Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller Sharon R. Bock has won the 2015 Rosalinde Gilbert Innovations in Alzheimer’s Disease Caregiving Legacy Award in the Public Policy category for Bock’s innovative Guardianship Fraud Program and Hotline.
Bock accepted the award during the Aging in America Conference on March 22 in Washington, D.C. The Clerk & Comptroller’s Office received $20,000 in recognition of its accomplishments toward addressing the needs of Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers.
Because of the guardianship program, Florida is the only state to perform guardianship audits that are independent of the court system.
“It has become my mission to strengthen statewide guardianship laws, ensuring our most vulnerable citizens receive the protection they deserve,” Bock said. “This award reaffirms the need for our Guardianship Fraud Program and Hotline and will enable my office to continue to explore new ways to serve our rapidly growing senior population.”
The guardianship program was created to identify guardianship fraud, waste and financial mismanagement. Using the Guardianship Fraud Hotline, citizens can anonymously report potential incidents of financial fraud or waste involving court-appointed guardianships.
Since the hotline’s inception, the office has audited and investigated more than 900 guardianship cases and identified more than $4.5 million in unsubstantiated disbursements, missing assets and fraud.
The award program, managed by Family Caregiver Alliance, promotes innovation in the field of Alzheimer’s disease caregiving by recognizing and rewarding innovative efforts.
