Colorado state Sen. Irene Aguilar couldn’t believe what was happening.
A Jefferson County case manager was forcibly shoving her from a room where she was trying to meet with a disabled woman under county guardianship against her family’s wishes.
Aguilar, who is also a physician, once was the woman’s primary care doctor and wanted to see how she was doing.
The woman is Sharisa Kochmeister, a 36-year-old Jefferson County resident with multiple disabilities who has been under the county’s guardianship since earlier this year.
Sharisa has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism. She is nonverbal and communicates with a touch-screen device that she feels comfortable using only with her father by her side.
Sharisa has been so proficient that she obtained dual college degrees with honors from the University of Denver, has been appointed to national boards and penned a popular blog.
But for reasons officials won’t explain, the county took guardianship of her last spring after she was admitted to the hospital for being underweight.
Denver Police investigated her father but no charges were filed.
The county instead petitioned a judge for guardianship, placed Sharisa in a nursing home and restricted visitations with her father and her friends.
Without a writing device or being able to see her father, Sharisa was effectively muted, which outraged disability advocates.
were signed, a formed and Disability Law Colorado, which protects the rights of people with disabilities, investigated and saying Sharisa was safe and that the county had good reasons for taking action.
Aguilar wanted to see for herself what was happening and joined a meeting last month with Sharisa, her family and friends.
But the county case manager apparently wasn’t notified the senator would attend and demanded Aguilar leave. A deputy was summoned.
Aguilar later filed a formal complaint and spoke to the director of the Colorado Department of Human Services about the incident.
The caseworker is no longer on Sharisa’s case, said her father. And Aguilar is looking into whether a conflict exists when the county’s adult protective agency is also the guardian.
“There was no one I could complain to,” Aguilar said.
Sharisa is living with a host family in Bailey, has regained weight and has been given a communication device. Her sister in New York is reportedly applying for guardianship.
“She looks great,” Aguilar said. “She seemed herself. She had her machine and was able to communicate adequately.”
Sharisa has been meeting regularly with friends and family — during which she types responses with her father by her side, sometimes with his hand guiding hers.
Friends advised her to allow someone else to help her communicate. But Sharisa refused.
“We’re going to have to take steps to make it as independent as possible for you,” said one friend. But Sharisa said she wants only her father.
“I’m stubborn,” Sharisa said. “And way cool.”
E-mail Jeremy Meyer at jpmeyer@denverpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: jpmeyerdpost
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