Andrew Baswell is a Jackson County ward with intellectual challenges.
He’s also one of the ward program’s high profile success stories.
Originally in a group home, Andrew can now live with less care and hold a job.
He also competes in Special Olympics in track, team sports and skiing.
Andrew Baswell (center), ward of Jackson County, prepares to leave for the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria.
Andrew represented the United States in Austria as a skier.
“It’s fun and different and seeing things I haven’t seen before,” Andrew said.
“The question for me is how do I effectively provide care for these people,” said Jackson County Public Administrator John Killian.
Providing that care is a big job for Killian.
According to records the 41 Action News Investigators obtained, there are roughly 870 Jackson County wards whose care is administered through county tax dollars.
Wards are people who are mentally or physically unable to take care of themselves, as deemed by the court. They're often younger and may have a guardian to watch over them.
Bridgewood Health Care Center on the south side of Kansas City for example, has 43 Jackson County wards in the facility’s psychiatric unit.
When the 41 Action News Investigators checked, the facility was full.
As a result, county records show there are 335 wards scattered at facilities outside Jackson County from as far away in Missouri as Hannibal, and the smaller counties they land in take issue with footing the bill.
One ward was even placed in Wisconsin.
“When I look at placing folks outside, I think that is a revenue source for those counties,” Killian said.
Pettis County Coroner Bob Smith said wards from Jackson County and other large Missouri counties are being sent to facilities in his county.
“It’s a huge drain on our resources and time,” said Pettis County Coroner Bob Smith.
Smith said he sees the grim side of the county ward program.
Jackson County records show 16 wards are currently placed in Pettis County facilities.
When those wards die, it becomes Smith’s responsibility to find family members with what he typically says is little or no information.
He said he believes it should be Jackson County’s responsibility, or whichever county places wards in Pettis County.
“It seems like we’re having more and more, especially just people that are unclaimed,” Smith said.
Smith showed the 41 Action News Investigators a storage locker in his office.
It holds several boxes.
One them contains the ashes of William Eckles who died on New Year’s Eve 2011 at the age of 48.
Another one contains the ashes of Robert Gossitt who died on November 25, 2011 at age 46.
And a third one contains the ashes of John Prenger who died on April 5, 2012 one week shy of his 60th birthday.
It’s been more than 5 years after the deaths and cremations of all three men, and none of their families have claimed their remains.
Smith said he and his associate spend hundreds of hours trying to track down the families of dead people, and sometimes they never find them.
Other times when he does find them, the family doesn’t want to claim the body or ashes.
Because of this, counties like Pettis County are forced to pay $600 to $1,000 each for cremations of people not from their communities.
This expense often isn’t easy to cover in offices like Smith’s which operate on a tight $90,000 a year budget.
That budget includes Smith’s and his associate’s wages as well as all the equipment and other expenses.
“I think it’s probably become a statewide issue,” Smith said.
“Absolutely the hardest part with our population is the absence of services in the community,” Killian said.
Sometimes state agencies place wards outside of Jackson county beyond Killian’s control.
Still most Jackson County wards are placed in the Metro area.
And Andrew Baswell is certainly one satisfied ward.
“I like all the support I get through the Special Olympics and all the people that’s helping me,” he said.
To address the cremation or burial expense issue, Killian has begun a program this year for Jackson County wards to get limited life insurance with whatever assets they may have.
The policy is payable to any funeral or cremation service.
“That would be a great help for those counties, especially smaller counties than us,” Smith said.
But the Pettis County coroner says it doesn’t fix the problem of spending hours trying to track down family members once those wards die.
“The time to talk to those people is when they’re alive and try to find out as much information as possible.” Smith said.
