ORLANDO, Fla. — The chief judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Orange County, which handled many of Rebecca Fierle’s guardianship cases, is now taking steps to improve the program.

One woman whose mother was a ward in the guardian program says these changes are only the first step in the right direction.

“It makes me cry,” Alison Blake-Ramsey said.

Looking at a picture of her stepmother, Shirley Blake reminds Blake-Ramsey of the living conditions she says her stepmother had to endure at a senior living facility during the final years of her life.

 “We went down there to visit right before she died. I was just so sad for the circumstances,” Blake-Ramsey said.

Those circumstances Ramsey says were brought on when her stepmother was moved to that living facility by her former professional guardian Rebecca Fierle. For three years, Blake-Ramsey says she and her sister fought in court to get her mother out of Fierle’s care, with the legal battle costing them thousands.

She now wants other families to be on alert and weary of the guardianship program in its current state.

“Settle your differences within your family, because it will save all of you,” Blake-Ramsey said.

But Ninth Judicial Circuit Court Chief Judge Donald Myers says strides are being made to better the guardianship program in Orange County. On Wednesday, Orange County Commissioners approved almost $50,000 for a new guardianship case manager position.

“It’s going to help us to identify fraud or potential abuse issues,” Myers said.

Myers says the position will also focus on evaluating accounting and other submissions to the courts by guardians. The case manager position is only funded for one year.

Myers said they will also move a judge from civil court within the ninth circuit, making it now two judges handling guardianship, probate/trust work, and mental health cases.

Spectrum News 13 Watchdog Reporter Curtis McCloud asked, “Is it fair to say that these changes are being made because of the recent concerns and issues that have been brought to light as it relates to former professional guardian Rebecca Fierle?

Myers said, “I can’t directly address the Rebecca Fierle matter because there is pending litigation and ethically that would not be proper for us to talk about that, but I think again the decision to allocate these additional resources is really driven by the increase in case load numbers.”   

According to the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, within the past five years, there has been a 9 percent general increase in guardianship, mental health, and probate cases. For guardianship cases exclusively, the courts say there has been an overall 33 percent increase.

“In the end it’s a resource issue, more judges, more case manager, more staff attorneys are needed in order for us to more appropriately address all the cases that are in front of us,” Myers said.

Still, Blake-Ramsey thinks there's more to be done beyond adding positions. She says state reform on the guardianship program needs to happen, making sure wards such as her stepmother, Shirley Blake, are protected.

“I think any step like that is good, but that is not going to be enough for a system that has been in place for years and years and years,” Blake-Ramsey said.

Spectrum News reached out to Fierle’s office about Shirley Blake but had not gotten a reply as of the initial publication of this article. According to the Orange County Ninth Circuit Court, the reallocation of judges will happen at the beginning of next year.