A change in Nebraska state law should address problems with public guardians disclosed by a state audit.
Senator Colby Coash of Lincoln sponsored the law that gives Nebraska courts authority to appoint public guardians…an option courts didn’t have before, leading to the alleged abuse of the system by Judith Widener of Scottsbluff. . .

Widener is accused of stealing from some of the 600 vulnerable Nebraskans whom she served.
A state audit first disclosed the problem.

Coash says that courts had to rely on volunteers previously, because they had no options if family and friends weren’t available. . .