For nearly two decades, Jeffrey Fitzgearlds has lived under Missouri's public guardianship system. His sister, Michelle Anaya, has sought to take over his care and bring him home, but says court filings and county bureaucracy have stood in the way.
Doctors recommended professional guardianship to Fitzgearlds' parents because of his mental illness and behavioral struggles, according to KMBC. He is one of more than 11,000 people living under Missouri's public guardianship system, the station reports. After their parents died, Anaya began seeking guardianship. She says she has asked the court multiple times to transfer it from Clay County Public Administrator Alexa Summit, who oversees Jeffrey's care with her deputies under judicial oversight.
Anaya visits her brother under supervision at the Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center, about five hours from Kansas City. She told KMBC that Jeffrey's life feels stagnant while hers continues to change and grow. “He needs natural connection. He needs family,” she said, according to the station.
A System Advocates Say Resists Scrutiny
Anaya says it is often difficult to get answers from the Clay County public administrator's office about Jeffrey's care or her guardianship proposal. Missouri advocates have described similar difficulty obtaining information from public administrators without going through court, according to KMBC.
Paemon Aramjoo, who represents the Clay County public administrator, declined to comment on specific cases, citing confidentiality obligations. Aramjoo said the office must respect the confidentiality of the people it serves as guardian and conservator, KMBC reported.
Anaya is not alone in pushing for change. Earlier this year she and other advocates lobbied Clay County's Constitutional Review Committee for greater oversight of the public administrator's office, but the proposed changes did not happen, according to the station. That mirrors concerns raised separately at a Clay County Constitution Review Commission meeting, where residents, former public administrators, and attorneys urged changes to how the public administrator is selected and removed — calling for screening committees, more oversight of current wards, and clarity about the roles of judges and the county, according to citizenportal.ai.
Caseloads Climb as Scrutiny of the Office Grows
Clay County shifted the public administrator role from an elected position to an appointed one after the 2020 general election, with circuit court judges recommending candidates, KMBC reports. A county performance audit found the office was responsible for 309 wards as of 2023, including at least 117 who lived outside the ten counties where more than half of its caseload resided. Separately, a June 2020 audit by the Missouri State Auditor found the office lacked sufficient documentation for some cash disbursements; that earlier finding does not establish anything about current guardianship cases.
A separate case illustrates similar frustrations. Special education teacher Rita Richards has sought to become guardian of her former student, known as Zack, who became a ward of the state in 2014. Summit has overseen his care since taking office in 2021, and Richards told the Clay County Commission she had sent Summit 33 emails without a single response.
Caseload pressure isn't confined to Clay County. In St. Francois County, Public Administrator Vesta Matting said her office currently manages 148 client cases, serving as guardian, conservator, or personal representative when no suitable family or representative is available, according to citizenportal.ai. Matting also pointed to limited bed availability and staff-to-client ratios below national recommendations as ongoing strains on the system.
Federal Findings on Institutionalization
The U.S. Department of Justice has separately highlighted issues in Missouri's public guardianship system, according to KMBC. A June 2024 excerpt from a DOJ report describes public administrators as county officials appointed as guardians for adults when no adult relative is suitable to the court and willing to serve, per the U.S. Department of Justice.
The department determined there is reasonable cause to believe Missouri violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide the community-based services adults with mental health disabilities need to remain in their communities, according to a Justice Department announcement. A related findings letter states the department concluded Missouri violates Title II of the ADA by failing to provide services to adults with mental health disabilities, though the excerpt obtained does not establish the full scope or remedies tied to that conclusion.
KMBC reports that Missouri's public guardianship system includes thousands of wards living in nursing homes because of a lack of alternative placements, and that people tasked with caring for wards often say they lack sufficient resources or nearby treatment facilities. The station adds that public administrators across the state have reported growing caseloads and have asked state lawmakers for increased funding and improved laws to protect vulnerable residents.
KMBC investigative reporter Matt Flener's coverage is part of Paper Prisons, a series examining how people navigate legal paperwork, medical records, and court orders within the guardianship system — and is investigating what systemic improvements could change how people like Jeffrey Fitzgearlds are cared for.
