Santa Cruz County public fiduciaries describe court-appointed guardianship, limited funding and referral process

Cecilia Mejia, public fiduciary director for Santa Cruz County, and Giovanni Mike Elena, deputy public fiduciary, described on the Gov 101 podcast how the county's Public Fiduciary Office serves court-appointed wards and how cases are referred and managed.

Mejia said the office is "governed by the Supreme Court" and acts as "court appointed guardian and conservator for incapacitated persons," adding that staff oversee medical appointments, bill payments and other needs for people the court designates as wards. "Once we get appointed, we do a lot for that person, and we call them Ward of the County," she said.

The office does not receive a dedicated county funding stream. "We actually don't support them. The county doesn't give us any funding," Mejia said. "We work with what that individual receives from Social Security, from their benefits. So we work with their benefits and how we pay for their rent or their living, their necessities." Giovanni echoed that staff must locate community resources such as food banks or lower-cost housing when beneficiaries need help.

Mejia and Giovanni said most referrals come from Adult Protective Services, which they described as "the front liners," and from medical providers such as local clinics. "They're the ones that are out there, seeing these cases before they refer it to us," Mejia said. Anyone can make a referral, the guests said, including neighbors or family members; the office then investigates whether the person meets the legal standard for court appointment.

Both speakers emphasized that appointment requires a court process and medical findings that the person is incapacitated. "Technically yes it's true that we don't have a form that says okay just we'll fill it out and this is gonna get you the services," Mejia said. "They technically have to be incapacitated to a point where they don't know what they're doing..." She added that the office cannot remove someone from their home without court approval or if the person is not in immediate danger.

Mejia described state licensing and continuing-education requirements: the department holds a business license and individual public fiduciary licenses that must be renewed every two years and for which staff must earn CEUs. She also said the law gives priority to family members when they are willing and able to serve as guardians: "The law states the family has priority over the public fiduciary," she said, while acknowledging that families sometimes become "burned out" and refer cases to the public fiduciary.

Both officials discussed the emotional difficulty of long-term work with vulnerable adults and the office's goal to keep most wards living at home when safe to do so. Giovanni described the challenge of becoming attached: "It does get personal...sometimes we keep them from maybe 10 years, 1 year, 20 years." Mejia added that the office seeks to maintain quality of life for wards rather than "take them away" from their homes.

The podcast interview framed the Public Fiduciary Office's role in narrow, factual terms: it is a court-appointed guardian and conservator that operates with ward benefits and community resources, follows state licensing and CEU rules, accepts referrals primarily from Adult Protective Services and medical providers, and gives priority to family members when the law allows. No formal board action or policy change was discussed during the interview.

Less critical detail: Mejia and Giovanni noted day-to-day duties can include court hearings, grocery runs and arranging medical care; Mejia said staff sometimes must arrange funerals when wards die. The guests also briefly discussed community perceptions of the office and its reputation.