Clay County Clerk of Court Tara Green, center, was joined by Sheriff Michelle Cook, left and others to announce a new guardianship task force. | News4Jax
Published on September 8, 2026 at 2:14 pm
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A new task force will look into Clay County’s guardianship program to prosecute those who mismanage or steal from the children and older adults they’re supposed to care for.
The guardianship task force will investigate possible abuse by professional or private caregivers, what Sheriff Michelle Cook called a “few bad actors” who were put in a position of trust, then failed.
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Guardianship programs help orphans or children in need after parents have been arrested or died. They also help indigent adults who have no family or friends to care for them.
Guardians can be family members, court-appointed professionals or state-approved members of the public.
Clerk of Court Tara Green said all guardians file annual reports that her staff audits. Guardianship audits focus on the child or adult’s physical well-being, financial accounts and status of their assets.
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Now there is a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force to look deeper into issues uncovered in the audits, Green said.
“Our auditors have seen it all, sadly — elderly men and women abandoned at care centers and hospitals, their bank accounts drained and their homes and personal property sold or foreclosed without the state’s or court’s knowledge,” Green said. “Juveniles never see their inheritance in the form of funds or property, making the death of their parents even more of a tragedy.”
Cook said any prospective guardians — or family members seeking guardians — must first learn the responsibilities and expectations of the role.
“We want our citizens to report any suspicious activity, especially if you believe a guardian is acting inappropriately or exploiting someone in their care,” Cook said. “And finally, prevent — we need to prevent abuse, prevent neglect and prevent exploitation by staying informed and speaking up. While these are complex cases, we want everyone to know that we will be watching.”
Cook said the new task force was created after hearing from clerk of courts and Sheriff’s Office staff that there is a need for what she called a “holistic approach” to fighting this crime. The vast majority of guardianship volunteers are doing it the right way, but Green talked about recent examples of abuse in Clay County’s guardian program.
In one case, the Sheriff’s Office recently uncovered a family member who exploited an elderly woman, abandoned her without any personal effects and emptied her bank account. Her monthly pension had been taken and her property sold, leaving her destitute with unpaid medical bills, Green said.
In a case involving a child last year, Green said a guardian quickly depleted money the child had inherited. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars gone,” Green said.
County officials did not indicate how many guardianship audits have turned up abuse. Cook said investigation has shown that “people can be greedy” if they see a vulnerable person with lots of money.
The sheriff urged people to report any possible abuse they see from guardianship volunteers at clayclerk.com, or to claysheriff.com, and search for “guardianship.”
