The recommendations, and the findings upon which they are based, are contained within 12 study or investigational reports. Following are the titles and summaries of those various reports.
Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants, electric light the most effective of policemen.
The process involves an investigation, a court petition, a hearing, and the appointment of a conservator. A conservatorship lasts for one year and the process must be repeated each year to reestablish the conservatorship, even in cases of irreversible or degenerative conditions. The Grand Jury found that the conservatorship process places an undue burden and added costs on the court system as well as on the Department of the Public Defender, which provides counsel in nearly all conservatorship cases. The Grand Jury recommends that legislation be sought allowing lengthened conservatorships where mental conditions are degenerative or irreversible. The Jury also recommends the use of private attorneys in cases where private conservators are appointed.