Woman with Down Syndrome Wins Guardianship Case

A 29-year-old woman with Down syndrome prevailed over herparents in a recent guardianship case in Newport, Virginia.

The parents of Jenny Hatch filed a guardianship request inorder to keep her in a group home against her will.  Hatch had lived in, and ran away from, aseries of group homes for over a year. After suffering a bicycle accident, she moved in with friends KellyMorris and Jim Talbert and began working at a thrift shop they owned.

The judge found Hatch needed a guardian to help her withdecisions but decided to take her preferences into account.  In a victory for the rights of adults withdisabilities, the judge designated Morris and Talbert as her temporaryguardians for one year, “with the goal of ultimately helping her achieve more independence.”

See TheresaVargas, Woman with Down Syndrome PrevailsOver Parents in Guardianship Case, The Washington Post, Aug. 2, 2013.