My Services: Guardianship

Rogers Guardianships: The Basics

If your child takes anti-psychotic medication and you are going to become her legal guardian, the guardianship will have a Rogers component. The clinician who prescribes the medication can tell you if it is considered to be an anti-psychotic. Rogers proceedings are named after a 1983 Massachusetts court case, Rogers v. Commissioner of Mental Health, which stated that antipsychotic medications are so intrusive, and their side effects are potentially so severe, that a Court must approve them.

Here is a brief summary of how Rogers proceedings work:

  1. The clinician who prescribes the medication must complete a Clinician's Affidavit as to Competency and Proposed Treatment Plan (MPC 800). (Link to Forms page). This form includes the medication dosage, dosage range, proposed alternatives, the benefits of the medication, the risks, and the side effects.
  2. The Court will appoint an attorney to represent your child.  In most cases, the attorney will be paid by the state.
  3. You or your attorney must prepare a proposed Treatment Plan (MPC) and detailed Findings of Fact for the judge to sign. The Findings include the basis for your child's disability, her level of incapacity, why she cannot decide for herself to take the medication, and what she would do if she were not disabled and could decide for herself. There is no court form for the Findings of Fact. The Clerk's office of the probate court where you are applying may be able to provide you with a template, otherwise you will have to have an attorney prepare them.
  4. The judge will sign a Treatment Plan that remains in effect for 12 months. The judge will also appoint you or another person to be the Rogers Monitor.  The Monitor's job to see that a) only the medications listed on the Treatment Plan are given, b) the maximum dosages are not exceeded, and c) there are no unanticipated side effects.

The Treatment Plan expires after 12 months. If your child is still taking antipsychotic medication at the end of the 12-month period, you must make arrangements to have the Treatment Plan renewed. It is your responsibility to do this—it is not the responsibility of your child's attorney. If your child receives DDS or DMH services, the agency's legal department might handle the paperwork for you. Ask your child's service coordinator for a referral.

If going through DDS or DMH is not an option, your attorney can assist you with the paperwork or you can do it yourself. The procedures for uncontested Rogers reviews are described in Probate Court Standing Order 4-11, "Administrative Process for Uncontested Rogers Review and Extensions." But there is a steep learning curve, and you might want to pay your attorney to take care of the paperwork for the first couple of years until you become familiar with the forms and procedures.

 

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