COFAR blog

Loveland had emailed both Cartwright and managers at the May Institute on June 3, asking for the schedule change. She wrote that she is able to make more money driving on weekends, and therefore wanted to change her son’s visitation schedule to accommodate that situation.

Matteson and Valerie Loveland at Valerie’s recent graduation from Everglades University in Florida in Alternative Medicine. Valerie received her Bachelor’s Degree online and is on course for a Master’s in August. She is supporting herself and has financed her education by driving an Uber.

In her email, Loveland had stated, “I’m not sure I can continue to keep Matteson’s schedule as it is. I am still being illegally starved financially working during the week across multiple apps and having him all weekend when it’s busy. The good news is, I can probably take him Tuesday Wednesday and Thursdays, and drive him to and from dayhab. It’s not ideal, but it’s already cost me thousands of lost dollars in income.”

Loveland maintains that she needs the schedule change to prevent homelessness and car repossession. Currently, she is making only between $16 and $50 a day driving an Uber during the week. If she were able to work weekends, she would be able to earn more.

Loveland said no one responded to her June 3 email. However, one day later, on June 4, Cartwright filed the emergency motion with Judge Tierney.

Cartwright’s motion stated that, “It is believed that the motivation (for the schedule change) is based on it being the only way for her (Loveland) to work as an UBER/LYFT driver to earn income (and) retain her present housing.” The motion added that changing the schedule would “not be in the best interests of the ward.”

The case illustrates problems that can arise when family members and DDS disagree over care, particularly when a state-funded guardian or co-guardian is involved. (Other cases involving those problems are here, here, here, here, and here.)

On June 18, I emailed Cartwright and the May Institute managers that Loveland had previously written to, noting that we have a number of questions about this situation, one of which is what would happen to Matteson if Loveland were not able to retain her present housing due to an inability to earn sufficient income.  “We don’t see how that would be in Matteson’s best interests,” I noted.

It seems possible that in that case, Loveland might become unable to provide any type of home visits for her son, and he might then become stuck full-time at the group home.

Cartwright has not responded to my email.

Loveland told us that while Judge Tierney granted Cartwright’s motion, the judge said she “expects everyone to work together for Matteson to work out any changes needed for his schedule.”

In an email to Cartwright and the May Institute managers on June 16, Loveland added that as Matteson’s co-guardian, she remained “ready and willing to participate in a collaborative process to address these concerns, advocate for solutions, and ensure that any decisions made reflect the best interests of my son.”

I noted to Cartwright in my June 18 email that we hoped both he and Loveland  could work out a solution that would enable her to maximize her income without any adverse consequences for Matteson. We strongly believe that Loveland has always held the best interests of her son at heart, and would never do anything that would harm him or reduce his wellbeing.

Previous clashes over guardianship and visitation

Loveland and Cartwright have previously clashed, as we have reported, over an attempt by Cartwright in 2022 to limit Loveland’s co-guardianship of her son.

In addition, Loveland took issue with an email in November of last year from Cartwright that implied that several head-banging incidents involving her son were connected to his visits to her. In the November 14 email, Cartwright suggested that those visits might have to be restricted.

“We need to get together to set up a plan where he (Matteson) can get stabilized and return to his baseline,” Cartwright stated in the email. “That may involve having Matteson cut down his visits with you (Loveland) or even taking a break from spending time away from his residence and Dayhab.”

However, several emails about Matteson’s head-banging episodes last year indicate that those incidents occurred at his dayhab program and not while he was with his mother.

Loveland confirmed to us that “the overwhelming majority (of Matteson’s head-banging incidents) are occurring during the day program hours.” She said she has flagged the incidents and has suggested that the triggers might include sexual abuse that Matteson experienced in the group home in 2021, as well as such things as medication side effects, dehydration, and visual strain.

“What’s clear is that it (her son’s head banging) isn’t happening in my care, and it’s not happening during our visits,” Loveland said. She said the head banging and other behaviors that Matteson and others with autism often engage in are widely viewed by clinicians as a form of communication of such things as distress, pain, and unmet needs. She noted that the sexual abuse and other traumatic events that may have triggered Matteson’s behaviors never happened to him in her home.

Loveland added that the May Institute, as an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) provider, should understand the nature and timing of Matteson’s behaviors. Nevertheless, she said, her son’s visits home were restricted by the provider to weekends following the receipt of Cartwright’s November email.

Inappropriate restrictions on family visitation are also a frequent problem that we have noted when DDS becomes involved in guardianships or co-guardianships. (See examples here, here, and here.)

All too often, it seems, family members – particularly mothers – lose out in disputes with the state over care of their loved ones. The state always assumes it knows best how to provide that care even though it is the mother who has known her son or daughter for their entire life, and understands them far better.

We need a system of care for those with developmental disabilities that recognizes that reality.