, social workers, advocates and consumers — to produce tools, checklists, outreach, and rule or practice recommendations to reduce abuses and improve outcomes.
Kristen Page Nye of AARP Montana said the WINGS process encourages cross‑sector communication and can produce checklists, outreach tools and court rule improvements. Dash Dzharnath and other advocates testified that the interdisciplinary approach brings needed expertise to reform guardianship and conservatorship practice.
Representatives and proponents told committee members WINGS previously received limited funding, paused during the pandemic, and its statutory authority expired in 2023. The sponsor said the chief justice indicated the court would support the group's reinstatement and that funding initially would reimburse travel; further funding needs would be assessed by the group once it reconvened.
Proponents recommended the committee give the bill a favorable report so the group could begin rebuilding momentum and coordinate with a planned legislative interim study. The hearing closed without committee action.
