My name is Aleene (Alee) Carrino. I have over 30 years of professional experience spanning multiple sectors, including 10 years in banking, 10 years in customer service, and 10 years in purchasing. In 2021, I earned my certification as a nurse aide, driven by my passion for caregiving and my desire to support those in need. My role as a caregiver holds deep personal significance.

In 2018, my mother was forced into a court-appointed guardianship in Ohio against her will — a coerced and involuntary arrangement that stripped me of my fundamental right to care for my own mother. Ohio law, specifically Ohio Revised Code (ORC) § 2111.02, requires that guardianship should only be imposed as a last resort, using the “least restrictive alternative” principle. However, this standard was ignored. My mother, was competent and a capable individual. I have clear and convincing evidence of it. She was taken from her home and placed under the control of a third-party guardian.

Under this guardianship, my mother was subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment that no one should endure. She was confined to a “secured” lockdown facility, monitored with an ankle bracelet, and treated like a criminal rather than a loving mother and human being. Her right to dignity and personal freedom, as protected under Ohio Revised Code § 3721.13 (Residents’ Rights), was blatantly violated.

Despite my repeated efforts to advocate for her, my mother’s health rapidly declined. In the facility where the for profit court appointed guardian(s) falsely imprisoned my mom she suffered from severe neglect, including untreated bedsores and a life-threatening battle with sepsis. This clearly violates her rights under ORC § 3721.13, which guarantees residents of long-term care facilities the right to receive adequate and appropriate medical treatment and to be free from abuse and neglect. Neglect of a patient in a care facility is also a criminal offense under ORC § 2903.34 (Patient Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation).

Worse still, the court-appointed guardian assigned to my mother was well aware of these conditions but failed to act. This same guardian had previously been involved in a wrongful death lawsuit in 2013 while working for Adult Protective Services. The lawsuit alleged that an elderly man, was forcibly removed from his daughter and son-in-law’s loving home and care, died shortly after. The guardian in question was protected by qualified immunity, shielding her from personal liability for her actions under the guise of “official capacity.”

This is not justice. No one should be shielded from accountability when they knowingly harm vulnerable people. The concept of qualified immunity, initially intended to protect public servants, has become a license for abuse in guardianship cases. In Ohio, guardians are bound by fiduciary duty under ORC § 2111.14, which requires them to act in the ward’s best interests and protect their health, safety, and welfare. When guardians fail in this duty, they should not be immune from consequences. ORC § 2109.50 allows for the removal of a guardian and sanctions when the guardian misuses or mismanages the ward’s assets. Yet, in my mother’s case, these safeguards were ineffective.

This experience changed me. At first, I believed that reform was the answer. I hoped that with more oversight, stronger accountability, and legal reforms, the guardianship system could be improved. But after witnessing the extent of the harm caused — and the fact that abuse is protected, not punished — I realized that this system has morphed into a form of human and estate trafficking. I no longer believe it can be reformed. I now advocate for it to be abolished.

Guardianship as it exists today allows the financial exploitation, neglect, and isolation of elderly people. This is a civil rights crisis. Guardians are entrusted with complete control over a person’s medical, legal, and financial decisions, yet they are rarely held accountable when they abuse this power. I firmly believe that if you hurt others, there should be consequences. Qualified immunity must end.

My Call to Action

My mother died on January 15, 2024, under the control of a court-appointed guardian. I continue to fight in honor of her memory and for the countless other families whose loved ones have been subjected to this inhumane system. Her story is not unique, but it must become a catalyst for change.

I demand the following reforms in Ohio law and beyond:

1. Abolish Unnecessary Guardianships: Guardianship should be a last resort, not a default solution. Ohio’s own law under ORC § 2111.02 (Appointment of Guardians) mandates that the court explore the “least restrictive alternative” before placing someone under a guardian’s control. In my mother’s case, this principle was ignored. I call for stricter enforcement of the “least restrictive alternative” requirement.

2. End Qualified Immunity for Guardians: ORC § 2111.50 (Court Oversight of Guardians) requires courts to supervise guardians, but oversight alone is insufficient if guardians can hide behind qualified immunity. Families must be able to pursue claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 when their loved ones’ rights are violated. If guardians operate under “color of state law” and harm others, they should be held accountable in the same way as police officers or public officials.

3. Strengthen Residents’ Rights: Ohio’s Residents’ Rights Law under ORC § 3721.13 guarantees the right to adequate medical care, freedom from restraint, and access to visitors. My mother’s isolation, the use of ankle monitors, and neglect of her medical needs were clear violations of these rights. Facilities and guardians must be held civilly and criminally liable for violating these basic rights.

4. Fiduciary Accountability and Transparency: Guardians are required to provide an accounting of financial decisions under ORC § 2111.14 (Guardian’s Reporting Duties) and ORC § 2109.50 (Concealment of Assets). In my mother’s case, this did not happen. Courts must enforce stricter oversight of guardians’ financial and welfare-related actions and allow families access to review financial records and medical care decisions.

5. Ban Forced Isolation of Wards: My mother was isolated from her family and support network, which significantly impacted her health. The use of ankle monitors on elderly people is dehumanizing and unnecessary. Isolation is an explicit violation of ORC § 3721.13 (Residents’ Rights) and amounts to false imprisonment under Ohio’s common law doctrine of false imprisonment. This must be explicitly banned in guardianship cases.

6. Remove Conflict of Interest for Guardians and Fiduciaries: Guardians often have direct financial interests in keeping a person under their control, especially if they are being paid to “manage” the person’s estate. I support amending ORC § 2111.13 (Management of Wards’ Property) to prohibit fiduciaries from financially benefiting from prolonged guardianships.

Key Legal Support for Reform

• Ohio Revised Code (ORC) § 2111.02 — Guardianships should be a last resort, using the least restrictive means.

• Ohio Revised Code (ORC) § 2111.50 — Courts have oversight of guardians, but they rarely enforce it.

• Ohio Revised Code (ORC) § 3721.13 — Residents in care facilities have the right to adequate medical care, freedom from isolation, and freedom from abuse or neglect.

• Ohio Revised Code (ORC) § 2109.50 — Fiduciaries can be sanctioned or removed for concealment, misuse, or mismanagement of assets.

• Ohio Revised Code (ORC) § 2903.34 — Abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a care facility patient is a crime.

• 42 U.S.C. § 1983 — Federal law allows people to sue public officials for constitutional rights violations, including wrongful imprisonment and failure to provide care.

• Ohio common law (false imprisonment) — Unlawful detention or restraint of an individual without legal justification.

My Mission

This is not just my mother’s story — it’s the story of thousands of families trapped in a system that profits off human lives and estates. I fight for the abolition of guardianship, the enforcement of fiduciary duties, and the removal of qualified immunity. Families deserve the right to care for their loved ones without being overruled by profit-driven guardians and state actors operating without accountability. No family should experience what mine has. Guardianship must end.