Guardianship and Predatory Crimes among Incapacitated Persons in Kentucky

Department

Social Work

Department Name When Scholarship Produced

Anthropology, Sociology, and Social Work

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2019

Abstract

Purpose: Guardianship is a legal process intended to aid incapacitated persons unable to fully care for themselves. Guardianship in the state of Kentucky ranges from total observation (24-hour care) to informal care (such as a group home) and also includes persons who are no longer being supervised but should be. One intent of guardianship includes preventing incapacitated persons from engaging in criminal acts. However, no research has been conducted on incapacitated persons currently in guardianship and the prevalence for committing predatory crimes such as murder, fire starting, or assault.

Method: In this study, the authors examine guardianship supervision levels and predatory crimes in the state of Kentucky. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the variables that significantly contributed to the model.

Results: They find that unsupervised incapacitated persons are at higher odds of committing predatory crimes, leading to important policy recommendations for Kentucky guardians.

Journal Title

Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work

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